Growing In Unity Blog Hop

Welcome to the January/February Growing In Unity Blog Hop!

I had such a great time with my GIU week and I'm excited to share a project using the kit I received as a thank you. I chose Wonder, the November 2019 Kit of the Month. It's perfect for my wanderlust self and photos from my trips.

I loved the girl with her packed suitcases, so I chose to use her in my traveler's notebook spread documenting street life in Arusha, Tanzania. It's fascinating to watch life being lived. There is so much activity and what seems to be a chaotic environment, but there is order here. I chose to stamp her right onto my Gelli print background and leave the suitcases as is. I love the texture. I used opaque watercolors to color in the girl. You still get some of that texture showing through, but have the vibrant color too. I love how it turned out and I can't wait to get back to Tanzania. I have to go visit the piece of my heart that I left behind.

Be sure to visit all the blogs along the hop and leave those comments for a chance at an awesome Unity prize! You can find the hop order below.

Edelmira - www.winecheesescrapbooking.blogspot.com
Katie- https://katiedufourblog.wordpress.com
Laura - https://www.tapthumpart.com/2020/03/giu-blog-hop.html <<<You are here
Linda - https://blueskyscrapping.blogspot.com/.../unity-giu-blog...
Joyce - https://1ashjoy.blogspot.com/
Karen -https://www.tapthumpart.com/2020/03/giu-blog-hop.html
Selena -https://www.facebook.com/Live-Love-Craft-238059246879098/...

Until next time, happy stamping!

Handmade Papercrafting Parade

Today I am excited to be with Scrapbook.com as a part of the inspiring Handmade Holiday Papercrafting Parade, filled with fabulously festive holiday crafting. Join me and the rest of the team as we celebrate a week of unbelievable deals on Scrapbook.com's fabulous exclusive products! Be sure to leave a crafty comment at every stop along the way of this amazing parade hop to qualify for an unbelievable GIVEAWAY!

20 of your favorite crafters have used tons of Scrapbook.com Exclusive products to provide you with plenty of holiday cardmaking inspiration! You'll love seeing how we used products like the Exclusive Hybrid Inks, the revolutionary Domed Blending Tool, festive dies, cheery stamps and so many more! Come join us on this parade of Handmade Holiday Cardmaking Inspiration! 

November 26 - November 30 - Black Friday WEEK

Scrapbook.com Exclusive Products are at their Lowest Prices - 30%, 40% and 50% OFF!

A FREEBIE is offered each day, too!

Nov 26-28: Scrapbook.com Exclusive Doodlebug Pin

Nov 29-30: Scrapbook.com Exclusive Adhesive SAMPLER Pack

My project is a card featuring a starry night, die cut stars, with this big and bold sentiment.

Firstly, I created a night sky using the Midnight Blue Scrapbook.com Exclusive Hybrid Ink. Blends like buttah. A bit of white spray ink creates the starry night look. I cut out two star frames, using the exclusive Nested Star dies and painted them with Gansai Tambi gold paint. My third star is simply the center of one of my cut out frames. I stamped the JOY, from the exclusive Big and Bold stamp set, with Cardinal Red Exclusive Hybrid Ink and the TO THE WORLD in Midnight Blue. I cut the letters of JOY out and popped them up using the exclusive square foam adhesives. A sprinkling of sequins was my finishing touch.

You'll be so inspired after visiting each of the 20 stops that you'll want to create designs of your own, we just know it! Why not enter to win a Scrapbook.com Gift Certificate for yourself? 

Scrapbook.com is giving away a $100 Gift Certificate to ONE lucky winner! To be eligible, leave a comment letting us know a bit about your holidays at each of the 20 hop stops along with your email. It's that easy! Share a favorite tradition, a cherished memory, or a memorable handmade gift! 

Giveaway closes Tuesday, December 3, 2019, at midnight MST. The winners will be notified and announced no later than Monday, December 9, 2019. The winner will be notified through the email provided and has 72 hours to respond to claim their prize. for complete official rules, click here

GOOD LUCK!

HANDMADE HOLIDAY PARADE STOPS

(Leave a comment at each of these official stops to enter the Giveaway!) 

Alexandra Stapleton-Smith
Jess Francisco

Nicole Watt
Mona Toth
Amy Tsuruta
Terri Burson
Anita Trippi
Laura Volpes
Laura Mooney <<<<You are here
Brandi Mahon
Nanette Tracy
Daniel West
Ashley Ebben
Marie Heiderscheit
Erin Reed
Juliana Michaels

-- HOP OVER TO YouTube --

Justine Hovey

Heather Little

Ingrid Blackburn

Lorene Caido

Affiliate Links:

GIU Blog Hop

Welcome to the GIU blog hop! I decided to showcase the kit that I picked out as my reward; Enjoy Where You Are. I have had a number of people tell me that I look like the girl in this kit. I love everything else this kit has to offer too. I love these banners; they are going to be great for birthdays and other celebrations. The flowers are amazing too and who doesn't love some good stitched stamps?

Next up in the hop is Joan. Be sure to comment for a chance at winning a giant grab bag of Unity Deeply Etched Red Rubber.

Until next time, happy crafting!

Coffee Loving Cardmakers and Graciellie Designs Blog Hop

Welcome to the Coffee Loving Cardmakers and Graciellie blog hop! Your one stop coffee project fix.

I chose Stay Strong for my card. I just love this coffee cup with it's fun whipped cream with sprinkles. I paired it with the Coffee Lovers digi paper pack. I adore this wood grain background paper; it's the perfect pairing for all of you coffee loving  projects.

Next up is Esther Asbury. Be sure to leave a comment on all the blogs for your chance to win $25 to the Graciellie Design shop. Commenting open until Friday, July 26th at 11:59 pm with winner announced the following week.

Here is the hop order:

Coffee Loving Cardmakers

Amy Tsuruta 

Robyn Jordan

Lisa Bzibziak

Erin Thiem

Kerry Urbatch

Annette Allen

Kathy Schweinfurth

Lori Turner

Lisa Golzbein

Dana Warren

Graciellie Design

Laura Mooney <<<You are here

Esther Asbury

Gloria Hayoung Lee

Tenia Renee Nelson

Blog Hop Prize $25 Gift Card to gracielliedesign.shop

Special Coffee Lovers Sale 25% off everything! No code needed. 

Graciellie Designs Birthday Blog Hop

Good morning! I am excited to to be joining Graciellie Design's team of Ambassadors. Graciellie is an artist I deeply admire and her heart is as beautiful as her art.

Today we are having a blog hop in honor of her birthday, showcasing the June release of new digital stamps in the shop. First up is this gorgeous daisy from Tulips and Daisies. I printed off one large flower and two small. I went with the simple white flower palette, just giving the valleys some simple shading, with a pop of yellow in the center. I arranged them on this fun Polka Dot paper from the Summer Sunshine digi paper pack and double matted.

My second birthday card features Hey Friend. I watercolored the feather, leaf, and flower. I cut the base out using a wonky stitch die, wrapped some twine, added my sentiment, and again double matted. 

I hope you have enjoyed this stop in the hop. Be sure to visit all the blogs and comment for your chance to win $25 to the shop! You're going to want to win this and pick up some fabulous digi stamps and/or paper packs. Until then, enjoy 40% off everything in the shop, no coupon needed.

Next up, be sure to visit the fabulous Sathya Kala for your next stop in the hop. And start here if you need to find the beginning.

Until next time, happy crafting!

I {Heart} Fall

It's the first ever ScrapStuffz Inspired By blog hop, Hooray For Fall!  You should have come here via Shirley's blog.  If you get lost along the way, be sure to go to ScrapStuffz to find the full hop list.

We were given this inspiration photo

And this sketch

This is what I came up with

Seriously, Fall is my favorite time of the year.  I think the new year should start September 1st, not January 1st.  I love the crispness in the air, the color in the trees.  I love football and school starting just seems like a new beginning.  We have these concrete sculpture things at a park in town that have shape cutouts in them.  I lined up my shot, through the heart shape, to include the pretty leaves in the background.  

To make my background, I die cut some leave and applied some gel medium through the negative.  Then I pulled out my new gellatos and scribbled color in various places, wet, and spread around.  I set it aside to dry and when I pulled it out, I almost chucked it to the side because it was really bright and not quite the look I was going for.  Instead, I pulled out my distress ink and stamps and went to work grunging it up.  I like it a lot better!  It gives that rustic feel that comes with Fall.  The leaves not only turn colors, but start browning and have a cool distressed look about them.   I added some burlap and paper, a fun embellishment, cute title letters and a bit of journaling.  

I hope you have enjoyed your stop here.  Be sure to play along by leaving comments, making your inspired by layout and joining ScrapStuffz.  Your next stop on the hop is Devra!  Be sure to find our what creative genius she has for you! 

Playing It By The Numbers

Welcome to the # of photos blog hop, where we are each given a number of photos to include in our layouts.  You should have arrived here from Dana's blog.  If you are just joining in or are a bit lost along the hop, be sure to visit Amanda's blog 

I am last along your journey and I am scrapping with 7 or more photos.  I love to take photos and they are all my favorite and do their part in telling the story, so I love to use many photos.  This can be tricky, but the first thing I do is start with a two page spread.  Sometimes I like to use a sketch, other times I just print out a bunch of photos and arrange them on my own.  Using a grid pattern can be a great way to add a bunch of photos to your layout.

For this layout, I chose to print my photos in a few different sizes and group them in a cluster pattern.  Think a grid with the photos pulled together and overlapping with one another.  I really like this look, and it had been a while since I employed the technique.  I just fussed with them until I liked the look I got, then adhered them to the page.  I used different sizes to give interest to the cluster.

The story I had to tell here is of my son's trip to a Formula Drift event that he took with his friends.  They had a blast and he had never really done anything like this before.  I love that they took a bunch of Instagram photos that they shared with me so I could get this down on paper.

Thanks so much for hopping with us today!  Be sure to check back with Amanda or a fun way to play along with us.

The layout

Mother's Day Blog Hop!

Ahhhhh a day to celebrate Mom.  Mom deserves to be celebrated!  She does so much for us.

I hope you are joining us from the beginning at Amanda's blog.  If you are starting here, or just plain lost, hop on over to Amanda's to start at the beginning.

Today I have 3 cards for you, all a little different, and a cute story.

The story with this card is that I showed it to DH and the first thing he said was, "Oh, it's ripped." and tried to "fix" it.  Then I went to show it to DS and he says, "Oh, bummer, it's ripped.", and then tried to smooth it out.  What is it with guys and their need to "fix" everything?!?

This is just a sweet card.  I like it.  I spray inked a piece of white paper with green and then stamped on the still wet background.  It made a cool effect, I think.  I fussy cut the doily and flower, added gems and letter stickers, and voila!

Now, doesn't every mom want to be Queen for the day.  I think this is a great way to celebrate Mother's Day.  Doing whatever you want!  Both the cards and the chair are stamped and cut out.  I used watercolors to color in the flowers and dots on the chair.  I used some packing tape over the images, before I cut, to give them a sheen and to make them sturdier.

Thanks for stopping by!  Head on over to Jennifer's blog for some more fabulous ideas to celebrate the mom in your life.

I Spy

Welcome to the Leafing Memories Blog Hop!

You should have come here from Kathy's blog.  If not, hop on over to Amanda's blog to begin at the beginning.

To be honest, I had the hardest time coming up with what I was going to do for this hop.  We were supposed to do a layout with photos that had leaves in them.  I thought, "Great!  The Fall leaves are so pretty here."  THE LEAVES HAVEN'T CHANGED!  At all!  Ok...plan B...what is plan B...I have no clue!  Then I remembered this little guy I photographed while visiting my mom this summer.  I have never seen one of these before.  We almost walked right by him, but he was on a branch that overhung the trail and my step dad spotted him.  Super cool!

I also used three of the very same photo.  I've always admired this technique, but when you have so many photos, you just don't have a use for using one photo three times.  I also got to use these really cute leaves that I won as a prize from Sketchy Thursdays.  I ran them through my embossing machine to give them a cute textured look.  I also love that my rub-on letters had that pieced/ransom sort of look.

And now you have your chance to win!!  Take the inspiration we've provided you and create your own project that is leaf inspired.  Post it to your blog, gallery or Flickr and share the link with the Mr Linky widget on Amanda's blog  You have until the end of day Sunday, Oct 23 to post! 

Thanks for stopping by.  Be sure to check out Melissa's blog

The Twins

Welcome to the Summer Blog Hop!

You should have come here via  Amanda's blog  If you are lost or just tuning in here, start out at Amanda (Okgirl's) blog  Thanks Okgirl for organizing another fun sketch blog hop.  Along the way you will get to see what a group of us, a pretty large group, have done with a sketch that Amanda designed herself!  I hope you enjoy hopping your way through all of our sites.  I will draw one random comment, who's author is a follower to win a prize :)  Be sure to link up your own creation on Amanda (Okgirl's) blog in order to be in the running for the grand prize!

I actually really enjoyed this sketch.  There is a simplicity, yet great texture in it.  I chose the photos of a hike we did at the end of last summer.  I woke up feeling a bit queasy, but sometimes I do first thing.  I usually feel better as I get going.  So, I went forward; had some oatmeal.  Halfway through, I decided I wasn't ready to eat.  We went ahead and hit the trail.  About a mile up, it became clear that I was getting sick and really not feeling well.  It was a beautiful hike and I said I could go on.  We got near the end and to a pretty serious uphill section.  By now I was really not feeling well.  John trucked right on up and waited for me to just take my time and go slow.  He even shouted encouragements down back at me.  Really the view from the top was so worth it!  Just stunning.  And it was a gorgeous day.  He tried to get me to eat a little.  I think I had 3 bites of PB&J.  I ended up sick the rest of the weekend.

It wasn't a bad experience though.  I would really like to go back and hike it again.  Parts of the trail reminded me of something out of Lord of the Rings.  John and I really enjoy the hikes we take together.  Oregon is so beautiful and we are just sharing time together in this beauty!

Of course the sketch is a one page sketch and I have turned it into a double page layout!  I really do like double page layouts the best; plus I enjoy adding to the sketch and making it more.  I would like to gain in skill in this area.

Be sure to create your own layout with this sketch and link it up with the Mister Linky at Amanda (Okgirl's) blog  Now hop on over to Cassie's blog



The double

The sketch

June Blog Hop

Welcome to the June Blog Hop!  This is my first time as a hopping destination and I am pretty excited about it! If you are starting here, hop on over to Amanda's blog  to get started.

We were asked to use a sketch in a couple of different ways.  I have done a layout and two cards.  It is a very nice sketch and it will become a regular one for cards, I think.

Here is the sketch

As you can see by past posts, I am mainly a two page kinda gal.  I just like the eye to take in all the same subject and design when looking through my albums.  As you can see, I turned the sketch into a two page layout by flipping the photo box and stretching out the embellishments to cover both pages

I admit, I had been putting off scrapping these photos because it was such a bittersweet moment.  It was really the end of an era for our family.  Both kids have been heavily involved in band from 6th to 12th grade and both were in marching band as Drum Majors.  We marched in a local parade near the end of school and it was decided that my son would hand off the Drum Major job halfway through the parade route to the new Drum Major.  I was in the front, carrying the banner, trying not to cry.  My good friend took these photos for me.  I was one proud Momma!

This is one of the cards I did and I just love it!  The sketch is such a good one for a card.  I plan on using it again.

In fact, I made one right away!  It can be used in so many fun ways.






Thanks for stopping by, leave a comment and you may just win a prize!  Become a follower and I will draw a prize winner from my followers on Sunday and post by Monday.  Now, hop on over to see Steffanie