Stamp It! Cards {A Little Unity & Creative Memories Love}

I am SO excited! I finally received my complimentary copies of Paper Crafts Stamp It! Cards Volume 3! Have you gotten yours? Well, look on pg. 17! You will see my card there using a little Unity and a little Creative Memories. My card is the one on the right-hand side of the page. The "hello" sentiment is from the Unity Flirty Flowers set. I love that set. Full of many sentiments, flowers, a bird, and more fun! Then I also used the Creative Memories 1 1/2" square maker. It was a fun card to make!Well, thanks for letting me share. And be sure to pick up your copy. There are a LOT of amazing cards in this issue! Have a blessed Friday!

Organizational {Friday} Organization Links

It dawned on me earlier this week that I have a post with all of the links for my challenges in one place. It makes it easy to find what you are looking for, and then you have one link to keep instead of a zillion different links. So, I thought "why not do that for my organization posts"! So, today I bring you links to some of my posts thus far regarding organization. I will update this post EACH time I share something new. That way you can come to one place and find exactly what you are looking for. I hope this is helpful to all of you. Let me know how else I can help you organize! Have a blessed Friday!

Nos.
6x6 Paper Storage

ABC
Baker's Twine (new March 2010)
Buttons & Dew Drops
Cardstock Swatches (new Sept. 2010)
Charms & Small Embellishments (new June 2010)
Chipboard Storage
Clear Stamp Storage
Clip it Up
Clip it Up (make your own) Here and Here
Colored Pencil Storage
Copic Ciao Labeling (new May 2011)
Copic Cubbie (new 5/2010)
Copic Storage (in drawers)
Copic Storage (4 different storage ideas, new 5/2010)
Copic Storage (for travel)

DEF
Die Cuts & More (Stampin' Things unit, new 1/2010)
Die Storage--Memory Box, ODBD, Magnolia, PTI, etc. (new April 2011)
Embossing Folder Reference (new 6/2010)
Embossing Folder Storage
Flowers & Dew Drop Storage
Flowers, Dimensional (new June 2011)
Foam Stamps, Large (new June 2011)

GHI
Glimmer Mist Storage (new Sept. 2010)

JKL
Keeping Track of Supplies Used (new 10/2009)
Kit Storage (new 6/2009)
Lace (new March 2011)
Layouts and Extra Photos (new March 2011)

MNO
Markers on the Go (new February 2011)
Nestabilities Here (my storage, new 4/2010)
Nestabilities Here (9 other storage options)
Nestabilities Labeling
On the Go Storage (Snapware)
Open Bin Storage (recycled toy bin)

PQR
Page Counts/Goals (keeping track of)
Paints--Shimmerz & LuminArte (new 9/2009)
Paint Dabbers (new June 2011)
Patterned Paper Storage
Photo Storage, digital photos (new Aug. 2010)
Photo Storage, printed photos (new Aug. 2010)
Photographing Projects
Punch Storage Unit
Quickutz die Storage
Ribbon Spooler (new March 2011)
Ribbon Storage (getting it off the rolls & new pics Mar. 09)
Ribbon Storage (newer w/links to other storage ideas)
Ribbon Storage--older post using jars
Room/Space Tour (new July 2010)
Room/Space Tour Part 2 (new July 2010)

STU
Scrap Paper Storage
Sketch Storage--binder (new April 2011)
Sketch Storage--spiral notebooks for travel
Small Embellishment Storage
Snapware (for crops & classes)
Sponges & Daubers
Stamp Ink Color Swatches
Stamp Ink Labeling
Stamp Rolodex Reference System (new Mar. 2010)
Stampin' Station for Wooden Stamps
Stampin' Things Unit
Stickles Color Chart
Target 'itso' Storage Cubes
Unmounted Stamp Storage (new!)
Unmounted Stamp Storage (new addition--finding sentiments & scripture stamps)
Unmounted Stamp Storage (older)

VWXYZ
Wooden Stamp Storage (new May 2010)
Wooden Stamp Storage (older 2008)
Wooden Stamp Storage, acrylic stand (new October 2010)

Hip Hop {Thursday} Mushrooms & Recipes!

Hip Hop everyone!!!!!! I know you have been hopping for a while but I promise you, I am "almost" at the end today. Hang in there, the blog candy is close! Now, you should be joining me from Lynn's blog. If not, hop on back home to the Unity blog so that you can start from the beginning and to make sure you don't miss any of today's AMAZING specials!

Today Angela is releasing "Feel the Joy" by Lindsay Spencer. In celebration of this release, I wanted to share with you the Five Things That Bring Me Joy:

**The Lord
**My Bible
**My Husband
**My Girls
**Singing/Music Another thing that brings me joy are mushrooms! I love mushrooms in my food, and I really love mushroom stamps! The adorable mushroom in the Unity February kit Endings & Beginnings was PERFECT for my meatloaf recipe. It is a very unique but tasty recipe. Even the kids love it! I also used the "enjoy" sentiment from the kit to stamp on the recipe. I used VersaMark, and it showed up great on the Paper Trey Ink cardstock. The patterned papers are Basic Grey, and to see all of the other products I used on this recipe page, visit my gallery at Splitcoaststampers. :)

Now, hop on over to Amber's blog, and see what amazing inspiration she has for you today! Happy Hoppin' everyone!

Tuesday's {Tips} Altering the Size of Your Nesties

Okay, on Friday, we talked about storing your Nestabilities. Well, I came across an amazing thread on Splitcoaststampers on Saturday. These ladies shared how they alter the size of their Nestabilities--either making them smaller or longer. What a cool idea!

I have cut the bottom off before to make it the right size but then one side is missing scallops or the decorative edge. Well, Susan shows you how to make it shorter and KEEP the decorative edge. You can see her great tutorial here. And to make them longer, look at Maureen's tutorial here. I just love these tips. I hope you do too! Enjoy, and happy Tuesday!

Organizational {Friday} Storing Nestabilities

Please note: I have revised and updated this storage system to make it even BETTER. :) :) Please see my newest post from April 23, 2010, here. I hope you find it even more helpful.

Okay, so I have discussed this topic once and shared my ideas. If you missed that post back in June 2008, you can see it here. However, as I read new ideas on the web, I thought you might like to see them too. This way you might be able to find the solution that works best for you. Here are some new ideas I have run across that I just love. Warning--this post is "link heavy" so sit back and enjoy! I hope this will be a great consolidation of ideas for you!

Jennifer {sammsmom1} at Splitcoaststampers shared her idea here. She used a curtain rod and magnetic pieces to hang them above her desk. Too fun if you have the room to do that!

And Kurtis {krabearkub} also of Splitcoaststampers used a binder box and filled it with magnetic sheets to store his nesties. You can see his storage here. This is another great idea!

Wendy {wendybell} stores hers on the inside of her cabinet doors in her craft room. This may work for some of you. You can see her photos and ideas here.

Rita {daffyrs1} stores hers in a zippered CD binder with magnetic sheets that she cuts down. I love this idea too. You can see her binder here--just scroll down a bit to get to the binder pictures and explanation.

Gina K. shares an awesome tutorial on how to use your nestabilities in your Cuttlebug along with great pictures on how she stores the nesties in the classroom of her store. Love it all for sure! You will want to bookmark this link here. :)

Jodene bought a plastic CD case from Target and magnetic sheets. I love how she put the embossing and cutting "sandwiches" on the front of her box for reference. I need to do that because I am always forgetting which "sandwich" to use also! You can see her photo and instructions here.

Heidi {Heidi Blankenship} shared her CD storage. A lot of people seem to use the CD cases for their storage, and I really like how Heidi shared hers. Great pictures and instructions. Look at Heidi's storage here.

Joan {SKICIO} uses metal sheets and strips of cork to store her nesties. Look at her photos here.

Spellbinders also has a new case coming out in March. You can see it here. I personally think it is a bit expensive and it doesn't say how many dies it will hold but for some of you, this may be a great solution.

I hope this has been helpful in some small way. Remember organization is about finding what works best for you! And sometimes it takes trying several different methods before finding what you love! Feel free to ask me your organizational questions, and I will try to post the topics as I can. Have a blessed Friday everyone!

Hip Hop {Thursday} Another Recipe!

Happy Thursday, and welcome to another Unity Hop! You should be joining me from Jennifer's blog. If not, please hop on back home to the Unity blog to begin your hop. As always, there is a lot of great inspiration that you don't want to miss out on!

Last week, y'all asked for more recipes. Well, here is another one for you. As I scrapped this one, I tried to reflect the recipe itself--this recipe is nice and green when made thus the green paper (though the colors in the picture came out terrible), and it's a great refreshing, summer treat so the Unity Rain & Flowers stamp worked great for this! For the flower on the bottom left, I used Stickles black diamond and Pop Dots to give it a little dimension. And for the flower on the right I used Basic Grey ambrosia paper to piece the leaves and top of the flower. I can see myself piecing this little flower a LOT!!! I can imagine all sorts of beautiful flowers pieced with this cute stamp!

Next, I wanted to say THANK YOU to Susan from Store More Stamps for sending me this Store More Stamps Starter System. This is a very fun way to organize your stamps! Here are a few pictures I took of some of my stamps in this unit. Now, I could get a lot more on here if I wanted to add more, AND you can slide two 8x8 insert sheets into one sleeve to maximize your storage! How cool is that? I hope you will look at the fun products Susan has for your stamp storage! You can see them here.

I hope you enjoy the rest of your hop today. I don't think you have much farther to go until you find some blog candy! Hang in there, and hop on over to Amber's blog. Happy Hoppin'!

Subscriber RAK {Winner}

**Note: Here is what I posted yesterday but I am not sure how many of you saw it since I was unable to get Feedblitz to send out my post. Feedblitz was down so hopefully you don't mind getting the announcement a day late in your mailbox. My apologies. :)

How can I begin to thank you for all of your loving and kind comments? WOW!!! So many of you commented on the Scripture Challenge and His Holy Name Challenge. I am so glad to have all of you participating, growing, and sharing. When God gave me the idea for these challenges, He told me He wanted them to go "far and wide," and I see that they are. I don't know how many exactly but He does, and that's what matters! It all belongs to Him! I am just super excited and overjoyed to hear how He is using it. Thank you!

And it was so fun to see so many of you commenting that subscribe via other means. I love it! And Nat even informed me that there are 46 of you checking in via Bloglines! Too fun, and thanks Nat!

Now enough chit-chat, I guess! :) I am sure y'all would rather just get down to the winner. So without further chat from me, here is the number random.org picked:

Here are your random numbers: 49
Timestamp: 2009-02-17 17:09:30 UTC

Poster 49 was Rita. Rita said:

"Thank you for your powerful witness for Christ and for hosting these scripture challenges! May the Lord richly bless you and your family!
February 15, 2009 7:42 PM"

Huge congrats to you, Rita!! Please e-mail your address to me so that I can get your box out in the mail right away! I hope you enjoy it. And again thank you ALL from the bottom of my heart for going on this crafting and spiritual journey with me. Have a blessed week ahead!

His Holy Name {Challenge 4, Righteous}

Challenge Word 4: Righteous
God’s Attribute: Jeremiah 23:6 “. . . This is the name by which He will be called: The Lord our Righteousness.” (Jehovah-Tsidkenu)

How does this affect my daily life? R.C. Sproul says “The struggle we have with a Holy God is rooted in the conflict between God’s righteousness and our unrighteousness. He is just, and we are unjust.” Because of our sin nature, we can never be good enough for God. Nothing we do will ever be good enough. God is perfect in His Holiness, and we will never meet His standard. That’s the bad news. But there is good news to come!

Job 4:17 “Can a mortal be more righteous than God? Can a man be more pure than His Maker?”
Ecclesiastes 7:20 “There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins.”
Daniel 9:14 “. . .for the Lord our God is righteous in everything He does; yet we have not obeyed Him.”

But the good news is that in His grace, He offers us righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 2:24) Righteousness is a right relationship or a right standing with God then conforming to His character and living in obedience to Him. He judges sin but because of Christ’s death on the Cross on our behalf, He suffered the punishment we deserve.

Do you ever compare yourself to your neighbor, a friend, a co-worker, aquaintence, etc.? Do you want what they have? Or are you full of pride and self-righteousness? Well, God does not want us to compare ourselves to others, and we are not to be prideful. He is our only standard of righteouness. Loving, pleasing, and obeying God should be our first priority! (Matthew 5:6) Over the days and weeks ahead, I challenge you to take one sinful thing in your life and replace it with something good. Pray about it. What does God want you to remove? As believers, our character should mature as we grow in Christ.

For my page this week, I used the new Unity release Saved. It is a gorgeous cross stamp. I chose to break the image up into inchies because we are “broken” without Him. In Him, He will clothe us in His Righteousness! And the papers are from October Afternoon. I was inspired by a card by Bonnie Sharp. She used some October Afternoon papers for her card, so I had to pull out my paper and play with it too! Thanks Bonnie!
The scriptures I chose were:
Ezra 9:15a "Oh Lord, God of Israel, you are Righteous!"
Psalm 119:142 "Your righteousness is everlasting and your law is true."
Psalm 145:17 "The Lord is righteous is all His ways and loving toward all He has made."

Have fun studying and creating! Remember to use the Keyword HHN09, and to chat about the challenge, join us in this thread here on Splitcoaststampers! Blessings to each of you!

Scripture Challenge 2009 {Weeks 7 & 8}

I hope you are enjoying your weekend. And for those of you that have a 3-day weekend, I pray you are doing a little something fun for yourself! Maybe you will have a little extra time to work on your challenges. :) Let's look at your next two words:

Week 7: Glad
Week 8: Trust

Please remember to use Scripture Challenge Keyword: SCRC209 when posting to online galleries. Also, we now have a place to chat for this challenge also on Splitcoaststampers. You can join us in this thread here. Have fun with your studying, and I will post your next two words on March 1st! Yes, can you believe it will be March in just two short weeks? Wow! Blessings to each of you!

Subscriber Thank You {RAK}

I just want to take a moment to say thank you to all of my subscribers! There are now over 600 of you subscribing via Feedblitz, over 30 of you through Blogger, and I don't have any idea how many are subscribing or watching via other means. I am humbled, and I thank you for stopping by, for leaving your love and comments, and for taking the time to check in on me. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

I would love to share a RAK with one special winner! One random poster will get an American Crafts Modern Album (6x6), two sheets of Rose Moka alpha stickers (love these things), my Unity Almighty God stamp, and a little wooden stand for photographing your work!All you need to do to enter is to leave a comment in this post by 11:59 p.m. CST tomorrow, Monday, Feb. 16th. I will draw a winner and announce on Tuesday of this week! So good luck to all of you, and thank you all again for joining me on my paper crafting journey! Blessings,

Organizational {Friday} My Sketch Books

Yesterday, some of you stopped by and saw the book I made for sketches from my sketch site, Triple the Sketch. If you missed the post yesterday, you can see it here. All other sketches from magazines that I cut out, etc., are stored in my Quickutz sheets in a small binder. I posted that book almost a year ago. That organizational post is here. Today, I want to share the sketch book I made for other miscellaneous sketches I find on the web that I print out.

I did the same thing for this notebook as I did with my own sketches--I print each sketch out to a size of 3x3 inches. Then I put them in this notebook. I used the same new release from Unity Stamp Co. that I used on my other book--Rain & Flowers. I just love this set! I can see many uses for this one! I also make sure that the person's name is on the sketch so that I can give them credit if I do use their sketch. Now I have a cute little sketch book SET that is VERY easy to travel with and store here at home! I hope you enjoy it and maybe make a few books of your own! Have a great Friday!

World Record Blog Hop! Join Us!

Okay, so Angela at Unity Stamp Co. is going to hold a HUGE blog hop on March 28th! And guess what, we would love for you to participate. We are hoping to get at least 200 hoppers! To see what it is all about and to sign up, check out this thread here.

Basically, all you need to do is create something using Unity stamps, create a post for March 28th sharing your project, include the materials used along with your favorite quote, and a link to the next blog. If you have questions, please post them in this thread.

If you don't have any Unity, there might just be a chance to win some on my blog sometime this weekend! :) I am celebrating since I now have over 600 subscribers! Thank you to each of you that join me and leave such loving comments. I appreciate all of you! So, be watching for a RAK post soon! Well, enjoy your Friday everyone, and I hope you will join us on this fun and amazing HOP! Blessings,

Hip Hop {Thursday} Organizing Sketches

Happy Thursday everyone! I hope you are joining me from Maren's blog. If not, please hop back home to the Unity blog. You won't want to miss today at Unity! Angela is releasing over 100 new stamps! All of the specials will be announced at 11 a.m. CST, so make sure you look at the Unity blog again at 11 a.m. or after!!! Now on to some creative fun!

I purchased these three precious notebooks at my local grocery store on clearance last Fall. They measure 4x4 inches, and they have 80 sheets of paper in them. Looking back, I should have purchased more. I love these little books. They have been on my desk for some time now, and I finally decided what I wanted to do with them. I decided to store some of my sketches in them. The book I altered today contains 50 of the sketches from my sketch site, Triple the Sketch. This 4x4 size is just perfect. It is easy to hold in my hand, easy to store, and quick to flip through. I printed each sketch out at 3x3 inches. I actually had to tear out a lot of the extra pages because as you can see, the book gets rather full even with just 50 sketches pasted in here. To decorate my book, I used the new Unity release Rain & Flowers. The papers are from the Making Memories Chloe's Closet line you can find at Michael's. I added all of my flat embellishments and words, and then I covered it in Modge Podge. I then added my dimensional embellishments. I wanted to add ribbon to the spiral binding but I tend to fold the notebook back so it wouldn't work with ribbon there.I am going to use the other two notebooks for sketches from Splitcoaststampers and then various other sketches I find I like online. Tomorrow I will post the green notebook for you. Be sure to come on back for a look! Now, please continue your Thursday hop by visiting the awesome AJ! Have fun, and thanks for stopping by today!

Tuesday's {Tip} FS and ISO Sites

Need to make a little money or maybe you want to buy something but not pay full price? Maybe you don't want to use eBay? Or are you trying to find a retired stamp set or some other item that you haven't been able to find? Well, today I thought I would share some sites that will allow you to sell your crafting goods and where you can list those items that you are "in search of." Here are several sites I have found. I have not used all of these but have used some. I hope these are helpful!

2Peas For Sale or Trade Forum
Scrapjazz Marketplace
ScrapperTalk Marketplace
ScrapperTalk ISO Marketplace
Shop Handmade Buy & Sell Reusable Craft Products
Splitcoaststampers Buy/Sell/Trade Forum

Please feel free to add links that you know of in the comment section. I will update this list as we get more so everyone can reference in the future. Have a blessed Tuesday everyone!

Hip Hop {Thursday} 2 More Recipes

Well, are you ready for some more recipes? I have so many I want to scrap! So, you may just have to deal with me for a while. :) Before I share this week's recipes, I hope you are joining me from Amber's creative blog! If not, be sure to hop back home to the Unity blog to begin the fun! Okay, now let's talk food!

This week for my first recipe, I used the flower border from the Unity Floral Fantastical set and the word 'indulge' from the Unity Remember Happiness set. And I used the Wavy Frames Patterns from Creative Memories to create this fun shape on my page. For my second recipe, I used my favorite Unity Distressed Dots background stamp. I stamped it on Paper Trey Kraft Cardstock. Then the sentiment comes from the Unity Sweet Yummy Cupcakes set! Now my awesome Stampin' Up ribbon went a little 'wonky' when I zipped around my page with the sewing machine. I didn't put any adhesive down because I didn't want it to stick to my needle. Well, the results was 'ribbon wonkiness'. Oh well!Thank you SO much for stopping by today! Now it's time to hop on over to the amazing Natalie to see what she has in store for you! Enjoy, and Happy Hoppin'.

Tuesday's {Tip} Photographing Projects

There is always a lot of talk on message boards about photographing your work. Some people scan their work; some people photograph their work. I much prefer to photograph my work. The scanner I find to be more of a pain, and it also takes me longer. I wanted to share with you how I photograph my work. Everything you see me post on my blog has been photographed this way for at least the past year or more. I hope it is helpful to some of you.

First, find a bright window in your home. Mine happens to be in my laundry room. I can depend on that window 365 days a year! So no worries about going outside to take pictures and encountering bad weather. :) Next get a piece of white fabric. I purchased two yards of white cotton from Wal-Mart for $1 a yard. Couldn't beat that! Next set up your "studio." If you are using a window, you can set a chair next to the window. I use my washing machine. :) I then need a little height so the Downy bottle and the iron work great for that! If you are using a chair, the back of the chair will be great for you.Next drape your white piece of fabric over the back your chair and onto the seat, or drape it over any other setup you come up with like my "laundry room studio." Then set your creation on the fabric and take your picture. I do not use a flash either. Sometimes I will use the macro setting but not always. It depends on how close I want to get to my piece.All stamps photographed here are by Unity Stamp Co. The stamps included here are Tea Time Toile, Worn Music, Baby Boy Plaid, Worn Grid, Polka Dot Jam, and Distressed Dots in Handle D.

I always take 2-3 photos. Then I upload, crop, and edit in Photoshop Elements 7.0. Works great for me. I keep the fabric piece in the laundry room folded up, and I am always ready to go. Super fast, and it didn't cost much. I hope that is helpful to you! Enjoy creating a "studio" that works for you! Blessings,

His Holy Name {Challenge 3, Protector}

Challenge Word 3: Protector
God’s Attribute: God is our Protector. He is our Refuge or Machseh. We can flee to him for safety. He is our Shield or Magen that protects us and shields us from our enemies. He is our Dwelling Place or Maon and our Strong Tower or Migdal-Oz. He is our Defender, and His protection is limitless!

Hymn: We Rest on Thee, Our Shield and Our Defender (v.1)
We rest on Thee, our Shield and our Defender;
We go not forth alone against the foe;
Strong in Thy strength, safe in Thy keeping tender,
We rest on Thee, and in Thy Name we go.

How does this affect my daily life? Are you battling an illness? Have you been in a horrific accident? Are you the target of gossip? What are you scared of? Rejection, aging, injury to your child, losing your financial status, disease, germs, storms, etc. As you can see, the list can go on and on and on! Well, just as that list is limitless, so is God’s protection!

As believers, we will pass through trials that test our faith. Who do you run to during those trials? A friend, family member, or even a message board? Exercise your faith! Don’t let your guard down. Turn to Him. He is always with us through every trial (Matthew 28:20). We can choose to deal with the trial in our own way and without Him and then be subject to more difficulty, or we can trust in Him and experience His rest, peace, and protection.

Psalm 91 talks of how He guards us, protects us, and shields us. These promises are for the believer. Can you look back and see where He has protected you in the past? I know I can! List them! Look over your list. Thank Him and remember that He is also there for your now, and He is there for you in the future. Will you choose to depend on Him for your protection and security? I hope so because He is our great Protector!

For my page this week, I went a little wild and used papers from SIX different companies. Yes, that's probably a bit much for a little 6x6 page. The papers are from Bazzill, Making Memories, Creative Imaginations, Cloud 9 Designs, Creative Memories, and Paper Trey Inc. I also used three different stamps on my page: a bird from the Unity Birds of a Feather set, the new Unity release Just My Type for the 'P' in Protector, and the JustRite dater. The verse I chose is Psalm 144:2--"He is my loving God and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me."

Have fun studying and creating! Remember to use the Keyword HHN09, and to chat about the challenge, join us in this thread here on Splitcoaststampers! Blessings to each of you!