Is and Always Will Be Yours

Hi folks

It's been a couple of weeks since my last post so I figure it's time to share the second card I have made so far this year. That's right - still no card-making! Quilting instead!

This is a card I made for my dearly beloved for Valentine's day. The image and sentiment are from Unity Stamp Co, the papers are from Close To My Heart.

As always, thanks for stopping by!

A Vintage Masculine Birthday

Hi folks,

Well, I've been having a hard time getting in to the mood to make cards this year. One of my other hobbies (quilting) has been using the bulk of my crafting mojo instead. I'm not going to fret about it - just go with the flow. Maybe I'll start updating this blog with my quilting adventures - there seems to be a LOT more of them lately. Stay tuned!

I figure though that it is about time I share one of the two cards I have so far this year. This is one that I made for my Dad's birthday back in January.

I used a bunch of supplies from my stash for this one.

• kraft cardstock base
• Authentique papers
• the vintage masculine image is from Unity Stamp Co
• the Happy Birthday sentiment is from CTMH
• I *think* the Dad sentiment is from Verve
• the twine is from my stash
• the shipping tag was no doubt a freebie from one of my Unity KOM orders. I must say - I REALLY like using shipping tags for my stamped images these days - especially if I am not colouring them.
• layout: Viva La Verve January Sketch

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Growing in Unity Winners announcement

Hi folks,

It's time to announce the winners from those who left comments on my Growing In Unity blog posts last week.

The winners are Judy B and Cindy Thick. Ladies please email me at the link you see in the left sidebar under "email me!" ASAP. Please do this within two weeks or your prize of 25 random stamps from Unity will be forfeit.

Of course, I also have a couple of cards to share today as well using the December 2016 Kit of the Month - Always Been You.

There's a couple of big anniversaries in my family in October so I made these two cards to mark the occasions.

As always, thanks for stopping by!

A little extra Unity - After Dark

Hi folks,

Well, if you tuned in to my Growing in Unity posts this week, you know that on Tuesday I made mention of another version of one of that day's featured cards featuring an {after dark} sentiment. Well - here it is!

Commenting on this post doesn't earn you an entry into the draw for the goodies from Unity for commenting on the GIU posts - but it is appreciated all the same!! But please do double-check that you commented on the five previous posts so that you qualify for the draw! Two winners will be announced on Monday!

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Growing in Unity - Day 5

Hi folks,

Welcome back to my final day as this week's veteran Growing in Unity Gal.

If you are a frequent visitor, you know that I also sew. Specifically, I quilt. So it probably would come as no surprise to know that I have the "Sew Cute" set in my collection of stamps from Unity.

I don't have cards to share with you today. But rather, I made use of those cute little bags that are often tucked into the KOTM package from Unity and came up with these! I thought they would make cute little gift bags to tuck either a few small note cards or sewing notions into for friends of mine who also sew/quilt.

I must admit - I debated whether or not to share that last photo. This was actually the first bag I made and, while I know to be very careful with Copics when colouring on fabric, I wasn't quite careful enough and got a little colour bleed past my stamped lines. I was a lot more careful with the other two and it shows. Maybe I'll keep this one for me!

Now don't forget - be sure to leave a comment on this post if you would like to be entered into a draw to win a grab bag of 25 random stamps from Unity at the end of the week! I have moderation enabled on the blog comments so don't be alarmed if you don't see your comment right away - it will be visible once I approve it!

As always, thanks for stopping by! And don't forget - if you aren't bothered by the {after dark} collection, I'll have something to share tomorrow as well. It's not part of the official post for GIU this week - just consider it a bonus for those who share my sense of {edgy} humour.

Growing in Unity - Day 4

Hi folks,

Welcome back to Day 4 of my Growing in Unity Week. Like many of you visiting this week, I'm a subscriber to the Unity Kit of the Month so I decided that today I would share a couple of cards featuring this month's kit "Flowers, Foliage, & Fall"

Dearly beloved and I spent a few hours at his motorcyle mechanic's place for an emergency exhaust repair. While I was sitting around waiting, I was chatting with the mechanic's wife and she showed me her pumpkins and sunflowers that were just about ready to harvest. I was inspired to grab the pumpkin and flowers image to make these two cards.

Autumn - my favourite time of year!

Now don't forget - be sure to leave a comment on this post if you would like to be entered into a draw to win a grab bag of 25 random stamps from Unity at the end of the week! I have moderation enabled on the blog comments so don't be alarmed if you don't see your comment right away - it will be visible once I approve it!

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Growing in Unity - Day 3

Hi there and welcome back to my week as the Growing in Unity Gal.

I couldn't let the week go by without sharing some creations with a couple of Angie girls - and those lovely kraft shipping tags that often show up as a little extra in my kit of the month.

Up first, this card featuring Brystl Girl

At 5 x 7 inches, it's a bit larger than the cards I usually make but I really wanted to get all of the image on the card.

 And here's a card featuring Wakely Girl

One of the things I love about these stamps is that if you don't feel like colouring the image, you don't need to! Stamped like this onto a kraft tag (or kraft paper), they look just fantastic!

Now don't forget - be sure to leave a comment on this post if you would like to be entered into a draw to win a grab bag of 25 random stamps from Unity at the end of the week! I have moderation enabled on the blog comments so don't be alarmed if you don't see your comment right away - it will be visible once I approve it!

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Growing in Unity - Day 2

Hi folks,

Welcome to my second day as the Growing in Unity gal this week.

Today I thought I would share <gasp> a masculine card! Yes, I know we are all big fans of the Angie girls and all the feminine images but did you know that Unity has masculine stamps as well? You betcha!

Do you have "Not Always ... But" in your collection yet? I do!

And here's the cards I have to share with you today featuring this set:

To me the image looks like an old style portrait so I decided it needed to be framed as such. I actually have a couple of feminine images in this style and I'm thinking I'll be making cards similarly styled to these with this sentiment.

Oh - I ALSO have the {after dark} sentiment that goes with this set as well. If you pop back on Saturday (not part of the hop), I'll share the card I made with THAT one!

Now don't forget - be sure to leave a comment on this post if you would like to be entered into a draw to win a grab bag of 25 random stamps from Unity at the end of the week! I have moderation enabled on the blog comments so don't be alarmed if you don't see your comment right away - it will be visible once I approve it!

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Growing in Unity - Day 1

Hi folks,

This year I once again have the privilege of being a "Growing in Unity" gal for a week. All this week, I'll be sharing my creations with stamps from Unity Stamp Co.

I have quite a varied collection of Unity stamps so I had a very difficult time choosing what I would feature this week - I love them all! So, I hope you are ready for some eclectic posts over the next five days.

For my first day I decided to share - a couple of BABY cards with you. 2017 seems to be the year of the newborn amongst our family, friends, and neighbours. So far, there have been four newborns and there is another one about to arrive!

If you need a quick baby card (or two), I love the set "Hello Little One". The solid, graphic, cute wee critters come together in a baby card in a jiffy.

And here's the two baby cards I made:

Very simple, little cards. One of these will look great paired with the baby quilt that is about to be gifted. The colours coordinate with the quilt fabric which was selected to coordinate with baby's nursery.

Now don't forget - be sure to leave a comment on this post if you would like to be entered into a draw to win a grab bag of 25 random stamps from Unity at the end of the week! I have moderation enabled on the blog comments so don't be alarmed if you don't see your comment right away - it will be visible once I approve it!

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Butterfly Birthday Wishes

Hi folks,

Just popping in to share the birthday card I made for my Mom. She's a big fan of butterflies so I took a quick look at the pile of Unity KOMs I had sitting on my craft desk as I was pretty sure a couple of recent ones had featured butterfly images.

card details:

• finished size: 6 x 6 inches, white card stock base
• patterned paper: CTMH "Live Beautifully"
• stamps: Unity Stamp Co KOM {4/17} (butterfly), KOM {6/17} (sentiment)

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Live Beautifully - Graduation

Hi folks,


As promised, today I am sharing a recent creation featuring the "Live Beautifully" collection from CTMH - available only during May.

One of our nieces had her high school graduation prom recently and this is the card I made for her.

Here's the front of the card:

And here's the inside.

card details:

• finished size: 6 x 6 inches, black card stock base
• patterned paper: CTMH "Live Beautifully"
• stamped image and sentiments: Unity Stamp Co "Graduation Wishes" and "Sentiments for Graduates"

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Sewing Fun for a Birthday Girl

Hi folks,

Just thought I would pop in and share another Hello Lovely card.

One of our nieces just celebrated her 7th birthday and one of the other aunties thought it would be a great idea if we pooled our resources and got a sewing machine for the budding sewist. So, we all chipped in and got her a machine of her own so she wouldn't be borrowing her Mom's as she learned the ropes. I've already seen photos and a video of her sewing up a storm on her new machine so I think it was a definitely a well-received prezzie.

To go with her prezzie, I made this card. The quilters among you will recognize the background as a log cabin layout.

card details:

• finished size: 6x6 inches
• patterned paper: CTMH Hello Lovely
• stamped images: The Greeting Farm (the little girl) and Unity Stamp Co (the sewing machine)

As always, thanks for stopping by!

The Christmas card for my sweetie

Hi folks,


Well, I finally had time to edit the photo of the Christmas card I made for dearly beloved this year. It's been a busy Christmas season and I finally get to have some me time! Yay!

card details:

• finished size: 6 x 6 inches, white card stock base
• patterned paper: CTMH Oh Deer!
• stamped image: Unity Stamp Co "My Heart Melts" (Snowpeeps Frosty & Crystal)

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Just a few more!

I swear! I don't have THAT many more of this year's Christmas cards left to share.

These three cards use a couple of the ornament images from the October Kit of the Month from Unity Stamp Co - and yes, that retired Snowhaven paper from Close to My Heart. I still have oodles of that paper in my stash.

Challenges for these cards:

• Tuesday Morning Sketches #383: Anything Goes
• Tuesday Throwdown #323: Anything Goes

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone!

Today I'm sharing three cards I made with an image from the October Kit of the Month (Holiday Hugs) from Unity Stamp Co. They all use the same retired paper collection from Close To My Heart.

Enjoy your day!

Challenges for these cards:

• Tuesday Morning Sketches #383: Anything Goes
• Tuesday Throwdown #323: Anything Goes

Winter sparkle with Unity & CTMH

Hi folks,

Well Christmas is almost here and I haven't quite shared all of this year's Christmas cards. There are still a few more to go.

Here's a couple of cards using the same image from Unity Stamp Co - Eve Girl.

Both cards use the same paper collection - the retired Snowhaven from CTMH - and the same layout.

Those big sparkly snowflakes? Those are from a papercrafting kit from back in the day when I was on the DT for PaperworksCo. I miss those days. Peggy and the team were a fantastic group.

Anyways, thanks for stopping by. Hope you and yours have a wonderful Christmas!

Challenges for these cards:

• Tuesday Morning Sketches #383: Anything Goes
• Tuesday Throwdown #323: Anything Goes

Growing In Unity Blog Hop

Hi folks!

Today I'm taking part in a little Growing In Unity Blog Hop where past Growing In Unity Gals take the chance to share with you again a creation using our favourite Unity Stamps!

Be sure to visit each of the blogs on the hop and leave a comment for a chance to win!

If you came here from Rachel Bogner's blog, then you are on the right track.

Today, I'm sharing a card using one of my fave Angie Girls "Diana Girl".

Did anyone else watch "Wonder Woman" when they were a kid? Yup! I did! Maybe that's why I love this image. I had some fun with this card, using a clear acetate overlay with some gold dots on it to give this card some pop.

I won't keep you long. Be sure to hop along to your next stop at Deirdere's blog after you leave a comment!

And if you get lost along the way, the full list of stops is right here:

Sarah Vait Rachel Bogner Sheena Brooks >>> Here! Deirdere Smith Berina Febin
MariLynn DeGroot Lena Nunn
Unity Stamp Co Blog
Have fun hopping!

Have a kick ass birthday

Hi folks,

It's D&D night here at our house and tomorrow is the birthday of one of the nerd herd. Here's the punny card I made for him.

It's a big birthday for him - 22!

card details:

• finished size: 4.25 x 5.5 inches, kraft card stock base
• patterned paper: CTMH Rustic Home Fundamentals
• stamped image and sentiment: Unity Stamp Co Jack{ass}, coloured with Copic Markers (W0, W1, E41, E42, E43, R20)
• embellishments: CTMH Durables Studs
• layout: Unity {show and tell} sketch challenge

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Start Something New

Hi folks,

Just thought I would share the card I made for dearly beloved's Mom for her birthday. Since she is an avid reader, I thought this image was perfect for her.

card details:

• finished size: 6 x 6, black card stock base
• patterned paper: CTMH "Swan Lake"
• image: Unity Stamp Co "Start Something New", coloured with Copic Markers (Y21, YR21, YR23, YR24, YR27, E50, E51, E11, E00, BG10, BG11, BG13, BG15, W1, W3, W2, YR09, E37, G85, B39, Y17)
• sentiment: CTMH "Bitty Birthday"
• layout: Mojo Monday 462

challenges for this card:

• Unity Show & Tell: Fall Themed Challenge Sept 1-8

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Birthday Wishes

Hi folks,

Card maker confession time - I've gotten really bad about getting cards out on time for birthday celebrations. Part of it is lack of mojo, part of it is feeling tired and drained all the time, part of it is having to find just the right image and paper. I'm playing catch up this weekend so you can expect to see a few more better late than never cards in the coming days.

Anyways, this card is for my niece who celebrated her birthday back in July. She's in Ottawa this coming week for a sport camp with Encounters Canada so I will be able to give the card to her in person during our very limited visit time. They keep a close eye on the kids during their week here but her parents were able to give us permission to take her offsite for a couple of hours Monday night.

card details:

• finished size: 6 x 6, CTMH Flaxen card base
• patterned paper & sequins: CTMH Florence (retired)
• stamped image: Unity Stamp Co - July KOM - Glittering Eyes, coloured with Copic Markers (E000, E11, E02, E00, E93, E23, E27, E29, YG63, B91, B93, B95, B97, E41, E42, Y32, Y38)
• sentiment: Verve "Amazing Wishes"
• layout: Mojo Monday 463 (I didn't do tall and skinny but I was inspired by the sketch) 

as always, thanks for stopping by!