Inspired By Beach Day

Inspired By Beach Day

13 miles....

If I drive 13 miles east I hit coastline; a small local beach. If I travel just 13 miles I get to see sand, shells, small pebbles, seaweed, crabs, horseshoe crabs, white foam, an occasional dolphin and a blue horizon that never ends. The one thing that gets me...that I love and hate at the same time, is the smell. The salty air I love but things also cook in the heat making a worn out crab smell like the dumpster behind a seafood house. But still....the beach. It's amazing no matter what right?

So...just to let you know where you can find me.

Unity Stamp- Wild Florals! 

This flower stamp seemed beachy looking to me. Reminded me of summer and warm sunshine.

Click on the top photo to link up or just beacome a beach hopper!

Inspired By Challenge Campfire Smores

Inspired By Challenge

Campfire Smores!

Cuddlebug Dragon

Unity Stamp Co.

Smores are fun to make! I'm not too good at making fires ( for real! I'm no girl scout) so I needed some help from my friend here.

Prismas we're used on the kraft paper. He was supposed to be turquoise but turned out a little blue. Oh well...smores will cheer him up!

An old flame sticker was hiding in my stash that became the campfire. Hand drawn logs were my only option. Lol.  Some leftover white valentine stickered felt became the marshmallow after some fussy cutting. An ink marker gave the marshmallow a burnt look. 

My kids love him so he must be cute!

To play along with the hop click on the pic below.

GIU Day#4 5 Illusive Owl

GIU Day 5!!!

I can't believe this is my last day. I'm totally sobbing. But I hope you enjoy this last project of mine.

My last personal challenge.....Watercoloring....an area that I need to improve.

Also... Repurposing a piece of furniture.

This illusive Layers Of Life owl needs to be in a place where I can see him all the time Embossed with white on some watercolor paper.....still illusive.

Jane Davenport watercolors are about to bring him to life!

Working with the darker blue and then fading it out with more water worked well to create the look I was going for.For I wanted him to really stand out so I chose a bright yellow! I think he fits in well with all the other whimsical creatures that he will reside with. NOT illusive anymore!

 You are Worth It sentiment is from a grab bag. I wanted to remind myself that I'm worth all my Unity purchases! Ha!

This brand new glitter that I picked up at a yardsale for 10cents was begging to be used. I'm always proud of my sale finds.

He needed to be put in his forever home; into the cabinet that I repurposed to house my stamps. 

Funny thing I learned through this repurposing process: Chalk board paint is different than Chalk paint. Yep! So even though I made a rookie mistake by using chalk board paint, I still love my cabinet and use it everyday. I also learned that walmart carries spray chalk paint ( not used here obviously) that can paint up a project super fast and easy. But I like the rustic feel that I ended up with.

The owl completes a project that I tinkered with for over a year.

I've shared the other pieces of work that I had created and added prior, on the Unity Show & Tell, so you may vaguely recall them.  

This cabinet ( cost me only $5 at a thrift shop!) actually sits on top of my craft desk but was too messy to get a good picture while on there. Keeping it real. Y'all know your desk is a mess too!

GIU has been a great learning opportunity for me. I loved challenging myself to do something more! Thank you for letting me do this Unity! Owl be back next year....A girl can wish! 

Leave a comment for a chance to win some glorious red rubber for Unity!

GIU Day#4 Real Life Inspiration

Growing In Unity

Real Life Inspiration
Day#4

 I decided to use real life inspiration to challege myself.

The 1st time I saw this little ballerina stamp, Before I Met You Tiny Dancer, it reminded me of my daughter. I knew that I wanted to make something for her with it. But what?

A card wasn't going to suffice. A door hanger idea danced its way into my head. So I got to work putting the real things into paper.

Coral and pink are her colors!

Drew my own template on a piece of cardboatd that I literally pulled out of my craft trash can at my desk. Ha! I mod podged the coral colored paper to it.

My husband thought I was crazy when I said i wanted a chandelier for her room. 

I won and she got it! The June 2107 SMAK kit has this darling chandelier stamp in it that was perfect for this!

 

She loves ballet and dances even when she is not in class. I altered the bear to a bunny! Her name is Lavender.

I want her to be fearless in this world and to be what she wants to be. Again, the June 2017 SMAK kit provided the perfect sentiment for her. The zig zag stitching stamp is from Key to Joy!

E for Eden! These cardboard letters were from Hobby Lobby. I ripped off the black coating bc I didn't want it that color. Then I painted it with white acrylic and glitter paint that I found at a yard sale for 10cents. 

Tons of ribbon. Just bc ribbon, tule and trim are pretty like her!

I hope you've enjoyed this project! Leave a comment for a chance to win some Unity!

GIU Day #3 I love the USA and Unity!

Showing love for my country 

and for Unity!
Day#3

For this growing in Unity day I wanted to challenge myself to make something NOT-A- CARD. Well, I ended up making a card anyways...along with a NOT-A-CARD! Ha! 

Unity is America

 is an amazing kit! Lots and lots of patriotic stamps in that kit!

Love Nicole Kraft paper stack gives this card a kind of rustic feel. Some old dazzling details splattered added much needed sparkle!

Next up...the NOT-A-CARD!

Before it became NOT-A-CARD...

I used 2 very old Unity fireworks stamps that have been long retired for this bag topper. The fireworks are gold and silver embossed with red and gold star 3d embellishments in the center. The Freedom stamp is from the Unity In America kit.

NOT-A-CARD...Ta da!!!

Stapled to a cellophane bag filled with patriotic chocolates makes it NOT-A-CARD!

10 seconds after I took this pic my kids jumped on the chocolate! Such is my life. Lol. I must impose a mommy tax!

Such is America! Well, not Delaware. That's why I've migrated here. But that won't stop me from teaching my kids about taxes right.  I mean, they gotta know how the rest of the US does it. Ha! I'm gonna go take and eat some chocolate now.

Be sure to leave a comment and you just might win a Unity grab bag!

GIU Day #2 County Fair Chicken

County Fair Chicken!
Growing In Unity
Day #2

This card was inspired by my yearly trip as a child to the County Fair. My favorite part was seeing all of the animals....even the show chickens. Plus...this spring we got some chicks from Tractor Supply and now have a flock of 10. Three of those are roosters. The stupid one is named Hei Hei. Then my son named the two others; Seth Jr. and Cluck Norris.

To challenge myself I wanted to do a double tag! I folded over the top of the larger Unity tag and attached the smaller using a brad. 

The sentiment hides behind this somewhat protective (New Day Rooster). Don't worry, you won't get flogged!! Lol!

I used a combination of ink and alcohol markers to color him. The background stamp is Unity's Chicken Wire. I just love it and use it for a lot of other projects.

Tim Holtz distress ink was perfect for the edges of the tag.

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This is Hei Hei! My stupid but pretty chicken. He even pecked at the cell right after I took this pic. Maybe he's actually smart and was trying to call his cousin. Ha! Not sure if he's gonna end up on the dinner table one night or not. Just kidding. I can't kill him.

I hope you enjoyed this county fair chicken tag. Please leave a comment! I will randomly choose 2 winners at the end of the week to win a Unity grab bag! 

GIU Day#1 Feeling Sluggish... Need Coffee

Every morning I wake up feeling like a slug! Yep...so serious. 

Thank the Good Lord for coffee!

I wanted to combine two unlikely sets (Happy Snail Mail & Cuppa Comfort) to challenge myself. After I put them together... didn't seem so unlikely at all.

I used an embossing folder on the kraft base. Nicole Morning Brew paper and 

Washi were perfect for this! Spectrum Noir Alcohol markers helped to give the snail shell a little dimension.

3 things I learned: Never be afraid of combining 2 totally different kits! Be careful with adhesive! But hey... let's pretend it's snail juice....ewwww. Always and I mean always use your misty!! If you don't, you'll be either tossing your project or trying to trace over lettering with a black marker just praying you don't mess up.

I'm so excited to be participating this year as a Growing In Unity girl! Unity stamps have become my #1 go-to stamps. Their red rubber creates the most amazing crisp images and their sentiments are the best! 

Be sure to leave a comment. Unity is so so generous and is giving away grab bags to 2 random winners! Woot! 

Friends of Unity Christmas in July

Friends of Unity Christmas in July

7/10 KOTM A Berry Wreath is in the spotlight!

My first wreath is showing the traditional holly-type. I imagined this to be an old door, a cabin wall or even the side of a barn. I used Nuvo dew drops to bring dimension to each berry.

#1

Next is a not so traditional but loved Silver and blue combo. Embossing made everthing shine and made coloring the berries with alcohol markers easy. I used a grab bag sentiment. 

#2

Lastly, I wanted to challenge myself to make a vintage looking Christmas Card with gold as my focus color. I embossed and then used Tim Holtz distress inks with a blending tool. Embellishments are SU. I used another grab bag sentiment here.

#3

I'm interested to know which of the 3 is your favorite!

The random winner from last months hop is... Denise W Beard!!! 

Merry Christmas! 

You win a grab bag of 5 random Unity stamps! Woot! I mean... Ho Ho Ho! 

Please email me at jeaniehays00@yahoo.com 

with your mailing address.

Please claim your prize before the next hop in August.

There are two Santas (Crystal & Joyce) giving away some Unity. Comment on each blog for a chance to win.

Eileen Mathys

Crystal O. Minkler

Robyn Jordan

Joyce Verdon

Jeanie M Hays (you are here!)

Wynne Cochran Grob

Dawn Fields

Inspired By Let's Go Camping

Inspired By

Let's Go Camping

I loved to camp as a child. As an adult, not so much. Bugs just bug me. If I ever do get back into camping, a camper will be the way!

In honor of Indepence Day I added some fireworks to the camping scene.

All stamps are Unity although the fireworks are long retired.

I used prismas and embossed a little too. Had to add washi! 

Click on the pic below that inspired me and camp along!