Art {Journaling} Inspiration Journal iw6.8.16

Today's Inspiration Journal page was super simple and did not use many products at all. It would have been fast too if it wasn't for the drying time. I actually got impatient and removed my stencils before I should have but oh well. And because the pages were so wet, you can see my inclusion (a paper bag) got pretty soggy. But I love lumps and bumps so it is all good. :)

The stamps are from Donna Downey's line at Unity Stamp Co. I love the 'I Am an Artist' set because the words are such a great size. The word 'create' below is from that set and is 4 inches long.  The only paints I used were three colors from my Kuretake watercolor set. And of course, one of those colors had to be pink. :)

Stamps: Unity Donna Downey Art and Possibility and I am an Artist, Illustrated Faith date stamp 

Stamp Ink: Hero Hues India Ink 

Paints: Kuretake watercolors #33, 34, and 51; Liquitex gesso; black gesso in mini mister

Tools: Stencil Girl Flower Party stencil, Tupperware vintage doily, Tim Holtz tiny attacher 

Embellishments: misc. tag

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great week!

Product List (click product tags for more information)

View blog post for supplies

Hip Hop {Thursday} My Farewell!

Welcome to my final Hip Hop! You should be joining me from Heather B's blog! I know she had something fun for you over there! And if you haven't joined me from Heather's blog, hop back to the Unity blog to start the entire hop from the beginning! You wouldn't want to miss any of the fun!

I created a Thank You card today to say "thank you" to Angela as I leave the team officially today. It's been fun! For my card, I used my 'favorite of favorite' background stamps--the Unity Distressed Dots stamp. Can you find it? Yes, it's on the strip of paper with the ribbon and the butterfly. I then used two other Unity sets on this card--the Unity Simply Said set (sentiment) and the Unity April KOTM Fresh Beginnings (butterfly). And see how I squeezed a bit of my favorite color (baby pink) on here. :) Now hop on over to ***Valerie's blog*** to see what fun she might have waiting for you! Valerie is our Unity KOM Contest Winner! Yeah Valerie! Have a blessed Thursday everyone!

Things are a Changin'

Happy Friday everyone! I thought I would share a little update about me and my design work. I have been praying for some time for God's direction in my work. I need to be using my work to glorify Him in all things! I thought I had my answer a few weeks ago but wasn't sure. You know how you want to see that "billboard" sometimes. :) LOL! Anyway, He clearly showed me this week what I am to be doing for Him. Of course, the His Holy Name and Scripture Challenges will continue as they have been. In fact, He has already given me thoughts for 2010. How awesome is that? I am SO excited. These challenges are one of my favorite things I am blessed and able to do!

Second, He has called me to step down from my design team position with Unity Stamp Co. It has been a fun journey but I must go where the Lord leads. Thank you Angela for an amazing 9 months on the team! My last day should be our Hip Hop {Thursday} this coming week, April 9th.

Third, He has called me to be part of a new publication--Christian Paper Crafts Magazine. Our first pub will be out in August 2009! You can find out more about it here. Please know that this is a work in progress so be sure to bookmark it and check the website often! :) I am SO excited.

And fourth, He has called me to one more thing that I cannot share just yet. I was approached this week, and it was truly the "billboard" that set these changes in motion! Praise God for His clear guidance, and I will share as soon as I can. :)

There will be a few other changes in the month or so ahead but my work for Memory Box Co. will continue also. I am SO excited about that venture too! Dave is amazing to work for! I will also share some guest design team work for Cut Card Stock next week and in July for Jillibean Soup! Yum!

Thank you to all of my subscribers for your comments, your support, and prayers. My other posts (Tuesday's Tips, Organizational Friday, etc.) will also stay the same. I guess I just want to let you know where I am going and how the Lord is leading me. I pray you will continue to join me on my journey of papercrafting for Him! Have a blessed and joyous Friday everyone!

Unity Blog Candy Winner

Okay, for the winner of the blog candy from yesterday's hop, I decided to do something different. Instead of using random.org as I usually do, I had one of my daughters pick a number between 1 and 87. Thankfully, she picked kind of low so I didn't have to count through too far. LOL! :) Anyway, the number my daughter picked was 25!! And lucky number 25 is:

Kathy H.!

Yeah Kathy! Be sure to email eryn@unitystampco.com and let her know that you were the winner from Patter's blog! Have a great day, and congrats! :)

Hip Hop {Thursday} 'Take Note' Notepad!

Welcome to another fun Thursday with Unity! You should be joining me from Heather B.'s blog! Isn't she amazing? If you didn't start at the Unity blog, you will want to head back there so that you don't miss any of the amazing design team inspiration and fun!

Today, Angela is releasing two sets today--Tickled Pink and Bouncy Blue. Yes, you guessed it, they are wonderful baby themed sets! Angela wanted us to share a baby photo so here is a picture of me with my mom from Easter 1966. Yes, I was 8 months old there! Isn't my mom beautiful? She still is just as beautiful inside and out! I am blessed! Love ya Mom!!
Now what "mom-to-be" doesn't need a notepad nearby? I always told people in my childbirth classes that "your brain cells shrink as your uterine cells stretch." So, in an effort for any mom-to-be or goodness ANY MOM to remember things, I created this fun matchbook style notepad. It measures 3 1/2"x4 3/4", and I fill it with junk paper. Why not use the back of the paper for notes and recycle a bit? It's super easy to make and so cute. I made my first one in 2007 but it was a bit larger. I like the smaller size to fit in my purse. I used the Unity April KOM (the butterflies and the scroll stamps) for my notepad. Once I cut the scrap paper, I use my Crop-a-Dile to punch holes through all of the paper and ribbon. The brads are larger brads, and you can add more paper as needed!

Thanks for stopping by today. Now you can head on over to Linsey's awesome blog to see what she has in store for you today! Enjoy the rest of your day everyone!

Unity April Kit of the Month!

Okay, I say it EVERY month--this kit is my favorite! Well, they ALL are my favorite. The Unity kits are the best there is in my opinion! Where else can you get approx. 20 deeply etched rubber stamps for $24 that work for cards, altered items, AND scrapbook pages? Wow! Look at April's kit. Isn't it yummy? To join the Unity KOM club, either click on the pink cupcakes on the left-hand side of my blog under the banner, or click here! :)

The Unity design team decided to have a little challenge amongst themselves with this kit. The challenge was for us to create a card or a layout:

1.) with a Spring them . . . or . . .
2.) use the colors pink, blue, green, and yellow . . . or . . .
3.) use either faux or real sewing.

I decided to take Challenge No. 2. :) Here is my little card I created with the April kit: I used a portion of the "thinking of you today*hope to see you soon" sentiment, and then I used the girls holding hands. Aren't they cute? You can bet, I will be turning that stamp into triplets at sometime or another! :) I am sure it will be precious on a layout of my girls. And the ribbon border comes from a technique challenge on Splitcoaststampers. You can find the instructions and thread here.

The other designers that took part in the challenge are:
AJ Otto
Christi Snow
Jeanne Streiff
Jimmi Mayo
Maren Benedict
Amber Height
Chelsea Cook
Robyn Weatherspoon
Heather Brown
Brooke Lien
Jen Erickson
Jennifer Buck
Julie Campbell
Renee Morris-Dezember
Wendy Chang

Be sure to visit their blogs to see what challenge they chose, and what they did with the Unity April KOM!

And lastly, are you interested in becoming a Guest Designer for Unity? Well, you can see all of the details in this thread here. I hope you will join us and play along! And please be sure to stop by Julie's blog! Julie is our May guest DT member and an incredible artist!

Well, have a great Wednesday everyone! See you tomorrow for Hip Hop!

It's a World Record {Blog Hop}: Ad Inspiration

Welcome to our world record hop!!! How fun to see over 200 people signed up today! Can you imagine all of the amazing pieces of inspiration you will see? Wow! The blog hop starts on the Unity blog. So, if you didn't start at the beginning, be sure to start back there!

Today I used an ad for my inspiration! As soon as I saw this in a catalog, I knew what I wanted to do! Here is the ad: And here is my card: I used the Unity Hearts of Old background stamp and the Unity Simply Said set. I used my Quickutz to cut out the flowers and wire from Hobby Lobby for my flower stems. There are not any patterned papers on here at all. It is all Paper Trey cardstock! :)

And before I end today, I wanted to leave you with one of my favorite quotes/verses:
Romans 8:28 "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose."

Now hop on over to Dawn's blog to see what she has created for your inspiration today! Happy hopping, and have a blessed weekend!

Hip Hop {Thursday}

Well, happy Hip Hop everyone! I am glad to be one of your first stops today! You should be joining me straight from the Unity blog today!!

Angela is releasing a new set today called "Floral Friends" by Lisa Hetrick. I wanted to share one of my best friends with you--my precious and amazing "little sister." We live about 1,000 miles apart, and it kills me that we don't see each other but MAYBE once a year! I have been blessed by a sister who I can proudly say is also my best friend. She understands me and still loves me even though I was her "bossy" older sister. LOL! She is there for me, and I am there for her. I couldn't have been more blessed! Here is a picture of her from 2004 with her twins and singleton. Yes, we both even have multiples, and our mom is an identical twin! I love you dearest sis!!!!!! (And thanks for letting me share this picture today!) :) Love ya!Isn't she beautiful? And aren't those the cutest kids ever? Oh, and you should see them all now!!!!! I will just say my sister is in grave trouble! LOL!

Okay, so up until this week, I had never heard of May Day baskets. So, in light of learning something new, I thought I would share the little 'basket idea' I came up with. This particular 'basket' is my absolute favorite water mug. I use it from the moment I wake up until I go to bed. I actually have three so they do get to be cleaned. :) Anyway, I purchased one for my sister too. I mailed it to her but I would have much rather presented it to her this way--in a little 'cup sleeve' with flowers.

To make the cup sleeve, I just sewed together some of my favorite pink fabric. Then I stamped on a bit of cotton with Staz-On timber brown, added a few buttons, and there you have it! The stamp I used were the flowers from the Unity March KOM Simple Life. I love how it turned out but next time I think I will make it cover more of the mug! :)

Well, I hope you enjoy the rest of your hop. I am sure you will see a lot more amazing May Day ideas as you go along today! And don't forget to join us this Saturday for our World Record Inspirational Unity Blog Hop! For more information and to sign up, see this thread here. Have fun, and your next stop is the creative Wendy! Enjoy!

Egg-ceptional Hip Hop {Thursday}

I hope you have enjoyed your Hop thus far! Today, you should be joining me from Chelsea's blog. If not, be sure to go back to the Unity blog so that you do not miss any of the specials or fun things that Angela has posted!

Today, Angela released an egg-specially adorable image called Love Ewe by Lindsay Spencer. These adorable lambs were perfect for my His Holy Name challenge page this week! So of course, I had to use them! This is a 6x6 page. I used my Copic markers on the lambs along with Stickles to highlight the trees on the Memory Box paper. Amos 4:13 "He who forms the mountains, creates the wind, and reveals His thoughts to man, He who turns dawn to darkness and treads the high places of the earth--the Lord God Almighty is His name."

Now before hopping onto Lynn's blog, be sure to visit the Moxie Fab Paper Crafts blog for your chance to win some stamping goodness! Now hop over to Lynn's blog to see what fun she has for you today. Thank you for stopping by and happy Thursday!

Unity DT Tuesday!

Happy Tuesday everyone! Today is my day to be featured on the Unity blog. I love playing with all of the amazing stamps that Unity has to offer! Yum, yum! For today's "feature," I created a card and a layout. For both creations, I played with the new Basic Grey Marrakech collection. Such fun papers.

For my card, I used the Unity March KOM, Simple Life. I "globbed" a bit of Stickles Frosted Lace on the center of each flower for some added dimension and fun!And for my 9x9 layout, I used several sets. The journaling tag is from the Unity March KOM, Simple Life, and the fish and sentiments are from the Unity set Beach Days & Sun Rays. I pieced the fish with Basic Grey papers to give them some more fun color!Well, thanks for stopping by and letting me share some Unity goodness with you! Be sure to visit the Unity blog too, and have a blessed day!

His Holy Name {Challenge 6, Almighty}

Challenge Word 6: Almighty
God’s Attribute: God is God Almighty, El Shaddai. He is Omnipotent. He has unlimited power and unlimited authority. Nothing is impossible for Him or beyond His reach.

Almighty=Unlimited Power=Omnipotent

Ann Spangler notes that “El Shadday reveals God not only as the one who creates and maintains the universe but who initiates and maintains a covenant with His people. Shadday occurs 31 times in the book of Job and 17 times in the rest of the Bible.”

How does this affect my daily life? Do you try to solve problems on your own? Do you only take the “big” things to God and feel like you shouldn’t bother Him with the small things? How about those daily temptations? Well, nothing is too hard for Him (Genesis 18:14). And the same Almighty God who created the universe wants you to display His power through you even for the small things. When we rely on Him and allow Him to equip us, He will be glorified. All things are possible through Him (Matthew 19:26).

Maybe He has called you to a new ministry. Maybe you are scared and you think that you cannot do it. Well, if the Almighty God has called you to it, He will equip you through His power. But you must remember to rely on Him and not your own strength. That is something I have definitely had to learn with these challenges and as a leader in Bible Study Fellowship. But the blessings that come from it far exceed any feelings of fear that I might have had! His power is amazing!

Whatever you have been trying to do in your own power, let it go and give it to the Almighty God. Will you let Him give you His power and glorify Him through it?

For my page today, I used the new Unity release Love Ewe. Aren't those sheep adorable. And I used Memory Box Butterfield papers to create the scene. The verse I used on my page:
Amos 4:13 "He who forms the mountains, creates the wind, and reveals His thoughts to man, He who turns dawn to darkness, and treads the high places of the earth--the Lord God Almighty is His name."

Remember to use the Keyword HHN09 when posting in online galleries, and to chat about the challenge, join us in this thread here on Splitcoaststampers.

Let me end today with something I read from Max Lucado, “If your God is mighty enough to light the sun, could it be that He is mighty enough to light your path.” Let the Almighty God equip you to resist the temptations, equip you for ministry, and equip you through anything and everything! To Him be the power and the glory forever, Amen!

Hip Hop {Thursday}

Happy Thursday everyone! Again, I am near the end of the hop, so at this point you are REALLY close to that blog candy! :) You should be joining me from Jimmi's blog. If not, hop on back home to the Unity blog so that you can start from the beginning!

We have several anniversaries and birthdays this month in our family! Wednesday is my grandparent's anniversary. Then six days later, my husband and I will celebrate our 20th anniversary! I can't believe it! I am so blessed by such an amazing man! Anyway, I wanted to make an anniversary card to mail to my grandparents, and the topiary in the Unity March KOM Simple Life was perfect for it! I wanted the topiary to "pop" so the rest of the card is white, and I used my Cuttlebug to emboss part of it. I pieced the topiary with Basic Grey papers, and then I used my Copic markers to color in the rest of the topiary. I also used my Glue Dot pop dots to make it stand out a bit. Well, thanks for joining me today. Now hop on over to sweet Laura's blog to see what amazing creations she has this week! Happy Thursday, and I will see you on the boards!

Organizational {Friday} Unmounted Stamp Storage

It is FINALLY done! I have reorganized ALL of my unmounted stamps. It was a huge undertaking but I think it will be worth it. I really had no desire to redo my storage. I loved what I was using; however, wouldn't you know it, the storage product I used is no longer available. I have been so frustrated because I loved those Inque Boutique cases! Loved them! Anyway, if you want see how I used to store my unmounted stamps, look here.

WARNING--LONG post ahead! This is going to be a lengthy post but I wanted to be able to share everything with you today. So, sit back, take notes, save the link, whatever. I just hope it is helpful to some of you in some small way!

Now for the reveal of my new storage system. :) Lisa Hetrick e-mailed me a link to this site. These amazing storage boxes will fit a minimum of 3 pages of stamps. Lisa actually gets 4 pages in each of her boxes. Please be sure to see Lisa's post here. She has posted her storage system for these boxes too today, and she has some awesome pictures to share! This will give you more ideas too! Anyway, each page fits the equivalent of one of my old Inque Boutique storage boxes. So, one new box now holds THREE of my older storage boxes worth of stamps. As a comparison, you can see how I stored the Unity Birds of a Feather set in the old case (first photo), and now how they all fit on one page in the new boxes (second photo). The stamps I am putting in these boxes are all deeply etched rubber on the thicker EZ Mount. If you have clear stamps or use the thinner EZ Mount, you will be able to fit a LOT more in each box!!! The boxes I purchased from Univenture were the "UniKeep™ 1.25" View Case Binder™ - A5 (Clear #1331)." I also bought a couple of the smaller cases "UniKeep™ .75" View Case Binder™ - A5 (Clear #1329)" to keep my stamp inventory pages in. I will share that below.

The boxes do not come with storage pages. There are several things you can do. You can laminate your own chipboard or heavy cardstock, or you can buy these awesome pages from Gina K. They cost $2.95 for 4 pages. Now for me, I felt it was cheaper to buy them from Gina. Once I figured out how much the laminate would cost, then the cardstock, and the time factor in making the pages, it was well worth it for me to purchase them. But this at least gives you a couple of ideas. Now let's look at my boxes! :) Here is what my stamp boxes look like all lined up: **Please note that I no longer use the Excel file below for my inventory; however, it may be a great option for you! I changed over to a Rolodex file which I love much better. You can see complete details on my Rolodex inventory here. :)

You can see that each box has a number. On my stamp inventory sheet, it tells me which box the stamp is located in. So I will not have to search boxes anymore for the right stamp. I just look at my inventory sheet, see which box number the stamp is in, grab the box, and stamp away! For the inventory sheet, I created a Microsoft Excel file. I entered EVERY single unmounted stamp I own into the spreadsheet. Each stamp shows the set it is from, the company, the box number, and the category. I can then sort my sheet on the set name, category, or whatever works best for me. I am currently keeping a printout of them by category in my inventory binder though they are stored with their original set. Here is what an inventory page looks like sorted by Set Name and then Stamp Name: And here is what an inventory page looks like sorted by Category and then Stamp Name: I also have pictures of each set in my spreadsheet, and I have printed this too. Here is what one of those pages looks like: And here is what my inventory binder looks like:I love that I can search on anything to find what I need! To create the little circle tags for each box, I used Avery Key Tags that I purchased from Office Depot, my Creative Memories 1" circle maker, Basic Grey Sultry paper, and Unity Just My Type numbers! To stick each tag on the boxes, I used my trusty Glue Dots. They worked perfectly!

And to find out how to put an image into Excel and/or get a copy of my spreadsheet, see this post here. I hope this has been helpful to you! I know now that it is all done, it will be easy for me to add new sets as I get them. Enjoy, and please feel free to ask questions as you have them. Just be sure to leave you e-mail address in the comment section so that I can get back to you. Have a joyous Friday, and Happy Organizing!