I LOVE UNITY - doesn't even begin to cover it. (SOTW 21)

Ahhh... everyday, I still feel so grateful that I've been chosen as a part of the Unity Stamp Company Design Team.  I have loved every. single. moment. of it. The whole team is just fabulous - and we all inspire one another.  We have lots of fun, too...  Just so happy to be a part of it.

Today, I get to share with you this week's stamp of the week.  This is the cutest stamp - so versatile - you can use it on a card, as a tag, as a label... pretty much on anything!

I made a tag, backed with an adhesive cork and a canvas, and made a simple burlap bag to go with it.  I added some coffee beans in a clear bag and placed it inside the burlap bag.  With mugs in a basket makes a fun gift to give!  I used raffia and hemp cord to tie the tag and the bag.






If you're interested in signing up for stamp of the week, you pay only $5.79 ($7.79 int'l) and enjoy yummy red rubber mail at your doorstep weekly! Click here for more info!

Unity is having an amazing Memorial Day weekend sale...  make sure you go check it out!






Thanks for dropping by! Have a BEAUTIFUL Sunday!!!

Oooh, and my SVG Cuts fans... don't forget that EVERYTHING in the store is 25% off with coupon: MEMORIAL2012! Stock up while you can!

More than cupcakes... Unity SOTW 20

Happy Sunday!

I don't know how many of my current followers have used Unity Stamp Co stamps, but if you haven't tried them yet - I can tell you that it's a matter of time before you're gonna want some in your hands!

For those that is new to Unity - I am going to explain a bit about the stamps they sell! 

They are RED RUBBER STAMPS, meaning that it's not the photopolymer or acrylic stamps (clear) stamps that you see everywhere right now.  However, these are not wood mounted (unless noted) - so they work as cling-on stamps with your acrylic block.  The image that is produced from these stamps are PHENOMENAL - it's super CRISP, pretty much PERFECT.

They sell TONS of stamps to accommodate everyone's interest.  You are guaranteed to find something that you like there. Vintage, modern, whimsical, inspirational - I tell you - they've got EVERYTHING! :)  

The stamps are divided into various categories, but the main ones are: (click on the title and will take you there!)

1. Itty Bitty - These are cute little stamps that fit into a 3" x 5" bag.  They could be one image or an image and a sentiment to go with it.  So fun, they are VERY ADDICTIVE!

2. Uniquely Unity - The stamps here are all designed by Unity Artistas! You have to see them - they are all so beautiful and inspirational!

3. Co-branded stamps - These are AMAZING stamps that have resulted from collaborating with many companies.  You can find Echo Park, Webster's Pages, Simple Stories, Bella Blvd, Jillibean Soup, Authentique, Nikki Sivilis, Christy Tomlinson, Cosmo Cricket... and so much more! These stamps are super fun additions to your pretty papers that you have!

4. Ippity - These are line of Unity stamps that support amazing 50 women.  All you need to do is to pick a chick (any chick, or pick one that seem to inspire you!) and you order away! Don't be intimidated to pick a chick - it doesn't mean that you're committed to her, you can pick another next time, and there's no obligation by ordering an ippity stamp.  They are fabulous stamps, so I urge you to go check them out!

5. Kit of the Month (KOM) - This is a subscription program and you get yummy 8.5" x 11" of red rubber EVERY MONTH!  This is a perfect mix of stamps for those who is just starting their collection, or have lots, but still looking to add more!

6. SMAK - This is another subscription program, and it's PERFECT for those who love to do layouts, mixed media and altered art.  You get a good mix of numbers and letters, punctuations, journaling stamps, and patterns.  

7. Stamp of the Week (SOTW) - Another fabulous subscription program and is the most afforadable! They are the same size as Itty Bitty and gets sent to your door EVERY SINGLE WEEK! How fun is that?  

So, that's Unity stamps in a nutshell! YOU CAN ORDER ALL OF THESE AMAZING STAMPS ALL ON ONE SITE! Click here!

Okay, so let's move onto my post now! Today is the unveiling of the new Stamp of the Week - week #20!  This week, we've got the cutest cupcake for you to color or paper pierce, and an adorable sentiment to go with it. 

So... this week, I've been studying like crazy about COPICS! As a stamp company design team member, I felt silly not knowing how to color! (especially when I already have them!) It's been sitting here, and all I've ever used was for me to color here and there, just like any old marker... 

Here's what I've practiced... (as I said on FB, I was so nervous to share my work!)

...and here's my first ever card using Copic markers and the new SOTW stamp! 

Isn't this cupcake the cutest yummiest looking thing?  Makes me hungry as I write this post! If you sign up this week, you get this adorable stamp in the mail!

Anyway, that's it for now! TTYL - thanks for stopping by!

Straw toppers for my WILD CHILDREN!

Eeek! When my kids saw these animals in the new collection from SVG Cuts (Wild Child SVG Collection), they were thrilled! They wanted me to make something right away! (Just like when they asked me to make that dump truck) Tamara from the DT has been buggin' Mary to make cute little animals, and sure enough, she knew what kids would love!

So, I thought that it would be super easy to whip up these straw toppers for the kids so they can enjoy these new friends while having dinner. After all, my kids are WILD CHILDREN!



You see five??? Well, I don't have five kids...  I have three.  The other two is for my husband and me! HA!

Anyway, aren't these cute????  I was so tempted to make a whole zoo out of it!











The straw toppers base is actually a die from Lifestyle Crafts, but you can easily make them by simple taking a shape and putting two slits on them.

The dimensions of these animals are cut at:
Zebra - 2.35" wide
Elephant - 2.30" wide
Lion - 1.80" wide
Giraffe - 2.20" wide
Turtle - 2.60" wide

These straws are 'paper straws' (SOOO FUN!) and can be found all over online, but if you just search for them on Etsy, that's the place where you'll probably get the most variety!

You have to check out what else comes in this collection! You get a few more animal friends, along with captions, trees and leaves and tons of tribal strips! So fun!

This is the new free gift of the week with a purchase of $9.98 or more (coupon code: FREEGIFT)!!!

Wild Child SVG Collection

Anyway, a super quick post, but I'm in a rush and I just wanted to share with you these cute little friends.

Have a super weekend everyone!

Stitched Magnet Board - Epiphany Crafts DT Project.

Happy Wednesday! (Regardless of the days of the week, I always feel happy!)

I've been hibernating away working on my next SVG Cuts project... but today, I've got a project to share with you over at the Epiphany Crafts blog!

This week, we have had the opportunity to play with pretty Lily Bee papers - for me, it was the Handmade collection.  These papers totally resembles the patchwork patterns, and I thought that it would be so cute to incorporate the quilted look into my project!

So, what I made today is a Quilted Magnet Board!



I cut out tons of diamonds on my Sizzix machine and then arranged them in a pattern on a think backing paper using a bit of double sided tape.  Once I was happy with my pattern, I stitched all the pieces together using my sewing machine.  I adhered this to a cookie pan (use Mod Podge), and voila - an instant magnet board!



All I had to do was to make some pretty magnets using Epiphany Craft tools, as well as add some magnet sheet to some of the pretty embellishment stickers that came in the Handmade collection.



This magnet board can also function as a pretty decor to your kitchen or office area. Use it to add important dates, emergency phone numbers, phone message center, calendar, pictures... really anything!







I love these pennant magnets!



If you don't have sewing machine, that's okay! You don't need to stitch them, it still looks cute! Or, you can even use those 'faux-stitch' stamps to stamp all around the pieces. If you're patient enough, it would also be cute to ink the edges of every piece - which would give it more of a vintage feel.

Anyway, here's the list of the supplies I used!

Epiphany Crafts Round 14 Shape Studio Tool and Bubble Cap

Epiphany Crafts Oval 25 Shape Studio Tool and Bubble Cap

Epiphany Crafts Round 20 Button Studio Tool and Button

Epiphany Crafts Vintage Setting Tea Room

Lily Bee - Handmande collection

Cookie Pan

Sewing machine and white thread

Magnet sheet

Round Magnets

Metal Clips

Thin Backing Paper (any thin paper)

Glue Gun

Craft Glue for Metal/Mod Podge

Anyway, that's it for today!

Yesterday, I got me some more Copics, so I've also been trying to teach myself how to color! It's fun, and feels like I'm back in preschool! I think finally, I got enough to start trying to blend some colors together! Yay!

Leo and Mary's Housewarming Card!

Hey all! Happy Friday!
Wow - this week sure went by SUPER fast!

I've been meaning to post this, and I just had no time to do this until today, but wanted to share my card that I made for Leo and Mary. (In case you're not sure who they are, they are the owners of SVG Cuts).

The whole design team started thinking about how awesome it would be to do something fun and thoughtful for Leo and Mary, when they moved into their new beautiful home.  Then the wheels started turning, and thought that it would be cute and thoughtful to try to get as many cards from fans as we can and surprise them with it.  We also got the help of Leo and Mary's moms and we definitely couldn't have done this without them. Fleurette, who lives pretty close to Leo and Mary's place, put all the cards on a collage and took them over with balloons last weekend during their Cinco de Mayo party :)

I think that it was a success! We all divided up the 'letters' of the last name that we're responsible for, and messaged all that we can through Facebook.  It was so fun!  I was so curious as to what other's would make - and it's been really fun to see many cards popping up on Facebook!

Therefore, I thought that I'd share mine!



I was super impressed with what other's had made!  To me, a housewarming card meant something to do with a house, decor... but fans came up with all sorts of fun ideas!

My house was taken from the Strawberry Lane SVG Collection and I changed the windows a bit and added a picket fence (these are from Main Street USA SVG Mega Pack) and voila! Pretty house warming card! I love this paper, too - it's My Mind's Eye Miss Caroline collection.





In case you missed this pic up on SVG Cuts FB wall page, this is Leo and Mary proudly holding up our cards!



IF YOU HAD NOT BEEN CONTACTED ABOUT THIS AND WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A CARD FOR MARY AND LEO - YOU ARE MORE THAN WELCOME TO! (We tried our best to contact who we know, but I'm sure there's many SVG Cuts' fans out there!)


PLEASE SEND ALL CARDS TO:
Autumn Creative LLC
P.O. Box 223
Wasco, IL 60183-0223


...and for those of you that did participate - THANK YOU!!!

Oooh, and have you seen their latest kit just released tonight??? It's Tea for You and Me SVG Kit... This is probably my all time fave of Mary's work... it's just gorgeous... 3D teapot, 3D teacup.... not to mention the 3D spoons, tea dispenser box, teabag tray and a card.. WOW!!! This is the FREE GIFT of the week with coupon 'FREEGIFT' and a purchase of $9.98 or more!




I think that's it! Have a great crafty weekend everyone!

NEW Stamps at UNITY today!!! and my two sample projects!

WHOO-HOO! Tonight`s the BIG release! HOORAY!!! Have you all seen the sneak peaks?  I'm in love with all of them - and I don't know how Unity does it! I swear, there's not very many companies that makes me want to order stamps every single month!

First of all... I have to share this ad...



That's me! I can't believe that ME in THAT picture! Yay!

If you haven't visited the other girl's blogs... you are in for a treat! They are superbly amazing talented girls, and so happy to be working with all of them!

So, I've been LOVING some Simple Stories stamps, and I was THRILLED to know that they are releasing more!!




They match the Simple Stories Summer Fresh Paper Collection that was just released.... aren't they adorable??? AND.. the best thing about these stamps are that it's HUGE! Many stamps measure almost 5"!!! WOW! You sure can have so much more fun when it's that big!

Today, I made simple party favors using the cutest jar that you see in the ad above.  They are stamped on an acetate, backed with a blank acetate, and are stitched all around the jar and trimmed. I left the top open to fill it up with candies and embellished with their new sentiment stamps and twine. (The jar is from Jar of Sunshine set)



One more thing that I've made from this release is this card - from Pocketful of Posies stamp.  Isn't it ADORABLE???



Another big cobrand release is the Phyllis Harris stamps! For those that LOVE coloring with Copics - these are probably stamps of your dreams!




Ippity is also having their relase!!!




... AND... Webster's Pages stamps are coming out soon as well.. and you can see their sneak peek here. You have to see them - there's 6 background stamps and 3 tag stamps!

So... you getting excited yet???

Join Unity over at Splitcoaststampers forum for fun chit chat, prizes and fun! (starting at 7pm CST TONIGHT)

...AND... WHOA - Unity sure knows how to have fun! There's LOTS of items marked down this weekend, including past Simple Stories, past Phyllis Harris, itty bitty stamps are ALL $3.49!!!  Time to stock up!




Okay, gotta go - have a great day everyone!

Mother's Day Printer's Tray - SVG Cuts DT Project.

Hello everyone!

I'm SO excited to share my next SVG Cuts project with you all!

I made this project a while back, way before there was the Curio box file (Attic Treasures SVG Kit).  Printer Tray/Shadowbox is totally popular right now, and I thought that it would be so cool to make one out from SVG Cuts files... I thought about what files would work, and of course, it's that good old Classic Christmas Advent Calendar SVG kit! I took a portion of the calendar, altered the box sizes a bit, and changed the depth... and voila! I had a printer's tray - in paper! Yay!

I decided to make the theme of the tray into something that you can give as a Mother's Day gift, but really, you can use this for anything! It's probably cutting it too close for Mother's Day, but wouldn't it be perfect project to work on for Father's Day? It's the perfect tray to add some little keepsakes in and to display some photos that you love. The good thing about doing it this way, rather than simply using the Curio Box above, is that you can customize where you would like the boxes to go, the size of it and the depth of it. It's all up to you!

Anyway, here's my project!



I fell in love with this project while I was making it, and rather than waiting to give to mom this weekend, I couldn't wait - I just had to give it to her as soon as it was done! Of course, she loved it, and is now proudly hanging in her craft room.



I just love this silhouette of the mother and a child. So perfectly beautiful!



In each of the compartments, I tried to summarize all the lovely things that moms like to do and do for us...



This compartment describes my mom the best - she loves sewing!



I love this one... a woman becomes a mother with the arrival of a baby... :) Awww....

...and a view from the top.

So, in order to create this tray, I had to create a 'face' for the tray.

However, I didn't want to put you through all the work to make this, so I have this file available for you to download through here.

SVG Cuts' Collections used:
(I just want to warn you - don't be turned away by the number of collections that I used.  All you need is the Classic Christmas Advent Calendar SVG Kit to make the tray - everything else is up to you in how you want to customize the tray!)

Classic Christmas Advent Calendar SVG Kit
Kate's Silhouettes SVG Collection
Crush on You Boxes SVG Kit
Doilies SVG Collection
Amelie's Accessories SVG Kit
Chamomile Friendship Cards SVG Kit
Antique Skeleton Keys SVG Collection
Townhouse Windows SVG Collection
Crafty Mice SVG Collection
Celeste's Cutesy Corners SVG Collection
Sew Crafty SVG Kit
An Afternoon at Auntie Elaine's SVG Collection
Iris Fold Cards SVG Kit

Supplies Needed:

American Crafts Cardstock (white)

Patterned Papers (I used My Mind’s Eye: Stella & Rose and Miss Caroline collections)

Eyelets

Twine

Crinkled Ribbons

Lace

Buttons

Pearls

Mini Pearl Strand (purse handle)

Pins

Knobs

Stamps (Unity Stamp Company, Martha Stewart and Basic Grey)

Ink (for stamps and distressing)

Scotch Quick-dry Glue

Heat Glue Gun

Foam Tape

Hope that you liked my project! Thanks for stopping by!