Eye Candy

Creativity Hiatus

My summer was full of loads of creative projects and so for now, papercrafting is taking a backseat for school. But maybe just maybe I'll get some pics up of past cards with all their amazing texture.

We'll see.

Stampin' Up! Independent Demo changes

1-Well since I've NEVER been a fan this does not change my opinion of the company in question, however, it changes all my favorite blog stops as I will no longer be viewing random SU! on blog hops.But I've never been a fan, believing that their stamps just don't have the 'Angie pizazz', rather I have avidly searched out happy stamping companies. Companies that allow people to be on more than one design team.

In fact I feel a lot of other craft companies encourage their products to be compared to others because they do not worry about inefficiency or lack of quality.

I am not a matchy matchy cute person, I like texture and freedom, to put on a 'mad scientist' hat to quote Tim Holtz and go to town. To create something that is unique to me, not like card parties with everything precut. Yes I am always the one who looks at it and says "well what if you did it different?" while others around me look at me like I broke a nice china plate.

So it is with a heavy heart that I see a hobby I love so much under attack for many fellow hobbyists. You see, this limiting of items is the very reason why I swore against crafting for years. It was not until I found reaffirment through Unity Stamps, Tim Holtz, Heidi Swapp and many many others that I realized that this craft is for creating, for making, in whatever form we want. With so many innovative tools with suggested use ideas, its clear the sky is the limit.

And for me, there are bits and pieces I like about different companies. However, stamp mogul, Stampin' Up! has decided that demo's that post projects listing other companies projects are no longer welcome.

One monumental hurdle for me is still submitting for publications under the new IDA; you cannot list using other products on items you submit for publication and if you do under section 20-b [I will be responsible for any and all legal fees or costs incurred by the Company to collect such debt, regardless of whether suit has been filed, includingfees in any mediation, arbitration, trial court, or any appeal.]they can in turn make you pay for legal fees if you advertise for other companies. How bad will this hurt other company's design teams and designers?

Other sources for people who are dumbstruck by this new Independent Demonstrator Agreement should check out Craft Critique who is documenting reactions as well as what Stampin! Up has to say.

A very eloquent Demonstrator's response by Cynthia is found here.

Changes For the Good

I added some delightful links on the side!

You should check them out. I love all the stylish ladies blogs and one even inspired me to go through my closet and organize everything.

So a trip to ikea later, 3 days later, 2 bags of clothes unworn for at least a year, and voila!

An organized closet with clothes I actually wear.

There were moments of utter frustration, anger, denial, pain, bargaining, reflection, the upward turn, thoughts of reconstruction and new organization, with new acceptance and hoe.

Thats right I fully grieved for my closet.

And once in this new found purge mode, I couldn't stop.

I argue it was to prep myself for my last year on my undergrad, but I don't know if thats wholy true.

MSH is quite the struggle for me at times. Of course I love the price and location, but living in under 500 sq feet in a fully FUNCTIONAL home is quite the task at times.

But among my favorite Ikea new organizers are the laundry hanging rack and the hanging closet organizers.

Truly amazing and it has just saved me at least $2.00 a month on taking my clothes down to the dryer.

Next on the ikea organizing list is the problematic computer desk. Things just get thrown there, its awkward and built into the apartment.

Does anyone have any suggestions or advice on what they do to keep problem areas clutter free?

I Love My Life!

So on the 4th of July, my sil told me she had free paper for me to go through! Its like Christmas in July! Anywho, so I went through it and the paper is divine. The deal: My sil's aunt works at a paper recycling place and they get loads of unused dp thats yet to be released to stores because there is something wrong with the packaging! The paper however is as beautiful as ever and so so lovely.

With upcoming CHA I'm fairly certain they are new papers that are unreleased to the public (that's how it was last Jan.). So I'm going to be careful not to put pics up of my paper until after CHA with projects. However, I have to say the papers are so so fun and quite divine.

Firsts

So this card has a lot of firsts for me. It's the first time I have cut out a stamped item for a card. I really liked the result, so me thinks that there will be some paper piecing in my future. It the first time I have threaded through a button. First project after the big clean sweep of my craft area. So really just a lot of firsts. And its the first time sewing on paper! I know, kind of kidish of me, but I couldn't not use my hand held sewer that was found at a rummage sale when I was in Wisconsin. It was only a dollar and its very very small and portable. Mary would even be hard pressed to tell me it was a stupid expenditure.



And its the first card picture I've taken during a nice sunny day. I was home for lunch and thought I'd take some pics before I send it on its merry way.

Hurray for a whole new lot of firsts.

Paper: Bazzill Cardstock, DP Basic Grey 'Wisteria'
Supplies: Vintage Button, Twine, Handheld Sewer, Cuttlebug Textiles folder
Ink: Colorbox Winter White, Tim Holtz Distress Ink Black Soot

Organized Space

My sister helped me review my craft closet this last weekend.

It.
Was.
Frightening.

And she took a few hours out of her last Saturdays in the US to bring order and control to my space.

What followed after many comments of "How can one person have so much paper" and "Do you actually use this?" and a garbage bag full of paper scraps and a donation bag was a lovely organized OCD eat your heart out space.

Luckily we forgot to take before pics.

But here are the Beautiful after pics!

I got the magnetic embellishment tin idea from my very talented cousin Erica!
An empty container perfect for crops and craft days elsewhere!
Hanging tools
Ribbon and more tools
Unity unmounted stamps
Paper organized into neutrals, warms and cools
Check out all that light and I can move it to just where I need it!

Ta-Da!

Mary really is awesome when it comes to organization, and I owe her so much.

Thanks Mar!

Wedding card I made. I really liked how the embossing really makes it pop.
Supplies: Cuttlebug
Textile Folder
Staz-On Brown
Unity April KOTM
Paper Bazzill
Rafia
Fiskars Border Punch

Fantastic News

Well this is potentially fantastic news. On Saturday I went to Roberts Craft in Brickhouse and the store was pretty bare. I asked someone about it and they said they were redoing the store, so NOW is the TIME to put in requests for ALL your favorite companies, especially the LITTLE ones.

Now I love my little LSS but I love the coupons I get at Roberts, not so much the selection but that could change very very soon.

So, for all people with a Roberts nearby go make all your requests and get us the selection we deserve.

I of course requested Unity Stamps, Spellbinders and all things Heidi Swapp.

Funky Thank You's

Some funky thank you's for an exchange tomorrow, lets hope none of them peek at my blog.

Supplies: Cardstock Bazzill, Flowers Primas, Buttons Stash, DP SEI, Stamps Unity April KOTM, Ink Distressed Ink Black Soot

Sizzix Adornment cut

Tis the Season

It seems that May is the kick off date for wedding season. I know of at least 5 weddings off of the top of my head that are soon which means time for wedding cards.

I made about a dozen of these cards for a card exchange in my neighborhood last month.

Supplies: Distress Ink, Martha Stewart Pearls, Bazzill Cardstock. DP Kaiser craft, Stamps Inkadinkado I really like how it turned out and know the cards will get used very quickly.

KOTM Blog Hop

If you didn't come from Dee's blog view the start of the Unity Kit of the Month Blog Hop by starting at http://theunitystampco.blogspot.com/ .

Thanks for dropping by on the Unity KOTM blog hop! What a fun hop to be apart of!
My project is a decoration for me at work.
The letters were purchased at my LSS and the papers were from my stash and include Colorbok, Cosmo Cricket, and MME. Stamps are all Unity and come from the Feb Endings and Beginnings and March Simple Life KOTM from this year. You can check them out here and here
This was a box that I customized to be my 'O' and stuck a pic of me dancing with dh.
The flower on here is a rub-on from my stash.
The flower is the only stamp not from a KOTM and it was in the Little Buggers set as seen here

Love Unity, they made this project and made it really pop. All the Past KOTM's are on sale this weekend, and being a KOTM member is really quite the bargain. One whole 8.5" x 11" sheet of rubber with about 19 stamps that are really big and perfect for all crafts for just $24.00. Really quite the steal.

Next up on the hop is -*Tiff*-. Thanks for stopping by.

Exciting News!

I'm so excited! Be back tomorrow morning and I'll have a post up for this! I love Unity, they are such fun and in stamps. Whats a more fashionable accessory than something you made yourself?

So this Blog Hop features people using one of the Kit of the Month Kits. This months kit that will be shipped tomorrow is this one

Each month they just get better and better, Unity has some very talented designers and a very talented DT. Every Thursday the DT has a 'Hip Hop' which is a blog hop and a full day of fun that all starts at Angela's blog here.

See you tomorrow!

Mother's Day

So my mother’s day project was 15 cards for my mom and my mother in law. It was pretty intense and I even had to solicit Ryan’s help.

Typically this should have been a pretty ok endeavor, but I didn’t start the project until Saturday morning and still had a very full weekend schedule. Why did I wait until then to get started? Well it was for my sanity what with finishing up finals just days before.

So because I rushed through the project and had help from Ryan I completely forgot to take pictures of them and so have absolutely nothing to show for them, but they were really cute.

I will have pictures up soon for a few projects! This means, I now have a working camera!

I am really happy about this after being without one for nearly half a year! Our friends were going to pawn one off, and knowing that the camera was working I jumped at the chance to get it!

Pleasant Surprises!

I got home last night and Ryan threw me a delightful surprise, My Unity had come! And a surprise scraponizer came with! It was so fun, of course I couldn't help but get it all inked up and started playing with it.

I made 7 LO's last night, and this from the girl who vowed to not scrapbook until I'm a mom, well I broke. And why? Well I was talking to my sister monday and we were talking about hoarding things and I completely justified scrapbooking as it centralizes the hoarding. And it made me start to think about my wedding pics I just stuck in a 12 x 12 album and it all went scrappy from there.

Although the clean up was a disaster, still is, all my alphabet stamps dried with brown stazon ink....

But it was really a lot of fun and once done, I was really happy with the layouts. Too bad I can't have creative time like that every day, but one day I'll have a lot more than I do now.

Other awesome news, I'm being given a past KOTM from the lovely people at Unity just for finally participating in the Hip Hop Forums! What a fabulous company, and what a great way to introduce newbies to Unity.

This is the kit I'm getting:

I'm too excited! I love all the flourishes and the quotes! soo fun! I'm already envisioning a layout with canning, and food storage, thanksgiving, halloween, buying our first home. It will be grand.

My other current orders include:

And of course their new storage containers for the unmounted rubber stamps! I just love the whimsical feel and optimism of the quotes, the awesome frame in birdie inspiration, and all the many possibilities with the feel the joy set! Perfect for graduations, mothers day, weddings, gratitude, birthdays.

Now with this new scrapbook bug I've got I must get a decent working camera, work on my picture taking skills, and just enjoy the journey.

April Showers Bring....

Another Unity Kit Of the Month and its a beauty. I just adore the dress stand and it will add an awesome vintage touch to anything! The kites are just too cute! The only hard thing about this kit is it won't be sent until the 15th and I'll probably get it on the 22. So the anticipation just might kill me but it will be well worth the wait.

In the meantime check out the Unity website for other incredible stamps!

Also, I found 4 sets of Nestabilities scalloped for under $75.00 check it out for yourself here.

They cut emboss and stencil and that special collection has the scallops for the oval, square, circle, and rectangle.... now I just have to convince Ryan... but this is a phenomenal deal as each set runs for about $25 plus s&h and when I have seen them at stores just under $30, so these are under $20 each including the s&h.

Tonight has a lot of projects in store, I said I'd make some cute (25) personalized thank you's for someone, but the only problem is I really have no idea just what her style is, in fact when I asked it confused me even more, well I guess I have a night to make a guess at it.

Pay It Forward

Pay It Forward

This has been going on on a few of the daily blogs I read, and I finally was one of the first 3 on my cousin Jessica's blog!

Here's how it works:
1. Be one of the first 3 bloggers to leave a comment on this post and you will win a handmade item from me!
2. Winners, you must post this challenge on your blog, meaning you will Pay It Forward, creating a handmade gift for the first 3 bloggers who leave a comment on your post about this giveaway.
3. You have 365 days to make/ship your item which can be in any price range. Remember it’s the spirit and the thought that count!
4. When you receive your gift, blog about it and share the appropriate link love. Don't forget to post your winners and your handmade gifts when you're done, too.

Can't wait to see who comments!

This is the Unity Inspirational Blog Hop what fun! If you didn't come from http://organisedmess.blogspot.com/, the beginning is here. There are over 200 people involved in the blog hop, so be prepared for the Unity love!

My project is a Birthday card for my Mom whose birthday is today. The March KOTM stamps worked out lovely.

My card uses Provocraft white cardstock, Bazzill brown cardstock, Colorbok DP, Prima's #6, and garage sale find buttons. Stamped in Versamark, colored in with pastels for a take flight look, and Craft Smart Embossing Ink White pad. Border is Fiskars Border punch 'dandy doodles'

An inspiring quote to me is:

"One word frees us of all the weight and pain of life: That word is love"
-Sophocles (496 BC-406 BC)

Next up head on over to http://www.kimbermcgray.blogspot.com/ and leave her some love!
Thanks for stopping by!

Easter Card

So eventually I finally bit the bullet and put together an Easter card among everything else that went on this week. I really struggled a lot, but finally pushed through and here is the end result.

Supplies Used: Craft Smart White Ink, Versamark Unity Feb KOTM, Colorbok DP, EK Success Corner Photo Holder Trumpet Bell.

I really like the egg, and am satisfied with the results

Blog Hop Tomorrow!

So Saturday is beyond busy for me, but how can I pass up the chance to be apart of a blog hop?

So tomorrow I'll be apart of the Unity World Record Blog Hop! So check back then for something cute.

Another Thank You Set

So I'm still massively struggling with what to make for my card exchange this Thursday, I have plenty of ideas, its just settling down and 'making' them.

Below are some cards that I thought turned out really well. The pics were taken with DH's macbook, and with that in mind the pics turned out really well. I really need to get on either fixing one of the broken cameras or finding another.

The cards were for a friend who just had a baby. Her style is so fresh and so clean, so I tried to keep my cards along with that style.


I love spring colors, and the stamps and paper just scream 'baby' to me.
For being good ol' Photobooth, the pics turned out pretty well. It took some maneuvering of the mac and flipping the photos so I could read the stamps. Love my Unity. The stamps are Unity's "Just My Type" and Feb KOTM. Paper is My Minds Eye, and Basic Gray. Buttons are garage sale buttons, and Flowers are Prima's.

Unusually Optimistic

So I wasn't quite sure where to stick this post, but I've finally decided it belongs here.

Its Wednesday, and I'm happily reflecting on this past weekend and weeks.

Last Saturday was a ball! My cousin Erica and I had a grand craft day! We went to a Scrapbook Garage Sale at the Bountiful and Taylorsville locations of Heartland Paper.

Its an amazing store and we got amazing deals. I'm going to try to be aware of the next time it happens and take some of my own items that are collecting dust so they can find happy homes where they can be used.

We went to a store in Sandy called Heartfelt Creations. My cousin had told me that they had everything and indeed they did. They had a better collection than any other craft store, it was straight up incredible. I even found Spellbinder Nestabilities, but still no Unity in Utah.

After a most excellent time shopping we went back to her house and looked over our spoils.

Her kids were adorable and I had so much fun playing with them, even though afterwards I was beyond tired and they still had oodles of energy. How can little ones so small have soo much energy?

They even got into the crafts and enjoyed coloring in the versamark stamps with chalk. The cricut case rather intrigued them and they wanted to open it and get into it. It reminded me of when I truly loved the Cricut and everytime I plaed with it for the first few months.

I guess I got tired of the novelty that everyone felt about the cricut, and now, days later, I remember when I was up there with them. I still have my many irritations, but its a pretty cool machine nonetheless.

Yesterday Ryan called me at work and said Provo Craft called and I now had a serial code that would work. So I'm excited about that, but I have to be careful about what machine I put the Cricut Design Studio on. Ryan newly acquired a free laptop that just has to be restored to factory settings last week. The timing made me feel like maybe, just maybe all of my stress with ProvoCraft has actually been for my own benefit.

I can't put the Design Studio on the Mac, but if the other laptop is restored then I will have a computer that will be a lot more convenient for both our tiny apartment, craft days and nights I go to, and other such things. I might even stop cringing from having to cut out individual letters individually for sayings as they will be able to be 'welded' together.

So I'm still irritated by the excessive accessories, but I'm going to be much more grateful to the cricut and even ProvoCraft. I'm happily surprised at the easiness of getting a new serial code for my defaulty one.

Still loving my Cuttlebug, and the embossing feature, I still want nesties, but I'm ok with what I have right now, and know its more than ample for the projects I want to do.

So now on my list is fixing the laptop, and then installing the CDS on it and then the sky is the limit.

Also, my KOTM should arrive today! What a fabulous Wednesday it is indeed!

March brings....

This is coming, very very soon and I'm uber excited. Love Unity, they just rock. For further Unity proof of love look at the below projects and notice the birds, 'thanks', flower and mushroom are all Unity stamps. They never cease to amaze me, I just wish there was a store, here in Utah that sold Unity...

I'll keep dreaming.

And in other news Provo Craft has not improved my opinion of them, the CDS still isn't authorized, I may ebay it and buy nesties with the profit.

Valentines

Ryan challenged me to make him a less girly Valentines Day Card, and so I think this card rose to the challenge very well.

I love square cards! They are so elegant and beautiful that putting the card together doesn't take as long. He thought the card was cool, and I think the green hard is my favorite stamp on the card.

Although I used more Rafia than I would have dared use on other cards, I love how big the bow is and have learned that all craft rules, biases and other limitations are meant to be broken.

Supplies: DP Basic Gray, Cuttlebug 'Swirls', Rafia Bow Stamps CDS Heart, Inkadinkado 'funky letters', Fiskars 'Fleur de Lis' border punch

Let it Snow?

The snow outside says its ok to post these cards and if the weather has to be the way it is, I would be ok with it being just around Christmas. I'm so ready for spring, but

Supplies: CDS stamps, cuttlebug ornamental tree, DP My Big Idea 'Fall Stack'

Supplies: CDS Stamps, My Big Idea 'Holiday Stack'

Oh well here's to the snow melting this afternoon and a return to warmer weather!