Unity's FWF 12/6

Hello!

It's Friday; isn't it? This week has just flown by! My eldest daughter turned 8 yesterday and I've been busy today preparing for her birthday party tomorrow. 

Today I also realized that I always panic when Christmas is over and I realize that I'm completely out of birthday cards, and we have several family birthdays in January. And since I had the sewing machine out making party favor bags, and it's Unity's Friends with Flair day...

Echo Park here & now
Unity's 'everything wonderful'
SU ribbon
Momento inks

Thanks for visiting me today! be sure to hop back to the Unity blog for lots more inspiration!

Best,

Jen

Growing in Unity - day 5

Hello friends! It's my last day as Growing in Unity girl for Unity Stamp Co. My daughter's favorite board book is What Should we Do with the Boo Hoo Baby so I won't be all boo hoo hoo because truth is this week was so much fun... but I'm not sorry to see it end because it doesn't end!! We have the Unity Facebook page, Pinterest, and Friends with Flair every Friday  for inspiration and camaraderie.  :)

This is kind of going to be a show-and-tell kind of post but with more showing and less telling, 'cause I know you all have more important things to do:

Mini cards; thought these might be a fun thing to tuck in a teacher gift for Christmas:

Jillibean Soup/Unity Jolly Good Fun (left)
Unity's Christmas Bough set (right)
Marvy Urchida markers/gel pens

This stamp is completely underwhelming if you do not emboss it. Know what I also hate am allergic to, besides coloring? Heat embossing, though I did it anyway 'cause I like you guys... Oh, and loose glitter too. Did I tell you my daughter's Halloween costume was sparkly and shed glitter? Guess who is still cleaning up glitter eight days later... I'm not sure what happened with the color here. The green appears much less neon-like in real life.

Unity Christmas bough
embossing powder
Gina K card stock; SU ribbon

Then I thought I might try it on the kraft. My sentiment inks did not get fabulous coverage so it's slightly underwhelming. Love this big branch though!!

Unity Christmas Bough
SU ribbon, Gina K card stock

My Mind's Eye paper
Unity's Chrismtas Bough set (image)
 Jillibean/Unity Tis the Season for Joy set (sentiment)

Thank you for visiting me! Unity will give two Itty Bitty's to a winner from the comments I received this week, so go back to the previous posts and comment if you haven't already done so - better odds are a good thing! And then go shop, cause those new punny stamps are AMAZING. :)

Jen

Growing in Unity - day 4

Welcome back! If you missed any of my previous Growing in Unity posts this week, be sure to go back and comment for your chance to win Unity stamps. :)

Today I am all about the snow people. Did I ever tell you that I hate am allergic to coloring? I am. It's true. I don't buy stamps I have to color... and that is why I have a deep and abiding love for snow people stamps, because you can just color a tiny bit and they look great.

See:

My Mind's eye paper
Unity Stamp Co - you melt my heart itty bitty
Really Reasonable ribbon - burlap ribbon
Marvy Urchida markers

Thanks for visiting me today! come back tomorrow for my last Growing in Unity post; I just might have an EXTRA giveaway for you! :)

Jen

Gowing in Unity - day 3

Hello! It's me again, back with day 3 as a GIU girl for Unity Stamp Co. :) If you missed day 1 or day 2, be sure to hop back to leave comments to win some Itty Bitty's!

Today I have a card made with one of my favorite sketches:

Unity - you give me butterflies (image) and snowflake kisses (sentiment)
My Mind's Eye vanity fair papers
Seam binding from Really Reasonable Ribbon
Corner chomper

One of the things I love about Unity is that you can use their sets interchangeably. There are so many sentiments that I mix up to use with different images. I'm more a sentiment girl than anything else and I go back to about 10 of my favorite Unity sentiments over and over again. :)

Unity is allowing me to do a giveaway of 2 Itty Bitty stamps this week, so be sure to come back each day and comment to win! 

Jen

Growing in Unity - day 2

Hello again and welcome back to my blog for day 2 of growing in Unity for Unity Stamp Co.  Today I have a crooked picture for you, just tilt your head a little, 'k? Sorry about that.

This is such a pretty stamp! I got it in a grab bag. Anyone recognize it?

My Mind's Eye vanity fair papers
Unity Stamp Co flower stamp

I like to make a lot of no-sentiment cards. This one put me in a very cheery mood; better than a snowy mood since it rained all afternoon yesterday. BAH. But at least it wasn't snow! :)

Be sure to come back each day until Friday and comment to win 2 Itty Bitty's of your choice from Unity. Winner to be announced on Saturday!

Jen

Growing in Unity - day 1

Hello and happy Monday! I'm super excited to be this week's Growing in Unity girl. Unity stamps make up the vast majority of my stamp collection... my husband even got me new Unity for Christmas last year. Hey, what can I say? I have good taste AND my husband is a keeper! :)

Today I have two cards to share; I make a lot of cards for Operation Write Home - they send blank cards overseas for our troops to write home to family and friends - and with the delay in sending mail overseas in time for it to have time to travel back here to the US, we are already on to Valentine's Day and love cards already. Crazy, huh? Anyhow, here's two I made with a fun Jillibean Soup/Unity set. One of these will probably go to my husband... he saw them and liked them both. :)

My Mind's Eye paper
Jillibean Soup/Unity set - hearty barley
Twinery twine
Papertrey ink smoky shadow card stock

My Mind's Eye paper
Jillibean Soup/Unity set - hearty barley
Twinery twine
Papertrey ink smoky shadow card stock

We are actually headed to Puerto Rico next Saturday for a belated 10 year anniversary trip. I am excited! And very overwhelmed. We will come to home to our youngest's birthday, then Thanksgiving, then our eldest's birthday just after that. EEEK!

Unity is allowing me to do a giveaway of 2 Itty Bitty stamps this week, so be sure to come back each day and comment to win! Have you seen the new releases? Oh my gosh - cute!!

Jen

Unity's FWF 10/25

Hey all, it's Unity's Friends with Flair day (link up, comment, win prizes, get inspired, it's all good) and it's also my 10 year wedding anniversary! :)

So... just a quick card share. Because the kids are fighting. Of course they are. They haven't seen each other alllllllll day long while the oldest is in school so playing together nicely? Nah.

Unity Stamp Co sentiment
My Mind's Eye paper
Quickkutz heart dies
Gina K card stock

Still love struck after 10 years! :) This sentiment is from a random grab bag... anyone know which set it was from? It's cute!

We are headed to Puerto Rico in 3 weeks to celebrate our anniversary, sans kids... oh gosh I cannot wait!!

Have a great weekend,

Jen

OWH winter challenge & WCMD winners!

Hello!

Today's Operation Write Home challenge is to make a winter card that uses a nature element. I was completely predictable and chose snowflakes. :) I won two Itty Bitty's of my choice recently and this was one of my picks - I *adore* it!

Unity Stamp Co sentiment
SU crochet trim
Sizzix snowflake embossing folder
poor attempt at following a sketch... all me!

I'd also like to announce the winners from the OWH World Cardmaking Day Hop this past weekend. Thank you for all of your kind comments!

The paper pads go to:

Ann said...

Jen, what a fabulous story! Thanks for all you do for our heroes. I love how each edition is dedicated to ones who are so deserving. Great job!

OCTOBER 5, 2013 AT 7:56 AM 

And the stamps to:

Colleen said...

What a great story and a way to honor the Heros!

OCTOBER 6, 2013 AT 3:40 PM 

Ladies, please email me at jennifer.mueller409 AT gmail dot com (remove spaces and insert appropriate punctuation) with your mailing addresses, please! 

Thanks,

Jen

OWH sketch 192

Happy Sunday! It's time for Operation Write Home sketch 192. I'm at the very tail end of this Jillibean Soup paper pad, so I think I may make a few more of this theme. :)

Jillibean Soup designer paper
Unity Stamp co clipboard and sentiment
kraft is embossed with a woodgrain folder
Gina K chocolate brown for the layers

And... a couple of promised photos from Scrapfest last weekend! I still have to show you the Jillibean Soup photos and the Unity ones. These are the make & takes that we did; we didn't have much time between classes:

From l-r: Bo Bunny, Lawn Fawn, Simple Stories

There were others I would have LOVED to do. We spent nearly an hour waiting in the Lawn Fawn line, but it was so worth it! That's the bell jar turned upside down for snow globe!! :)

And then these are three of the cards I made from the Doodlebug class. We only had time to make 3 in class and we brought three home to complete. Their stuff has glitter, FYI, not OWH safe and not my preference, but the cards turned out very cute. Washi flags are HARD to do but the result is very very cute (top card).

That's all for me tonight! Thanks for visiting!

Jen

Unity's FWF 9/20 - SCRAPFEST bound!

Woot! Woot! It's finally Scrapfest weekend! I'm headed out later this afternoon to the Mall of America with a good friend and we are going to Scrapfest it UP. So.darn.excited!!! 

Anyhow, I'll make this quick. It's Friday. It's Friends with Flair at Unity day. Remember my pack of cards from the 6x6 pad I finished up last week? This was one of my favorite cards from that stash, and now is the time to reveal:

I think this is my favorite Unity stamp of all time. I use it constantly. LOVE.
My Mind's Eye paper

That is faux stitching from a stamp (around the edges), and I LOVE it to pieces. I did faux hand stitch around the die cut to tie it all together. :)

And my daughter wanted to make her own card for one of her good friend's birthdays; the party is tonight actually. She didn't want stamps:

This is an exercise in bedazzling, apparently. She went to town with the washi and then 'borrowed' just a few gems and pearls. :)

Have a great weekend!!!!!!! Be sure to hop back to the Unity blog and check out all of the other creations. You could win free stamps; I did last week. :)

Jen

Unity's FWF 9/13

If you are here for my Lone Wolf Designs post, showcasing Lawn Cuts by Lawn Fawn, please scroll down or click here. 

Hey there friends, time for another Friends with Flair Friday over at the Unity Stamp Co blog. I have gotten out of the habit of participating (boo!) and so here I am again. :) 

I have been trying to use up some of my partial 6x6 pads... because sadly, I seem to accumulate them faster than I can use them. I'm sure I'm the only one with multiplying paper. 

Anyhow. I LOVED this MME happy go lucky pad and I am sad to see it gone, but it was so much fun to create with. I loved the patterns and the bright colors!

This was a random stamp I received and I ADORE it. :)
Random ribbon from stash, Quickkutz heart dies. At this point I was only
running on smaller scrap pieces, yet this is probably my favorite card of
all that I made using up this pad!

And here are a few more. I used up all of my leftover Jililbean Soup epoxy buttons on these cards... the colors coordinated perfectly! The left bottom card uses a gorgeous Unity flower stamp. SO pretty!

Stamps via Unity Stamp Co, Paper Smooches, Ali edwards for Technique Tuesday.

And a handful more for good measure:

Stamps via Paper Smooches, Ali Edwards for TT, Lizzie Anne Designs.

Thanks for visiting me today! have a wonderful weekend!

Jen

OWH/ODBD September challenge & 6x6 use it up challenge

Hello! 

Today marks the beginning of a new Operation Write Home/Our Daily Bread Designs challenge. This challenge is to use wheels. my first attempt... well, I would show you, but you wouldn't stick around very long - and I wouldn't blame you! :) So I went in a different direction, and went to find a trusty OWH sketch (this is 180), and I'm happy to show you the end result:

Hero Arts for OWH set
PTI smokey shadow card stock, Bazzill cherry splash and walnut cream
Momento tuxedo black ink, SU edge punch

Notice how I didn't use ANY patterned paper on that card? Are you shocked? Yes, me too. :)

And then... I've been trying to use up this My Mind's Eye Christmas 6x6 pad that I hate dislike kind of very much. I had a moment of inspiration the other day when I realized I could focus on using the non-holiday sides and go for more masculine themes.  I ended up making a few holiday cards and a few masculine. These are the holiday ones:

My Mind's Eye paper "merriest days of Christmas"
Stamps via Unity Stamp Co, Lawn Fawn, and Hero Arts for OWH

And these are the masculine ones:

Stamps via Unity Stamp Co and Paper Smooches

There were just a few scraps after finishing these, and you can bet I recycled them with no guilt. It was very much an "I shall conquer you" moment... and I am pleased with the end results. No one should use up (what you think is) ugly paper and have made ugly cards, right? That kind of defeats the purpose. This was not a full pad, by the way, maybe 2/3? And I ended up with 15 cards.

This weekend marks the end of the first week of school, our parish fall festival where I failed to make pies and instead purchased them with little guilt, and I think the littlest child is getting sick. On an up note, last night my husband and daughters spent time on YouTube looking for "homemade trapeze systems". Today he is the best.daddy.ever for getting them a trapeze bar for their play set.

Have a great weekend!

Jen

OWH sketch 186

Time for another Operation Write Home sketch! Today was kind of a lazy day. It was actually over 80 today, which it hasn't been in over two weeks, so the kids played outside in the sprinkler while I lazed on the deck with a good book and some diet Coke. Ahhh, the life. :)

I've been trying to use up this My Mind's Eye 'the merry days of Christmas  pad and it's just not my favorite. I went to it for this sketch thinking Christmas but I ended up just making a masculine card. Hmm.  Now I'm thinking harder about using up these papers, if I can use them in a non-holiday way! 

Behold, sketch 186:

MME merry days of Christmas paper
Gina K warm cocoa card stock
Unity Stamp Co sentiment
big eyelets and twine from stash
CTMH desert sand & TH antique linen inks

Also linking up with the Drunken Stampers blog challenge, which is to use twine! (hey, ladies!)

Happy start of the week! Thanks for visiting me today.

Jen

FWF 8/9... a cozy christmas

So seriously, at Christmas last year my husband ordered me Unity Stamps! He was even impressed with the seriously large selection of different styles. :) This stamp is one of my favorites from one of the kits he got me... it's got such a cool retro vibe AND it's a really generic sentiment. I LOVE sentiment stamps and if I can use them for a season, not just a specific day, well my heart gets all happy! It pairs really nicely with this MME paper, which I am going to use up this holiday season. 

I AM. You should see my stack of 6x6's. It's kind of embarrassing.

Okay, so the card. Usually I look for a sketch or have an idea to jump start a card. This time I just kind of took some ideas and went with it to see what I got.

I think I like it. 

Pay no mind to the oddly large card prop, which is making the bottom look all bowed. It's not. 

My Mind's Eye The Merry Days of Christmas
Bazill Carob cream cardstock
Unity Stamp Co - KOM Oct 2012
Jilibean Soup button; Twinery twine

Be sure to head back to the Unity blog and check out everyone's projects. There's always so many stamps I want need to buy (and thankfully, a sale too!). :)

Jen

OWH MWT - CAS

After I finsihed my card, I'm not so sure it qualifies as 'clean and simple.'  Hmmm. Anyhow, that is the challenge of the week over at the Operation Write Home blog.

It was more CAS in my head. Ooops? Forgive me, people.

Unity Stamp Co stamp
Washi from Target
dimensional tape, Bic Mark-its
Bazzill card stock in berry sensation

Thanks for checking in. :)

Jen

Unity's FWF 6/21 - so this is love

Happy Friday! I'm so excited to once again be linking up with Friends with Flair over at the Unity blog! Last weekend I went to a local shoebox (card making) swap and since we had only 9 women, we had everyone make 2 cards so you could make one and take one from each person.

Last week I shared the first card I made; today is the favorite card reveal:

 Basic Grey Kioshi
Unity Stamp Co sentiment (so this is love set)
ribbon flower
PTI plum pudding card stock and ink
Gina K ivory card stock

Okay, I should clarify. We did vote on 'best card.' This was not the winner, but it is MY favorite and considering I taught several in the group how to make those ribbon flowers AND their own homemade glue dots I'd say this card definitely taught some of the group a new trick or two! And it's my favorite card. So there. :)

I made some with a different (non-Unity sentiment); this card showcases a much better ribbon flower. The above one I was clearly hyped on too much Diet Coke!

Thanks for visiting me today!

Jen

OWH MWT & bootcamp

Hey there! It's challenge day over at the Operation Write Home blog and today's challenge is cards for kids! I'm sharing a card I made recently from some scrap pieces... gotta love it when you can use it up! See, people, this is why I leave my crafting space in disarray so often. Then I have to clean it, and it never fails that 10 minutes in I've found several things that could make a card and then I'm off crafting again. :)

Anyhow, this also works for the OWH Bootcamp repetition class:

Jilibean Soup dp scraps
Unity Stamp Co sentiment
Cuttlebug Swiss dots embossing folder
Momento Danube blue and dandelion inks
Really Reasonable Ribbon crinkle ribbon
Gina K card stock

I thought this made a fun and cheery kid birthday card... those number papers work really well for kid birthdays, in my opinion! I think you can see the repetition here... there's a lot of dots! 

Thanks for visiting me today!

Jen

OWH sketch 157 - hi

Hey there, it's time for another OWH sketch! This is sketch 175 and I really like it. I'm using up all of those brads I never remember to use. :) 

I used this really cool and really, really cheap new stamp I got from Unity Stamp Co.

My Mind's Eye scraps
kraft  cardstock
Unity Stamp Co sentiment
brads from stash

I actually made 4, but one got smudged. :( Bummer! Anyhow, we are all recovering today from yesterday's big ballet recital! Our 7 year old performed in two shows and had her hair and makeup professionally done for the first time. 

Shoes not on yet. Oops!

I sprayed so much hairspray on her bangs I was shocked they moved. 

You can see her huge tooth gap in this bottom photo. She just lost those two top teeth recently! :)

Thanks for visiting me today!

Jen

Drunken Stampers #130- breakfast at Tiffany's (bling!)

Hello and welcome to another Drunken Stamper's movie-inspired challenge! This week we are focusing on bling. Easy, right? :)

My Mind's Eye
Gina K card stock
Unity STamp Co sentiment
stickles, Viva pearl pen
Inks in Walnut Stain and Victorian Velvet

I dusted off my stickles and went to town. :) I don't do much with glitter; it's the gift that keeps on giving. My daughter's 3 year old preschool teacher used glitter in all their projects. I swear it took 2 years to get all the glitter out of my house. ACK! Just in time for little sis to start preschool with the same teacher...

Be sure to head back to the Drunken Stampers blog to check out all of the other great inspiration projects and submit your own! :)

Jen

Unity's FWF 5/24 - hope you're swell

It's been waaaaay too long since I've joined in with Unity's Friends With Flair Friday, so I'm back with a quick card to share!

I got this sentiment stamp in a random bag over a year ago. I LOVE IT. It's one of my most favorite sentiments. :) If you know which kit it's from, please comment and let me know!

anyhow:

Stamp: Unity
Paper: My Mind's Eye
Gina K cardstock

I hope YOU are swell and you have a good Memorial Day weekend... not the weekend of barbeques and picnics, but the weekend to honor those who died fighting for our freedom. 

In honor of Memorial Day, Operation Write Home is hosting a blog hop tomorrow. I'd suggest visiting me again; I may just be giving away some Unity!! :)

Jen