hello from baby land!

just a quick post, with a few baby pictures!!! i'll try to share more soon, but one-handed typing while feeding a baby is for the BIRDS! xoxo enjoy!!!

CPS 131 - Stampin' Up!

Another week, another fun sponsor at CPS!!!! This week we are creating goodies made with Stampin' Up stamps, from Stampin' Up demonstrator Jennifer Buck. (Who also happens to be one of the oh-so-sweet Unity girls as well!!!) Be sure to stop by Jennifer's blog for lots of inspiration, and her Stampin' Up website as well!!!

another of my nicest thoughts.. . .

sort of funny that i scheduled that last post, "One of My Nicest Thoughts" for friday. . . .because one of my nicest thoughts DID arrive on Friday!!

Tanner was born bright and early Friday morning. He is big and has lots of hair, and is doing great. We just got home from the hospital, but I will post some pictures when I can. (There are some up on Facebook already though, with many thanks to my aunt!!! :)

XOXOX

You're one of my nicest thoughts. . .

The sentiments in this month's Incentive Kit, called "Sending My Love" at Unity Stamp Company are really terrific - great fonts, the perfect size, and versatile sayings. I used one simple stamp for this card, and some bits and pieces of Scenic Route patterned paper (yes, part of that "Use it or Lose it" stash I'm still working on.)

Thanks for stopping by today! Have a TERRIFIC weekend!!!

Joy is . . . the August Unity kit

Paired with some beautiful Close To My Heart papers, I cut out and paper-pieced all these stinkin' flowers on the tree. . . . my carpal tunnel was not so happy with me, but I love the way it turned out!!!! Only a few more days left of the August Kit of the Month at Unity . . .have you gotten your hands on that baby yet?????? :)

CPS 130 - Jillibean Soup!

Clear stamps, and bright patterned papers made this card a LOT of fun to create! Have you BEAN to the Jillibean Soup website yet? I used their new Lentil Soup collection to create this card, and I added a few button apples from my stash. Be sure to stop by the CPS blog to see what the other girls created this week, with their Jillibean goodies!

the Apron Strings winner is. . . .

Lisa H!!!!!

I have been fortunate to laugh, and play with Lisa in the Unity Stamp Co forum at SCS, and she is not only a doll, but super talented. . ..please stop by her blog and check out her sweet sweet work!!!

Lisa! Send me a note with your addy and I will mail off your goodies tomorrow (assuming I am not busy having a baby or something!!) Tee hee hee!!

Follow your heart. . .follow the hip hop trail!

Happy Hip Hop! I hope you are enjoying lots of beautiful inspiration along the way, today. (Who am I kidding? I KNOW you are enjoying lots of inspiration!) I have a card using the August Kit to share with you today. The paper and card base are from Jillibean Soup, and the ink and fibers are from Close To My Heart.

We are getting closer and closer to Baby Day around this house. My mom arrived last night, and she is going to help me knock out some of the items on my giant to-do list (most of which really DON'T need to be done before Tanner arrives. . .but for some reason, they are on the list anyway!) I won't be here for Hip Hop next week, just in case we're in the midst of having a baby, but I am going to get some posts prescheduled, so don't be a stranger. . .I have some projects saved up to share - and as soon as I have baby news, I will share that too!!!

And now hop on to my sweet friend, ***CHRISTI***

(I just love that girl!)

XOXO

PS - ooh, and don't forget to check out my previous blog post - I have a card kit from Apron Strings Designs to giveaway tomorrow, that would work beautifully with your Unity Stamps!!!

Oooh, have I gotta goodies for YOU!

Have I got the goods for YOU today! The sweet ladies at Apron Strings Designs gave me a card kit to giveaway, that is PACKED with goodies!!! (See the list below for the specifics!) It has everything you need to create a TON of cards. These are the kits that I work with every few months, as a designer at Apron Strings, and I can get at LEAST 6 cards out of them! I won't even make you jump through any hoops to win this fabulous prize. Just leave me a comment on this post - I will draw a winner on Friday morning, and mail off your goodies!!! (If you are outside of the US, if you'll help me cover the shipping cost, that would be terrific!)

3 sheets 6x12 Fancy Pants patterned paper
5 sheets 6x12 SEI patterned paper
3 sheets 6x12 We R Memory Keepers patterned paper
3 sheets 12x12 Bazzill cardstock
2 sheets 6x12 Bazzill cardstock
1 SEI dimensional flower (assorted)
2 SEI diecut accents (assorted)
1 Bazzill chip arrow (assorted)
2 Heidi Swapp photo corners (assorted)
1 DMD tag
2 Scenic Route date labels (assorted)
Assorted buttons by Buttons Galore
Assorted brads by American Crafts and Creative Impressions
Assorted ribbon by American Crafts, Creative Impressions, Bazzill

The Apron Strings blog is having an end-of-summer blog party, with lots of great challenges and inspiration! Be sure to check it out, and check out all the fabulous scrapbooking and card-making kits at the Apron Strings website!

CPS 129 giving thanks. . ..for NEW stamps!

I have a CPS card, and a wonderful little sneak peek of some new stamps for you today!
We have a sponsor-free week at CPS this week, so I took advantage of some of Unity Stamp Comapny's NEW stamps that were released to stores at CHA. These stamps aren't even on the Unity website yet!!! It's a super fun set with three pumpkins, some great sentiments, and very cool leaves. I stamped the sentiment onto twill ribbon, using a StazOn ink pad, and added some Jillibean Soup patterned papers.

Thanks for stopping by today! Have a great end of the weekend!

Hip Hop Love

The incentive set for this month at Unity is really the perfect combination of cuteness and practicality! Terrific sentiments for all KINDS of cards, and this super sweet mailbox. (The incentive set is your added bonus if you join the kit club this month!) I paired these stamps with some sweet sweet paper from October Afternoon. (I cut out the little ducky from one of the papers to stick on there!)

Thanks so much for hopping with me this week! I really appreciate all of the sweet comments that so many of you leave when you visit. I know all of the girls do - so thank you for taking the time! We love to share our projects with you each Thursday! (And all the other days in between, too!)

You're almost to the end of the HOP. . .so head on over and see

***JIMMI***

Use it or lose it, baby!

Have I told you about my "Use it Or Lose it" stash of paper? It's a big bag of paper that I like. . . (or that I feel guilty if I don't use, or I have massive quantities of it) but it's been sitting around for ages and I am sick of looking at it. SO, it goes into the bag, and I am on a mission to use it up (or get rid of it shortly.) I am mass-producing cards like a crazy woman, and making card sets for gifts.
Hopefully my work will pay off at Christmas time when I have lots of cards to give away, all ready to go. I used SEI paper on these two cards, and I was able to make a whole matching set of 8 cards using just a few sheets of this patterned paper!

I have also been TOTALLY (and I mean REALLLLLY totally) purging my stash of scrapbooking stuff. Why do we hold on to so much stuff that we think we MIGHT use one day? I am finding that it just bogs me down, and makes me crazy. SO I am getting rid of tons of stuff, and it feels GREAT. (Granted, right now its all in a big box, which only really moved the clutter from one place to another) but at least it's out of my workspace. Perhaps its nesting. . .although I periodically get on major cleaning kicks anyway. . ..so maybe its just ME. Okay - I am off to the doctors office. We'll see what this baby is up to!

A CPS week that's close to my heart!

Our sponsor this week, at CPS, is near and dear to me. . . .it's MY MOMMY!!!! She's a Close To My Heart consultant, and she sponsored us, and showered us with tons of goodies. Here is my card, using all products from CTMH! You can check out my mom's website HERE!

Have a great day!

Hop Hop Hop!

Happy Hip Hop!

If you haven't already, be sure to check out this link to the NEW Unity kit that is available only in stores (online and local stores). I don't have the kit to play with, but I do have a card to share, using the August Kit of the Month! I paper-pieced the birdie scene, added some ribbon, and sentiment, and Whaaa-LAA. . .done! Sweet and simple. I hope you like it!

I can't believe it's been a WEEK since I was walking the floor at CHA, and meeting so many sweet, talented scrappy girls (and a couple of sweet Unity guys) in Orlando. It was a great whirlwind trip, and a fabulous last hurrah before the new little Mr. arrives. 4 weeks and counting! (but can I keep my fingers crossed for THREE weeks and counting???)

And now. . .on with the hop, to one of the lovely girls I was finally able to meet IN PERSON. . .

***Brooke***

monkeyin' around, and using up some scraps

In my never-ending quest to use up a giant stash of paper, here is a card that I must say, I am quite happy with!! This Daisy D's paper screamed at me a year or two ago when it came out, and I HAD to have it. But then. . . .I hardly used it! It's so stinkin' cute though, and I love these sock monkeys!

Tomorrow I head to the doctors, and start my every-week appointments! YIKES! I am hoping they will have SOMETHING interesting to say, other than "Baby looks good. You're measuring a little big. You're looking a little swollen. See you in a week." Last appointment, I swear the doctor was practically handing me my file and saying "See you in two weeks" as he walked IN the exam room door. Don 't they realize, us pregnant women survive from visit to visit, hoping for SOMETHING interesting to share with everyone who says, "So, how was your doctor's appointment?" (Something other than, "I gained 8 pounds!")

(card goodies: patterned paper - Daisy D's, cardstock, ink - CTMH, stamp - Kitchen Sink Stamps)

CPS 127 . . .DRS Designs

This week's CPS sponsor is DRS Designs. I had fun with these cute candles! I colored them with colored pencils, and then added dimensional glaze over top, and Stickles to the candle flames. (If you click on the photo, maybe you can see it. . . I'm not sure!)
So, I had a BLAST at CHA on Friday. I know the show was a lot smaller than most, but that was good for me and my feet!!! I made it through the whole show, and sat down whenever I had a chance! I met a bunch of the Unity Stamp girls, and some other wonderful people I have met online through the past few years. I drooled over a lot of beautiful new papers and products, some of my faves were My Mind's Eye, Jillybean Soup and Crate Paper.

Lots of FUN FUN new stamp releases at Unity too!! I was so lucky to COME HOME with a bunch of stamps. . . I have been busy at work the last few days I've been home, so I'll have lots to share soon!!! I am trying to get AHEAD and knock out lots of projects before the little man arrives. It's also getting hard to sit at my desk for long, because my feet and ankles are getting PUFFY PUFFY PUFFY, and sitting still is not good for them!!!!

We have a week full of swimming lessons, doctor's appts, and gymnastics this week, plus my growing to-do list. . .but I will be back with more goodies to share soon!!!

Have a GREAT week!

XOXO