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Monday, February 18, 2013

2nd grade

 I scrapped! It's been so long. I really should do this more often. One page done, a thousand to go...

This is my oldest son's school pic from last year.
 
I used Unity's new {be inspired}layout sketch and lots of washi for The Paper Girls current challenge.

Everything patterned is washi - the banners, the strips along the top and bottom edges, the graph print behind the photo and in the corner, and of course the strips on the photo corners.
I heat-embossed some gears and fussy cut some as well.
A stack of books was necessary for this kid who always has a book in his hand!


That's my guy!
 
Thanks for stopping by today!
 
 

Supply List

Unity stamps:
Nuts and Bolts - awesome word, gears and nuts
Hod Podge of Happiness - book stack
A Little Grunge Love - arrow
Tattered Chicken Wire
What I Know {KOM 8/11} - notebook journaling block

Sweet Stamp Shop:
Geek Chic - apple, book worm

Friday, February 15, 2013

Talk Nerdy to Me...

I love this stamp set from Sweet Stamp Shop and just had to use it for the next round of the cardmaking contest I'm in. We were to use an inspiration photo and the card was to be for a male. SO this was my valentines card to my hubby!

 We are such geeks. It was just perfect.
 
I started with black ink splatters and strips of washi tape. Then I colored that little bookworm using Spectrum Noir alcohol markers from Crafters Companion and popped her with foam.



She is SO cute!

Of course she needed a stack of books and that awesome sentiment!
 
Voting for this round is open until Wednesday night. So if you don't mind - would you go vote? Pretty please?? http://www.practicalscrappers.com/2013/02/card-contest-top-16.html You can vote for up to 3 cards. Which was really tough since I have 5 friends in the contest too.

 
Thanks for stopping by today!


Wednesday, February 13, 2013

A Trio of Valentines

I finally convinced both my boys to let me make their class valentines this year! They always love picking out their favorite licensed characters at the store. But they were kind enough to let me make them this time!
 
 
First up is my 6-year-old's Army man:
This is our interpretation of this original idea. He loves all things boy and Army and this was perfect for him!
 
 
My 2-year-old saw big brothers getting cards and wanted his own too. I'm sure you've seen several fishbowl ideas all over the internet and Pinterest. Some have Swedish fish, some Goldfish. Lots of "Glad we're in the same school" sentiments. But he isn't in school. So we adapted this sentiment instead. It says I o'fish'ally like you, Valentine!
I found the image in a Word clip art and sized it to fit in these clear goody bags and added the sentiment. Just throw in some Goldfish crackers (because what 2-yo doesn't love those!) and you're done. Try this doc I made if you'd like to make these yourself.
 
 
And finally is my 8-year-old's ipod. he just received his first mp3 player for Christmas and is really loving music right now so these were just perfect! Original idea is from Spoonful (formerly Family Fun magazine). They used mini peanut butter cups, but I chose to use Hershey's kisses like she did here.
Spoonful gives you a premade scrollwheel and playlist and one you can customize but there is only one to print at a time. I needed way too many for that. So I created my own and am sharing them here and here to save you time! I hope these work - I've never tried sharing a doc before!
 
Directions
 
I started by cutting cardstock to 4" x 6 1/4" (I got 3 out of 12"x12" cardstock)
Then I scored at the 2.5", 3", 5.5", and 6" marks.
Below you can see the score marks and where the printouts will go too. You can add them before or after assembly.
Then you'll just fold on the score marks and tape shut. I used my tape runner to run tape on that last 1/4" of cardstock and taped that to the inside of the box.
 
Now for the earbuds I taped 12" lengths of twine to 2 Hershey's kisses (make sure you remove the flag from the candy). You can use round stickers if you have them. I did not. So I punched paper circles and placed them on glue dots.
 Then the glue dot stickers were used to tape twine to the kisses.
 
To attach to the candy I punched a hole in the side of the box. A standard hole punch was too big and my mini punch was too small. So I just punched three small holes with the mini to get a good sized hole.
 
Feed the middle of the twine through the hole and tie a knot on the inside. I kinda placed my holes too high. Put them a little lower and they'll look like they are plugged in!

My son really wanted m&m candies so we put a little Fun Size bag inside. I just used a glue dot to attach. The bags are kinda waxy and won't pull the glue dot off the sheet. So I had to pull it off with my fingers and stick it to the candy and then press on the inside of the cardstock.
 You could use any candy of any thickness by just adjusting the scoremarks to make this box thicker than half an inch.

 Here are some of the many that we made!
 
Thanks for stopping by today!
 
 
Linking up to:

Monday, February 11, 2013

GIU Winner!!

Thanks to all of you who stopped by my blog last week and commented!
And an even bigger thanks to all my new followers! I tried to follow you all back. I hope I didn't miss anyone.
My week as the Growing in Unity gal was so much fun!
 
 
And now for the winner of the 2 Unity Itty Bitty stamps of their choice....
 
 
 
Denise, please email me at amberloyana @ yahoo .com and let me know which 2 Itty Bitty stamps  you would like!
 
 
Thanks for stopping by today and have a great week!

Friday, February 8, 2013

Delight, GIU Day 5

Ahh, it's the last day of my week as the GIU girl at Unity Stamps! I've had so much fun reading all your wonderful comments!!
 
If you're just finding this today, just make sure you leave a comment on all my GIU posts this week for your chance of winning 2 Itty Bitty stamps of your choice from Unity.
 
For my last day I've got one last card to share:

 That delightful sentiment is from Delightful Little Things and the flower is from You + Me = Bliss.
 
 
 I just love fussy-cutting these flowers.

 
Thanks for stopping by this week!
 
I'll announce the winner of the Itty Bitty stamps on Monday.
 
-----
Oh - and I made it to the next round of the Practical Scrappers cardmaking contest! If you have time, would you mind voting on your favorites for this round? I have several friends in the running too. Thanks so much! http://www.practicalscrappers.com/2013/02/top-20-card-contest.html
Here's the card I entered:
 


Thursday, February 7, 2013

GIU 4, Fearfully and wonderfully made, an art journal page

It's day 4 of GIU! You know the drill by now - comment for your chance to win free stamps from Unity Stamp Co!
 
 
I have a confession.
 
I'm a procraftinator.
As much as I love to create and get all messy and inky, I also have guilt about my hobby. It's hard for me to craft when there are dishes and laundry to be done, kids to be bathed and put to bed, etc.
 
So I push off the fun stuff until all the work gets done. The other problem is that I'm a horrible housekeeper too. Ugh. Nothing gets done! :)
 
Anyway, the point is that I don't have a card prepared for today. So last night I made a page in my art journal instead. To me it's much easier than thinking about the layout, colors, etc of a card.
 
I just grabbed whatever paints, inks, and stamps were within reach and started going:
 
I stamped Vintage Handwritten and Tattered Chicken Wire on the background but then muted them out with gesso when I thought it was too bold. So they are hard to see.
 
I stamped some flourishes from Growing in Unity and Learn Discover Grow with a paint dabber.
 
While I'd love to claim that big flower doodle as mine I have to admit that it's Amy Tan's from one of her Sketchbook collection papers. All I did was color it.

 And that fun barcode is from a set called Capture Life that is not available on the Unity website anymore but I found it here if you're interested. It's so much fun. You can pick what word to insert for the code.

*Well, it's just been brought to my attention that Unity has put this set back in the store this week for Nostalgia weekend when they bring back old sets. What are the chances??? Check it out here.*
Anyway.
Thanks for stopping by today!
 
 
I hope you all have an amazing day!!



Wednesday, February 6, 2013

GIU Day 3, I miss seeing you

Welcome to day 3 of my Growing in Unity week at Unity Stamp Company!
Come by every day this week and leave me a comment. At the end of the week I will randomly pick a winner and Unity will give you your choice of 2 Itty Bitty stamps!
 
Today I used the December 2011 Kit of the Month called Filled with Love:

 Again, I used paper from Studio Calico Take Note. My sentiment is stamped on a piece of scrap paper lying on my table! I just attached it with washi and called it done. :)
 
 
And speaking of washi tape, would you like to win some? I thought you'd say yes!
Head on over to The Paper Girls Blog and enter our giveaway sponsored by DowntownTape.com.
 
 
Thanks for stopping by today!


Tuesday, February 5, 2013

GIU Day 2, I will love the light

Today is day 2 in my Growing in Unity week! Every day this week I will post a project using Unity stamps and when you comment you are entered to win your choice of 2 Itty Bitty stamps!


 I was digging through my stamps and when I saw this sentiment from the Delightful Little Things set I knew exactly who I wanted to make a card for. I have a dear sweet friend going through some tough times and I hope this card will bring her some comfort.

Yellow and gray are one of her fave color combos too.
 
Patterned paper is from Studio Calico Take Note.
Twine is from Pick Your Plum.
There is also some glitter glue on the stars in the sentiment. But you probably can't tell from my far-from-stellar photo. It would help if I didn't wait until night to take photos!!
 
Thanks for stopping by today!
:)


Monday, February 4, 2013

GIU Day 1, You are Fabulous

Today is day 1 in my Growing in Unity week! Every day this week I will post a project using Unity stamps and when you comment you are entered to win your choice of 2 Itty Bitty stamps! How cool is that??
 
Today I went simple with this card:

 
 
I used the following stamp sets:
 
The flowers were stamped using a black paint dabber instead of ink.
I finished with twine and jewels.
 
Please come back the rest of the week and comment for your chance to win!

Linking up to ScrapbookSteals Monday Craft Madness.

LOVE

The current challenge at The Paper Girls Challenge blog is to use twine!
 
I love twine. But you probably already know that :)
 
Instead of a card I came up with some wall art for Valentine's Day.
 
The piece is hung using twine, each panel is connected using twine, and each heart is wrapped in twine.
 
Each panel is 6" x 6". Here's some close-ups:
 Spray ink, doily, banner, heart, twine, flower, chipboard, and eyelets.
 
All the layering gave them some fun dimension:

 
Thanks for stopping by today!
If you get a chance we'd love for you to play along in the twine challenge!

Also, I am the Growing in Unity girl at Unity Stamps this week which means I post a project every day using their stamps and when you comment on those posts you'll be entered to win 2 Itty Bitty stamps of  your choice! So stop by every day this week and look for the GIU posts.
 
And, finally, I am a finalist in the Top 25 Love/Valentines cards over at Practical Scrappers. Each week readers vote and the top vote-getters move on to the next round. Please head over there and vote if you don't mind! Voting for this round is open through Wednesday, February 6th. You can only vote once but for as many of the contestants as you like! I made the "Through Rain or Shine" card with the umbrella. Please vote for your favorites! http://www.practicalscrappers.com/2013/02/top-25-cards_7732.html