Friends With Flair Friday!

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Click HERE for my BLOG CANDY GIVEAWAY!
(Psst - There's Unity in there!)
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OMGosh, I can't believe how long it's been since my last Unity FWF! Now that I'm back from my little hiatus, I figged it was time.


For this card, I wanted a slight departure from what I've been doing lately. Gotta keep it fresh, right? And I thought Unity's Brave Girl set was just the ticket. I love the vintage look of this kit and know I'll get a ton of use from this set. I kept it fairly simply, and tried not to use my Copics, but they snuck their way in for the dress. I custom colored the doily with a mix of chalk pigment and Distress Ink to coordinate with the ribbon. Her butterfly wings are highlighted with Shimmerz.

For more fabulous creations, please pop over to the Unity Stamps blog for a complete list of today's FWF stops.

Have a great weekend!


Stamps: Unity Stamp Co. - Brave Girl kit
Pattern Papers: Basic Grey - Nook 'n Pantry 12x12
Embellishments: vintage buttons, twine, Making Memories ribbon, Little Yellow Bicycle - doily
Inks: Memento - Rich Cocoa; VersaMagic; Tim Holtz Distress Ink
Cardstocks: Papertrey Ink - Rustic White; kraft card base - local source

H{ippity} Hop & Growing in Unity

Happy Monday! As usual I am running a bit late (sorry!), but I am still so excited - especially for a Monday - because not only is it {Ippity} Monday, but it's also the start of my week for "Growing In Unity" - which is extra special to me, since the whole concept was started by my friend, Michelle.


This is also a special card because it is going to a friend who's husband is fighting for his life. Friend, I love you, I am praying with you, and I know God is with you. And that's why I chose this set, What Matters Most, to work with first. The cross is beautiful and the Psalm that is quoted is dear to my heart, as I'm sure it is to most of the faithful.
Psalm 46
1 God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear,
Even though the earth be removed,
And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
3 Though its waters roar and be troubled,
Though the mountains shake with its swelling. Selah
4 There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God,
The holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High.
5 God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved;
God shall help her, just at the break of dawn.
6 The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved;
He uttered His voice, the earth melted.
7 The LORD of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah
8 Come, behold the works of the LORD,
Who has made desolations in the earth.
9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two;
He burns the chariot in the fire.
10 Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!
11 The LORD of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah

I was also thinking of by my new, dear friend Lisa at Stampin' Sisters In Christ. This week's challenge, inspired by another Psalm, Psalm 139:13, is to "knit together" by using stitching. ETA: Stitching is also the theme of the weekly Ippity Challenge (IHHC22) on SCS in the Ippity Forum this week!
I hope you are enjoying the {Ippity} Hippity Hop goodness! You can find the list of participating blogs HERE. And I hope you'll visit me all this week for more Growing in Unity!

May you have a Blessed Monday,

Image(s): Ippity - What Matters Most
Pattern Papers: Crate Paper - Brook
Cardstock: local sources
Embellishments: Cloud 9 Rain Dots - gold; Hero Arts Crystal (center of cross) - citron green; Karen Foster Scrappers Floss

CHAPTER 5: WHOOOOOOOO RRRRRRRRRRR YOUUUUUUUU?

"Who are YOU?" said the Caterpillar.This was not an encouraging opening for a conversation. Alice replied, rather shyly, "I--I hardly know, sir, just at present-- at least I know who I WAS when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then."

This week we are celebrating SPRING here in Wonderland! And, we have some WONDERFUL winged-things to show off courtesy of this week's sponsor, our very own Jen Shults! Jen's stamp company, Wild Flower Kids, has grown to be a favorite of the Oh, Alice DT, and we are SO honored that she's agreed to sponsor us this week by showcasing one of her new line, "All-A-Flutter"! Jen was gracious enough to provide the DT with some of these wonderfully cute and whimsical images as well.

I was at my new fave LSS recently and fell in love with this vibrant paper by Bo Bunny! I thought the vivid colors were just what you might find in the wilds of Wonderland. And I couldn't resist this Alice image of Jen's. I love her little smirk and her sassy hands-on-hips pose! The mushrooms were soooo fun to color and their spots called out for some shimmer, as did the beautiful butterflies.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it is to create a card using a CATERPILLAR or BUTTERFLY on your projects this week! You have until Friday, March 26th to submit your entries by 8pm CST. Winner will be announced on Saturday 3/26 during our next challenge and the WINNER will receive the "All-a-Flutter" digital images from Jen! This week's keyword is OAC5. That's about it! Just upload your card and link to Mr. Linky on the Oh, Alice Blog, and we'll stop by to see your amazing creations! HAPPY SPRING, everyone! See you next week!

Butterfly Hugs,


Image(s): Wild Flower Kids - Alice With Mushrooms, Butterflies, and Spread Your Wings sentiment
Pattern Papers: BoBunny - Calypso Bloom
Cardstock: Bazzill and American Crafts
Embellishments: Shimmerz-Candle Light; Sakura Gelly Roll Pen
Colored with Copics

Happy H{ippity} Monday!

Hello! Sorry I'm running a bit late today. The card I have to share is actually a companion to a faith-booking page I'm working on (and late with, as it was supposed to be the page for February). I know everyone is looking forward to spring, so I hope it's not too much of a bother to look back a month. But in reality, I think it and this set called "What Matters Most" is about stopping to look all around you, right where you are.

Anyway, I thought this card was timely because lately everything is so busy - work, family, stamping, etc. And this is just a reminder to myself and (I hope you don't mind) to you, to not let ourselves get bogged down in the errands and deadlines, the hustle and the bustle. We just need to tend to what matters most to us - God and the people and places He's given us to love.

Hope you your enjoying a bright and beautiful day! For more inspiration, please check out the {Ippity} Blog, where you'll find a whole list of happy hop stops.

Hugs,


Image(s): {ippity} - What Matters Most
Pattern Papers: SU
Cardstock: local source
Embellishments: MFT buttons - Chocolate Kiss Asst.
Colored with Copics and Gelly Roll Pen

Feathers from Emily

As some of you know, my dad was recently diagnosed with cancer. Fortunately, it is a very slow progressing form of leukemia, and he is under the care of one of the foremost experts in the country at Ohio State, which is only 2 hours away. His prognosis is extremely good, but in the beginning, I'm sure you can understand that I was scared and a little freaked out (although I hid it very well). Since reading my first Emily Dickinson poem as a college freshman, I have loved her. Her distinctive use of punctuation, her word selection, her great ability to immediately set a mood and draw a scene, have always drawn me to her. As corny as it sounds, I think Emily and I would have been great friends if we had lived in the same times. Sadly, I haven't read her lately, and so it surprised me that her words came so instantly to me during my saddest and most frightened times after first learning of my father's condition. This stanza is now my mantra whenever I get scared or worried about my dad:

"Hope is the thing with feathers,
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all."




So, that's the inspiration behind this card. The main image is from Birds Galore by Inkadinkado, first stamped with clear embossing ink and Powder Keg's Black Sparkle EP, then repeatedly heated and layered with regular detail black EP, to build up the image. I like that it isn't a perfect image and that it has depth (more visible in person). The poetry is printed onto CTMH self-adhesive vellum, and heat set (learned that from trial and error), and then adhered to a scrap of cardstock matching the card base. The pattern paper is from My Mind's Eye Magnolia collection (a huge 12x12 stack), which I picked up on special during National Scrapbooking Day from Archivers. Photo corners are punched from black cardstock using the SU! punch (these are the larger size ones), and the brads are SU! Hodgepodge Hardware in Pewter. "Hope" is stamped using a clear alphabet from Impression Obsession. I was really happy with the fuzzy effect. I think hope is like that - similar to faith - sometimes stronger than others, but always there, even if you can't see it clearly or grasp it firmly.