Growing in Unity Day 5

Hello Again!
I am back for a final day as a Growing in Unity Girl.  If you are looking for the Unity Stamps/My Sweet Petunia blog hop, go HERE.  Hint- if you are a Unity Lover, you may want to check out this blog hop!
I have saved one of my favorite cards til last.  Gotta love this image!

This stamp is so so sweet!  I used my MISTI to stamp these birdies, offsetting the second row of birds so they do not look identical.  It was easy to make sure my images lined up when I used the MISTI.  

These adorable birds, which I colored as blue birds, are from the Always Been You KOTM.   I am also tickled that this is a OLC- quite a feat for me!  

The sentiment is from the Head Up-Heart Strong kit. 

This is my last Growing in Unity post.  Remember, leave a comment on each Growing in Unity post this week and you will have 5 chances to WIN 25 stamps from Unity! 

PLEASE NOTE! 

I will be leaving town this weekend and will not be able to select a winner until I get back.  

Thanks for your understanding.  

Thanks for visiting me this week!  I hope I have inspired you!  

Lee Ann )

My Sweet Petunia and Unity Hop!

Hello Everyone!

Today I am excited to be participating in a blog hop featuring two of my most favorite companies, Unity Stamps and My Sweet Petunia!  If you are looking for the Growing in Unity post, go HERE. 
If you follow my blog, you know how much I use/love Unity Stamps!  What you usually don't see is the incredible stamping tool that is used behind the scenes- the MISTI.  The MISTI is amazing for so many things- mass card production, perfectly straight sentiments, perfect stamping of solid images and so much more!!
Of course there are prizes for this blog hop!  Everyone who leaves a comment on all the blogs in the hop will go into a drawing for 3 prize packs from Unity and winner's choice of an Original or Mini MISTI. Please comment by May 30th at noon Central to be eligible. Winners will be posted on both the Unity Blog and the My Sweet Petunia blogs on May 31st.

I have two different takes of one stamp for you today~

This gorgeous floral image is from a Unity KOTM, Midnight Kisses.

The image is of two flowers.  I stamped the image with my MISTI, then positioned it a second time exactly where I wanted it with the MISTI.  The first two flowers were masked and the third was inked up and stamped.  The sentiment is from the same set.
Then I tried a different version of the above card.  I stamped the three flowers, as above.  Then I added more flowers using the Single Flower Miracle stamp.

And this is what I ended up with~

Same basic design, extra flowers and different colors gives you a very different card.  I love these flowers!  The sentiment is from the Girl Truly Sentiment Kit.  Flowers on both cards are colored with Copics.
Your next stop on the hop is Lisa Arana's blog.

My Sweet Petunia

Heather Hoffman

Ilina Crouse

Echo Noble

Jeanne Streiff

Angie Blom

Maureen Wong

Kary Lim

Kia Gibson-Clapper

Angeline Choo

Giovana Smith

Stephanie Gold

Lee Ann Barrett

Lisa Arana

Chris Dayton

Maria Levine

Dina Kowal

Sharon Nettleship

Vicki Garrett

Karen Maldonado

Stephanie Severin

Donna Baes

Julie Warner

Mandi Mance

Anna Wight

Noelle Reece

Angela Bode

Shemaine Smith

Tosh Leyendecker

Kris Lancaster

Kelli Hull

Gaylynn Martling

Marci Snee

Joslyn Nielson

Maria Sabina

Stephanie Muzzulin

Ceal Pritchett

Robyn Weatherspoon

Unity Blog

Thanks for stopping by and for hopping with us!

Lee Ann  

Growing in Unity Day 4

Hello once again!
It is already my 4th Growing in Unity day.  I was in a very CAS mood while working on these cards,
so today's card- well cards- are CAS design.  Honestly, when the images are this good, I want the focus to be on the images.

I could not resist this adorable image, Finally Here. It was the perfect image to do some monochromatic coloring with my E40s Copics.

I am linking these sweeties up to Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge, 'Furry Friends'.

And I have one more CAS card for you, this time using watercolors~

Yes, this is much more 'artsy'. The butterfly trio is from the set, Butterfly Endearment.  The stamp was colored with Kuretake ZIG Clean Color Watercolor Brush Pens and then spritzed with water.  The image was then stamped on watercolor paper.  I used  my MISTI to determine placement of the stamp, overlapping some as I went along.  I love the effect!
The colors pop even more with a black mat and the black die cut sentiment (WPlus 9).

Don't forget to comment on this blog post, and each of my Growing in Unity Posts this week.  Each day's comment is a chance to win 25 stamps from Unity! 

 

Thanks so much for stopping by and for all of your encouraging comments!  

Lee Ann :) 

Growing in Unity Day 3

Hello Again!

I am back again with another card made with some fabby Unity Stamps.  Another reason to love Unity Stamps is for the artwork of Phyllis Harris.

See what I mean?  :)  I adore this image!  Head Up-Heart Strong is the name of it.  This card will go to my mom and dad who live in Florida.
The image is colored with Copics and then framed with a Stampin' Up photo frame die cut from the On Film framelits(retired).  The card base is stamped with an image from the Hearts Reflection SMAK kit.  I scored around the card front.
Banners, a sentiment from the Midnight Kisses KOTM, sequins(again!) and a Hemptique bow finish off the card.
 I am linking up to Stamp Ink Paper- card makers choice



Remember, you have a chance to win 25 stamps from Unity; all you have to do is leave a comment on my blog posts featuring Unity Stamps this week.  Leave a comment each day and that is 5 chances to win!

Thanks for stopping by and have a blessed week!

Lee Ann  :)  

Growing in Unity Day 2

Hi Everyone and Welcome back!

It is Day 2 of my Growing in Unity week. Remember, a comment on this post is a chance at winning 25 stamps from Unity Stamps!  Comment on each of my Growing in Unity posts this week and that is 5 chances to win!
Today I have a super CAS card for you, yet still elegant, I think.

I started with the flower stamp from the Always Been You KOTM and my MISTI.  I stamped the image in the bottom left hand corner, then in the upper right hand corner.  I masked the upper flower and then stamped the second flower in the upper right corner.  Using the flower mask, I sponged some Distress ink on the background.  I added depth to the flowers with gray Copics.
I wanted the flowers to be the main event, so heat embossed the sentiment, which is from Love is a Magical Thing sentiment kit on vellum.  My favorite sequins finish it off (you will be seeing these sequins often, lol).
Let me know what you think!

I am linking up to The Flower Challenge- 'Case a Designer'.  I have cased TaeEun's stunning card.  

Thanks for stopping by!

Lee Ann :)

Growing in Unity Week

Hello Everyone!

I am so excited to share projects this week as the Growing in Unity girl over at Unity Stamps!  Monday through Friday of this week I will be posting daily projects here.  Leave a comment on my  blog posts featuring Unity Stamps for a chance to WIN 25 stamps from Unity! Leave a comment each day and that is 5 chances to win! 
So, this right here is what started my love affair with Unity Stamps- the Angie Girls.

This is Wakely Girl.  Those boots!  I love coloring people and these girls are just perfect for it- different hair styles, clothing, sentiments.
Wakely was colored with Copics.  I enjoy challenging myself with light sources in my coloring as you may be able to see on this card.  I also like trying creative Copic backgrounds and had fun with this ombre background in blues.
A scrap of dp and some linen thread finish off this card.
Don't forget to leave a comment below for a chance to WIN!

I am linking up to the challenge over at Addicted to Stamps and More, 'Make Your Mark'.  

Thanks for stopping by and being a part of my story!

Lee Ann  :)

Time for a Challenge

Hi All!

Just a quick post this evening, sharing a super simple CAS card I made with the amazing inspiration from Time Out Challenges.

I also thought this would be a fun play on words over at Casology.  The cue card is 'WARM'.  Yes, my colors are warm but I also thought about us aging women who have a tendency to get quite warm with those pesky hot flashes. :)
I am also linking up to Fab n Funky Challenges- 'create a background' and Less is More- 'Geometric'.
Of course my bird is one of the Tim Holtz Crazy Birds.  The sentiment is from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps, Birthday Word Art; it is definitely one of my favorite birthday sentiments!

That's it for me!  Have a wonderful last week of May!

Lee Ann  :)

Mother's Day Butterflies

Hello Again! 

Back for a second post today- Yes, I was a busy crafter this weekend!
Can you believe that Mother's Day is right around the corner?  I whipped up a card for my Mom so I could get it in the mail. It takes a few days to get to Florida. 
I inked up my new April KOTM from Unity. 

I was drawn to the large butterfly in the set and decided to use distress inks for water coloring them. 
I did not want to take away from the butterflies, so I kept the layout simple, with a cs strip for the sentiment.  Doilies add a bit of girly-ness to the card. 
I used my MISTI to stamp my butterflies in the color of choice, and then once colored and dried, I stamped the image again in dark brown.  I love how this turned out.  The purples in the photo did not photograph well; the purple butterfly and the purple mat are much closer in color irl. 
I am playing along in a few challenges~

Just Us Girls- Mother

Watercooler Wednesday- Feminine Anything Goes

Stamp, Ink, Paper- Mother's Day

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge- The Great Outdoors

That's it for me; thanks for stopping by!

Lee Ann  :)

Paper Pieced Friends

Hello and Happy Sunday Everyone!

We are finally drying out here in St Louis after all the rain.  I was not personally affected by the flooding that occurred here, but we were off of school 3 days due to staff not being able to get to work with so many roads being shut down.  Now we have sunshine and perfect temps!
Add to that the bonus of getting my April Unity KOTM this weekend, and you have a pretty great weekend! 
I could not wait to ink up my new stamps-

I love Angie's Girls and this pair was calling my name.  I used the sketch from Freshly Made Sketches and played along with Unity's paper piecing challenge this week.  There is something satisfying when using scraps of paper that seem to accumulate over night.  :)

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Lee Ann :)