Little Lads and Little Ladies Tags {Unity Stamp Company}

Looking for my current giveaway? Find it HERE.

I am thrilled to be able to sneak into this week's Unity blog hop!
Although I am not technically a part of the Unity Design Team, I am one of Unity's Artists...so I was able to squeeze my way in. :o)

I am so excited to share my projects with you today! To create them, I used two new stamp kits (Little Ladies and Little Lads) that I created for Unity Stamp Company:

{Little Lads}

{Little Ladies}

These sets were created to be interchangeable with each other, and also with some of my previous sets: Meow. Purr. Baa. and Roar. Grr. Eek.

Here are the tags I created:

(The speech bubble and heart here are from the Meow. Purr. Baa. kit.)

I hope you love these new stamp kits! I loved creating them!

Don't forget: for today's blog hop, Unity is giving away two great prize packages! Be sure to leave a comment on each blog in the hop (including the Unity blog) to be entered to win. (The winners will be announced Monday night on the Unity blog.)

Continue hopping on through to the Unity blog, and then go shopping!

Thanks for stopping by today!


Supplies: 
Stamps: Unity Stamp Company (Little Lads, Little Ladies, and Meow. Purr. Baa.); 
Cardstock: Discount Cardstock (Brilliant White 110#);
Patterned Paper: My Mind's Eye (Cut & Paste: Adorbs 6x6); Studio Calico (Brighton Pier 6x6);
Twine: The Twinery (Spring Blossom, Shore, Cantaloupe, Solid Pink Sorbet, Solid Stone, Buttercream); 
Colored Pencils: Prang (50 Warm Gray, 19 Lake Red, 20 Tan, 60 Spanish Orange, 10 Brown, 7 Light Blue, 16 Yellow Green, 18 Pink);
Markers: Tombow;
Other: (washi tape);
Tools: Fiskars (Trimmer, Scissors);

Twine Bombed Twig Tree Display {The Twinery :: Blog Hop}

{Looking for my current giveaway? Look HERE.}

The Introduction:

If you are hopping along with us today: You should have come here from The Twinery blog. If you did, you are in the right place! Welcome!

If you aren't already a follower, I'd love to have you follow my blog!

If you are on Facebook, please "like" Ink Blots by TRD.

If you are one of my regular readers: Thanks for coming back! I love having you! Please feel free to join along in the hop - you can start at the The Twinery blog.

The Hop Order:

The Twinery blog

Tifany DeGough <--- You are here

Amy Crockett

Jeanne Jachna

DoBea Alberts

Anita Mulcahey

Jennifer Cuthbertson

Tobi Crawford

Stacey Schafer

Denise Hahn

Melyssa Connolly

The Project:

I was inspired by a display I saw at a library and the popular art of yarn bombing to do this "twine bombing" (twine wrapped) twig display for my daughter's room. I used the Twinery's Solid Caribbean twine for this, but any of The Twinery's solid or striped twines would work just as well.

My daughter LOVES color and can never have enough. For her, being in a rather neutral colored house is a tragedy. I've got a few projects in mind to add some color to her room (stay tuned to see more!), and this Caribbean twine tree was a fairly quick and easy way to add some color to the top of her bookcase. 

I started by gathering a few twigs from our backyard. I coated them with Mod Podge for a little extra stability and to seal them, but I am not sure this step was necessary. From here on out, all I needed was twine and a strong adhesive. (I added in some washi tape, too.)

Once I had my supplies together, I just needed to start wrapping the tree branches. I used some washi tape to cover the ends, then adhered the end of my twine down about an inch from the tip. I brought the twine back up to the tip from there and started wrapping (just so that the end was not exposed). Then I wrapped, wrapped, and wrapped some more. Where there was a fork in the branch, it took a a little extra patience to get it covered, but was still rather easy.

I combined a few twine wrapped branches and a few washi tape wrapped branches in a mason jar, tied a Caribbean twine bow around the neck of the jar, and my project was complete! 

Thanks for stopping by today!

The Next Stop:

Amy Crockett

Supplies: 
Twine: The Twinery (Solid Caribbean); 
Other: (washi tape);
Adhesive: Ranger (Glossy Accents); Plaid (Mod Podge);
Tools: Fiskars (Scissors);

The Beginner's Bible - Party Ideas & a GIVEAWAY

Today, my love of crafting and my love of books (and book reviews) comes together - with another fun addition...a giveaway!

Zondervan has always been very generous with my blog readers, and this is no exception. Zondervan/Zonderkidz is allowing me to give away a HUGE package of The Beginner's Bible books to celebrate 25 years! The prize package is valued at over $90!

To celebrate this great giveaway, I wanted to share with you a couple quick and easy ideas for a party using The Beginner's Bible Super-Duper, Mighty, Jumbo Activity Book. 

Just to be clear - I did check to make sure my projects would not violate the copyright of The Beginner's Bible Super-Duper, Mighty, Jumbo Activity Book...and I even double checked with the publisher, just to be safe.  

I made a bookmark and mini coloring book for the "goodie bags" and a banner for decoration: 

My six year old donated his coloring skills for the colored bookmark shown above. :o)

The bookmarks and mini coloring book were made in a similar fashion. I simply copied a coloring page from The Beginner's Bible Super-Duper, Mighty, Jumbo Activity Book and scaled it down to fit 4 on a sheet. I copied the scaled down version onto cardstock (which I cut up into bookmarks) and onto regular copy paper (which I cut to create the mini coloring book). The mini coloring book was completed with the addition of a cardstock cover. 

For the banner, I used full-size copies of a few of the coloring pages from The Beginner's Bible Super-Duper, Mighty, Jumbo Activity Book, which I copied onto cardstock and trimmed to size. I then punched holes in the top corners of each banner piece and threaded it with twine to hang.

Because I kept the banner pieces in simple black and white, I wanted to add pops of color with the twine.  I used strands of four different colors of twine to get the duo-tone bows.

The bookmarks, mini coloring books, and banner would be great for any party...just add crayons!

Now - about that amazing giveaway...

To enter the giveaway:

• Leave a comment on this blog post. That's it!

If you would like additional chances to win you can do so in one (or all) of the following ways:

• Follow this blog. {Please let me know you are a follower by leaving an additional comment.} 
• "Like" InkBlotsbyTRD on Facebook. {Please let me know you are a follower by leaving an additional comment.}
• Comment on any of my giveaway posts (associated with this particular giveaway) on Facebook. 
• Share about this giveaway on your own blog, Facebook, Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, or anywhere else. {Please let me know where you've shared by leaving one additional comment.}

Blog comments for the giveaway will close Friday, July 31st @ 11:59pm (Eastern) and the winner will be announced Tuesday, August 4th here on my blog.

Please remember to check back to see if you've won.

Note: Zondervan will ship the giveaway book(s) directly to the winner. Winner(s) can expect to receive their prize within 10 to 14 business days from when they submit their address information to me.

Zonderkidz/Zondervan's rules for giveaways:

Winner must be a US resident.

Winner must be able to provide a street mailing address (no PO Box, please) for UPS delivery.

Zondervan does not store, use, or sell the winners’ contact information or address(es).

Good luck!

Disclaimer: This giveaway is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook.

FTC Declaration: The publisher has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book or advanced reading copy. This does not change the fact that I will give my honest opinion in my reviews.

Supplies:
Twine: The Twinery (Solid Maraschino, Solid Marigold, Solid Peapod, Solid Denim); 
Other: The Beginner's Bible (Super-Duper, Mighty, Jumbo Activity Book);
Tools: Fiskars (Trimmer, Scissors); 

Stamped Cloth Napkins with Braided Twine Ties {The Twinery}

Hi there!

Today, I want to share a quick and easy summer project - stamped cloth napkins...all tied up with a braided twine tie: 

First, let's stamp those cloth napkins:

Photo One: Gather your supplies. (Plain cloth napkins, ink, stamps, and twine.)

Photos Two & Three: Stamp your image(s) onto the cloth napkins with ink that will be permanent on fabric. 

Photo Four: Use iron to heat set ink. 

Next, use three strands of twine (one yard each) to create a braided twine tie. I used two strands of The Twinery's Marigold twine and one strand of Pink Sorbet.

Tip: I went back to my friendship bracelet making days and used a binder clip to clip the twine to something steady while I braided it.

I simply knotted each end of the braided twine tie to keep the braid in place.

These stamped cloth napkins are prefect for dressing up those summer picnics...and also make great hostess gifts! 

Quick, easy, handmade, unique, and pretty...what more can you ask for in a summer project?

Supplies:
Twine: The Twinery (Marigold, Pink Sorbet); 
Stamps: Unity Stamp Company (Donna Poppies); 
Ink: Memento (Dandelion, Lilac Posies);
Other: Mainstays (White Cloth Napkins);
Tools: Fiskars (Trimmer, Scissors);