Thanks So Much

Hellooooooo! I am SO excited to share this card with you. I made these (I actually made three, but could only fit two in my white space) for some of the people that I sing in our local choir with who gave me gifts before our performance (flowers, bread, chocolates - YUM!) on Saturday. We had our annual concert this past weekend, and we had an island theme for the show, so that explains the color combo, DP, and primas! The music clef stamp is by Unity Stamp Co., and was a sweet gift from my friend Lorie a few months ago. I've said it before, but I'll say it again: Thanks, Lorie! The words on the image stamp are pretty small, but it says, "You make my heart sing!" Isn't that sweet? I love it! And holy man, have you been to the Unity site lately? I just looked up the link to add it here, and I think I have to go back and shop now. LOL! :) I love their single sentiment stamps!

Keep a song in your heart!

Limelight Challenge!

As I mentioned on a previous post, I agreed to help out Mandy over at Limelight Papercrafts with her 12 Days of Christmas challenges. The winner of today's challenge will win this super cute Fleeting Dragonfly stamp made by Unity Stamp Co. We're going to have a little Christmas song trivia today. Below you'll find lyrics from some of my favorite Christmas songs. Your job is to fill in the blank. No points will be taken off for spelling!Email your answers to me at scrampinmama at gmail dot com (don't post them as a comment!), and the person with the most correct answers will win the stamp! Remember, this is a test of your memory...not your ability to use a search engine! *wink* See what you remember on your own. :o) If there is a tie, the winner will be determined by a random drawing.

(Oh, and please note that I don't use that email address regularly, so it isn't a good means of contact to reach me at after the contest is over.)

Good luck!

1.) Silent Night, holy night, all is calm, all is __________.

2.) Oh little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee ________.

3.) Sing, choirs of angels, sing in __________, Sing, all ye citizens of Heaven above!

4.) The cattle are lowing the poor baby wakes, but little Lord Jesus no _________ he makes.

5.) I saw mommy kissing Santa Claus, underneath the ___________ that night.

6.) I'll have a blue Christmas, without you. I'll be so blue, just thinking about you. Decorations of red, on a ________ Christmas tree, won't be the same dear if you're not here with me.

7.) Good King Wenceslas looked out, on the feast of ___________.

8.) Mary did you know, that your _______ boy would someday walk on water?

9.) Me, I'll be just fine and dandy, Lord it's like a hard _______ Christmas...

10.) Santa looked a lot like daddy, or daddy looked a lot like him! It's not the way I had him pictured - Santa was much too _________.

11.) Jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle bell _______. Jingle bells chime in jingle bell time.

12.) Hark how the bells, _______ silver bells, all seem to say throw cares away.

13.) I'm dreaming of a white Christmas, with every Christmas _______ I write.

14.) Grandma got run over by a reindeer, _________ home from our house Christmas Eve.

15.) Oh Holy night, the stars are brightly shining, it is the night of the ______ Savior's birth.

Be sure to check back here and on Mandy's blog tomorrow to see who the winner is! You can also go to Mandy's blog for links to the blogs that are hosting the remaining giveaways!

Hey There Cupcake

I have A LOT of business to attend to today, so get comfy, mmmk? ;o)

First, the card... What do you think? I'm on the fence. It seems like there's a lot going on, and I'm not sure how I feel about my color combo. The images are all by Unity Stamp Co., and were a gift from my friend Jessica over at Kindred Arts. The cut job on "cupcake" is a little wonky because the words were all part of one image, and were all very close together. Since I don't have the actual stamp, I had to work with what I had and cut it all apart rather than ink each word separately (leaving it together wouldn't have fit in the space). So anyhow, it is what it is... and I'm still on the fence about it.

Next, let's talk BLOG CANDY. I have two things to report.... (1) I WON SOME!!! Woot! I won this beautiful set by Chris Dickinson. How exciting is that? (2) I want to win more!! Therefore, I must direct you to Stamps, Paper, Scissors and Donkey Smiles, where you can win some super cute donkey stamps. And don't go thinking you don't need donkey stamps, because (a) they are super cute and (b) just think of all the snarky cards you could make with donkey images! hee hee.

Third, I want to tell you about my friend Mandy over at Limelight Papercrafts. I got an email from her today saying, "I am e-mailing to let you know that we have BIG plans for World Card Making Day... Games, Deals, and PRIZES! We'll be giving away over $200 in prizes next Saturday, October 4." And in the spirit of enabling, I am passing the info on to you! Some of the prizes are even Unity Stamp Co. stamps, so you just might be able to win these very cupcakes! Who knows? Mandy does! And on October 4, you will too! Be sure to add her blog to your reader so you can find out what you need to do to win.

Finally, I've been tagged. Like, a lot. My blogger friends Debby, Carri, and Cheri (sorry, I can't seem to find the link to that one :( - Cheri, if you're reading, post a comment with the link!) have all tagged me. The gist of it is that I have to share seven random facts about myself, so here goes:

1. My maternal great-grandfather's family immigrated from Yagodnaya Polyana, Russia in 1910. However, my family is German, not Russian. This city was in what was called the "German Volga District" of Russia.
2. I am terrified of grasshoppers. They are ugly, and unpredictable, and I hate them. AND, this past Saturday not only did I accidentally step on one BAREFOOT (*gag*), but one got inside of my van. I wouldn't go near the vehicle until my hubby eliminated the creature. Nasty, nasty, nasty. Hate 'em!
3. I love to sing. I have been singing as long as I've been speaking, and I enjoy performing in front of a crowd. I sing with our city choir, The Oshkosh Choraliers, and also serve as vice-president on the group's board of directors. I sing alto. If you click that link, it will take you to a bunch of pictures. Scroll down to the one where you see the girl in a turquoise dress with a microphone in her hand. That's me, belting my solo rendition of some Abba song... I forget what it was now. In the top right picture, I'm the girl on the far left. We were line dancing to another girl's solo. Fun stuff, eh?
4. I love animals. I would love to work at a zoo, or as an animal trainer.
5. I once needed six stitches for running a knife through my hand between my index finger and thumb while carving a pumpkin.
6. Did I mention I'm blonde? LOL.
7. My boys are both named after my maternal grandfathers. Henry, after (Great) Grandpa Hank (the one from Russia) and Jack Eugene, after my Grandpa (Eugene). Two of the greatest men who ever lived, and both hold huge pieces of my heart to this day, despite their passing.

I'm supposed to tag seven other people, but frankly I'm too lazy to do it. So if you'd like to share a little about yourself and feel like playing along, consider yourself tagged!

There you have it! I'm DONE! Aren't you glad you stuck around to the end? ;)

Card Deets:
Stamps: Unity Stamp Co.
Ink: Unknown
Paper: Apricot Appeal, Pumpkin Pie, Eggplant Envy
Other: Tangerine Ribbon (Stamping Bella), Dazzling Diamonds, Copic Markers, Buttons (The Paper Studio), Scalloped Circle Punch (Stampin' Up!), 1 1/2" Circle Punch

A Way Of Travel

Some of you may remember me mentioning that my Aunt and Uncle were in town a few weeks ago. They were visiting from Tennessee, and came via their fifth wheel camper. Well, when I saw a card made with these Unity Stamp Co. images on my blogger friend Jessica's blog (click her name for a link to the exact card that caught my eye), I just knew I needed some! I begged and cried a little bit and she sent me some (just to shut me up... ha ha, just kidding! It was a fair trade!).

I don't think I would normally put these colors together, but I had been working on a different project for my Summer Sister with this Summer Fun DP from Stampin' Up!, and all of these colors are used on the DP so I thought, why not?! I'm kind of wishing I'd made the dotted piece long enough so that it was equidistant from all of the card edges, but unfortunately that was an after thought. And like I've said before, gifted images leave no room for afterthoughts!

I do think it's a cute card overall though. How do you like the brads on the jack and tire? Cute, no?

Details:
Stamps: August Kit of the Month (Unity Stamp Co.), Kindness Jumbo Wheel (SU!)
Ink: Unknown Black (but it is copic safe!), Bashful Blue
Paper: White (unknown), Bashful Blue, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Summer Fun DP
Other: Pumpkin Pie Grosgrain Ribbon, Small Silver Brad, Large Silver Brad, Copic Markers, Stampin' Dimensionals

Happy Day!

Here is another of the Unity Stamp Co. images that Jessica sent me. Unity offers a Kit of the Month club, and this is a stamp from their August kit. I just think it is too cute! I started by coloring the birds, and decided to go with a different color for each one. From there, I decided the birds kind of matched that bubble paper (a gift from Lorie, my summer sister), and the rest kind of fell into place. It's very eclectic, but I think it's cute.

The only thing I'm not quite sure of is the sentiment. Because be honest... does it not look like I am implying that the bottom bird should poo on someone's happy day? LOL! I really need to think about sentiment placement a little more next time. ;o)

Last but not least, if you are a member of the Bellaholics Anonymous group on yahoo, be sure to vote in the current poll. I have my B is for Bella card on there, in contention for homepage honors in September. The poll closes tomorrow.

Details:
Stamps: August Kit of the Month (Unity Stamp Co.), Flower (Clear Dollar Stamps)
Ink: Memento Black, Bashful Blue
Paper: Gable Green, Bashful Blue, Dotted DP (DCWV), Basic Black
Other: Black and White Gingham Ribbon (SU!), White Gel Pen, Copic Markers

So & So Loves...

Have you seen this single stamp from the Unity Stamp Co.? It's called "So & So Loves..." and it's just perfect for any sort of romantic card you might need. In this case, I'm using it for an engagement card, but it could easily work for an anniversary, valentine, random hook up (<--ha, just seeing if you're paying attention!), etc. I lovvve birch trees. And I lovvve this stamp! But do I own it? No. I will though, just give me time! My new blogger friend Jessica Russell over at Kindred Arts was kind enough to do an image swap with me so I could get my hands on some of these and other Unity images. Kind of a "try it before you buy it" thing, ya know? Be sure to take a minute to check out her blog. She is super creative, and loves her some Unity Stamps! And honestly, who can blame her? I have only just recently found that company (well, I've known about it for awhile, but only recently decided to really check it out) and I'm in love with just about everything I see! Oye. Not good for the ol' pocketbook.

Anyhow, as I said earlier, I made this card for my friend Jenn who announced her engagement a few weeks ago. I'm late, I know, but I was waiting for the perfect stamp (or image in this case) and this was it! I wrote their initials in one heart, and the wedding date in another. Did I mention I love it? Because I do. A lot. As for coloring, I just used two shades of brown copics (E31 and E33) to go over the lines. I used E31 on every line, and then E33 at random. I sponged the edges of the main image with chocolate chip ink, and that was that. I really wanted to get some pink buttons on there somewhere, but no matter what size I grabbed or where I put them it didn't look right, so I just went without. I still love it though, so it's all good!

Oh, and I have to tell you I've found a way to sleep at night. Here's what I've decided. The one shorter leg in the rear is bolted to the floor, and has a small platform at the top to sit on. Bella sits, and then two Fella's carry the desk to her. The desk is then balanced on those two front legs and her two tiny thighs. ;o) And don't even get me started on a power source. lol. Ok, I'm done with this topic for good now. I promise!

Details:
Stamps: So & So Loves... (Unity Stamp Co.), Warm Words (Stamping Up!)
Ink: Memento Black, Chocolate Chip
Paper: Whisper White, Rose Romance, Chocolate chip, Close to Cocoa
Other: Cuttlebug Embossing Folder (edging), Brown Grosgrain Ribbon, Copic Markers, Doodling