CLOSED: I HAVE BLOG CANDY !!!!!!!

It's that time of year...

• to be thankful for all the wonderful friends I've made in the crafting world of cyberspace

• to appreciate the over 250 amazing people who have chosen to follow my blog

• to celebrate my three year blogiversary coming up in January

• to wish all of you a happy holiday season and wonderful new year

 I've been so fortunate to meet some wonderful crafters in local shops and become part of their crafting community.  One such place is Red Lead Paperworks (link to on-line store) in St. Louis, MO.---a most incredible store (link to Red Lead blog including photos of store) full of yummy  trinkets and unique stamps. I feel like a kid in a candy store every time I get to shop there. I'm also a Red Lead Swap Sister.  You've seen the swapped out tags, ATCs, etc. on my blog.  Long story short, due to some high winds during postal delivery of a swap and lost but later found packages, I ended up with two of these yummy packages from Red Lead.  So with much appreciation from the Red Lead owners, Chris and Sharon, I'm offering you some blog candy they have given to me from their store:

You get the delightful packaging from Red Lead including ribbon and some of their paper images put inside with the stamp plate. (It's all in the presentation and Red Lead really know how to "wrap things up".)

This is the rubber stamp plate that you will receive:

This is the description from the on-line store:
Art Postage-there are 7 art postage elements on this rubber stamp.
The largest is 3/4" x 1-1/2", the smallest is 1/4" x 1".
There are so many options for this stamp-you will want to stamp every envelope-front and back-with these art postage images.  The smallest circle post is 3/4",  look close and you will see the teeney words-Art Sister-right under Red Lead! Love this for our Artist Trading Card Swaps!2-1/2" x 3-1/2" premium red rubber with static cling mounting cushion rubber stamp. 1.2.3. EZ to use!  Remove the paper liner from the static cling cushion.  Your rubber stamp is now ready to be temporarily mounted on an acrylic block for stamping...it really is that EZ!
A Red Lead exclusive rubber stamp.

If you're interested in this blog candy, the rules are simple.  Leave a comment HERE ON THIS BLOG POST no later than midnight central USA time Wednesday, December 7, 2011.  I will use random.org to select a winner from the comments in this post and make the announcement on Thursday December 8.  Winner will have one week to email me the snail mail addy for shipment.  If I don't hear from the winner within the week, then I will select a new winner.  So if you like mail art and are in need of some great postal stamps, this blog candy is for you.

And thanks, from the bottom of my heart, for all of your support and comments over the past three years. 

Santa’s Workshop at the Flying Unicorn!

The Creative Team, aka Alda and her elves, at the Flying Unicorn has been hard at work behind the scenes, getting ready for the month of December. We’re bringing you a technique loaded, fun-filled, December!! 

Everyday, through December 24^th, there will be a new technique tutorial posted for you to try. Some will be simple, others a little more complex, but there will be something for everyone! 

Look for the Santa’s Workshop thread in the forum to find the daily tutorials. 

Be sure to post a picture of your creations using any of the tutorials to be eligble for a prize drawing on December 31^st. There will be 9 different prizes awarded, one from each of Santa’s reindeer!

Some Cards

The Huber Thanksgiving Family Reunion is over.  I'm anxiously awaiting the return of my dds at Christmastime.  


I recently went to a Stampin' Up Stamp Camp hosted by my local SU demonstrator, Gail Downs.  We had 10 stations.  Nice thing about stamp camp is everything is thought out and cut out.  Bad thing is I have to work at a faster pace and don't like when I make mistakes.  Case in point, I had to add some lace to the second card to hide a booboo--glued together cards because the embossed sentiment wasn't straight the first time around.  Petty details, I know.  

So here are two of the cards we made.  It's cold, windy, and overcast today, making for a poor photograph.  The red paper is really glittery.  The silver embossing is shiny.  You get to see the dull version because of poor lighting.

 I have more cards to show you as the month goes on.  Hope you are staying warm and finding time to scrap a lot!

Silent Auction

Please join us November 26^th through November 28^th for Flying Unicorn’s First Annual Silent Auction of all things scrapbook, all from the private stashes of the Flying Unicorn Creative Team. All proceeds from the auction will go to benefit Women in Distress. Some of us are putting together kits, some of us are de-stashing. 


There’s bound to be something you’ll want; place your bid, and it might be yours. Bids will be accepted until midnight November 28^th and auction winners will be notified the next day.

As the month draws to a close, we want to thank all of you who posted your lovely work in the gallery, sent in your donations and made purchases in the store. We met our goal of 1,000 uploads to the gallery on November 16^th, thereby earning a $1,000 donation from the Flying Unicorn store to Women in Distress. Remember that throughout November 5% of all sales will be donated to Women in Distress. 

 

The Silent Auction is our last fundraiser for Women in Distress this year; we hope you’ll help us help our sisters who have suffered so much by placing a bid. You can peruse the items up for auction by visiting here:  SILENT AUCTION


You will find there my Albums and Ancestors de-stash offering for the auction.  If you don't mind a little auction dust, then please consider this: 

Five 45rpm vinyl records, 5 BINGO cards, one still new Clear Scraps 5 tab album, and 5 ancestor photos (the poor dears need a new home).  All items were auction finds except for the Clear Scraps album which was purchased at a lss.  Lots of goodies to create some unique albums and altered art.

Harvest Hues

At Gingersnap Creations we're continuing our On the Farm theme with this week's GC128 Color Challenge: Yellow, Red and Brown. 
Please follow the red link to see the rest of the Ginger work and submission guidelines.  This project is due December 25. 

Isn't this an amazing scene?  No stamping or coloring for me.  This came ready made from Plush Possum Studio.  All I had to do was print it out. I like to think the rooster is doing a happy dance (or should I say turkey trot?) because his little part of the barnyard is safe on Thanksgiving turkey day. 

I spent my time punching out the red frame.  I bought a Martha Stewart punch set, the straight line and the corner.  This was my first attempt at going 'round the corner working two punches. 

I finished with some ribbon that reminds me of straw.  I wound it around a Pink Paislee Phantom brad from the Flying Unicorn on-line store.

Holiday Coaster Ornament

I made four coaster ornaments for the Gingersnap Creations Yahoo Group GCAE#9 Holiday Ornament Art Exchange.

 Here are the exchange details:

• Media: holiday themed ornament - minimum size 2" x 2" - any shape
• Theme: any seasonal holiday that you celebrate
• Style: any but must include some stamping and be more than one layer,
• Number of Pieces: 4 for 4

Here are the product details:
Retro Cafe Art: Hello Dollie Christmas I: fussy cut doll and added to cap:
Doodlebug Designs Crushed Velvet ladybug flock and
Range Diamond Stickles

Studio 490 (Stampers Anonymous) Make It Merry stamp set:
stamped coaster with the word background stamp using Versa Mark and
Stampendous Pearlustre Emerald embossing powder
edged coaster with Ranger Pine Needles Distress Ink

stamped poinsettia 4 times on different papers including a white snow netting and
Graphic 45 Christmas Emporium paper (bottom layers) from the Flying Unicorn store
added  Ranger Clear Rock Candy Stickles to the paper layers
Maya Road Winter Jewel Flower

black wire, misc. ribbon, trim and alphas from stash
black tape label maker
Zva Creative crystal lines: Christmas Red and Green from the Flying Unicorn store


I'm also entering my ornament in the following challenges:

Retro Cafe Art contest:  must use at least one item found in their on-line store and email your entry by December 4.  Details HERE    I used the Hello Dollie Christmas I image.

Simon Says Stamp and Show:  Some Women

And I posting this for inspiration under the November Kick It Up challenge in the Flying Unicorn Forum.

Blog Candy Enabler Part II

Sharon Briss is celebrating her 750th blog post at Ill Tempered Ink by giving away some of her fabulous Rogue Redhead stamps. Just leave a comment by following the link to HERE and post her badge on your blog. I have this badge posted on my sidebar.

Entries close on November 21.

Blog Candy Enabler Part I

Pink Persimmon's latest release:  The Antiquated Collection by Lisa M. Pace. 

Comment by following the link to HERE for a chance to win free stamps. Entries close on Monday 11/21 at 5pm Pacific Time.

The December Enchanting Creations Magazine is Here!

It's here!  The much anticipated December issue of the free on-line magazine, Enchanting Creations by the Flying Unicorn.  You won't want to miss a single page so grab a cup of coffee, sit back, relax, and enjoy:


Click to launch the full edition in a new window
Online Publishing from YUDU

You'll find two things from me in this issue.  I stamped a card using Graphic 45 Christmas Emporium patterned papers and the Collection 3 stamp set.  The other is a money holder made with the featured product:  the Scrap Cake's Cozy Christmas paper collection.  Both collections and the stamp set are available from the Flying Unicorn on-line store.


As you flip through the pages, I'm hoping that, not only will you find creative inspiration, but also you will consider submitting some of your own work for our next issue.  Here are the details:

Submissions- Winter Issue

Deadline: 

JAN 05 2012 

ecmagllc@gmail.com

VALENTINE’S DAY  - LAYOUTS, CARDS, ALTERED

 WINTER WONDERLAND - Layouts of Snow Fun

 IRISH I WERE IRSIH -  St Patrick Day Cards and    layouts  in shades of  green

"BE NOT AFRAID OF GREATNESS" - Shakespearean inspired projects

CARDS - any and all

ALTERED - any and all

And, of course, when looking through this issue, don't forget to find  the sketch challenge.  The winning submission gets published in the Winter issue and the scrapper gets a wonderful prize--the 12x12 paper collection For Father from Pion Design.

---

Who doesn't like blog candy?

The Craft Barn is celebrating 600 followers with a chance to win some awesome candy.

What are you waiting for? Head on over to the Craft Barn blog to sign up!  CRAFT BARN

Down on the Family Farm

We're visiting the farm this month at Gingersnap Creations.  This week's Random Redhead Challenge is Livestock.  You need to include at least one livestock animal in your creation.  The rest of the farm fresh Gingers have some great inspiration for this challenge, so please visit us down on the farm:  GC127
You have until December 18 to link up your submission.  Rogue Redhead Designs is this month's prize sponsor.  You just might be the next Ginger Gem!

For my design team project, I chose to work with a photo of milk cows from the Huber family farm (my dh's grandparents).  The brass plate is from a milk can.  It says

St. Louis Mo

Raw Milk

Permit No. #2306  

George Huber 

Hillsboro ILL

I like to go to auctions and antique shops.  On this layout I have a couple of my treasures:  the center milk cap and the Meadow Gold Dairy milk order card.  My dh gave me an old Almanac, one of his flea market finds.  

I love the patterned paper.  I chose to wet distress it to remind me of peeling wallpaper in old farmhouses.  The ledger paper underneath looks like something a farmer would have on hand. 

Additional materials:

Jenny Bowlin BINGO card

a paper doily misted with Lindy's Stamp Gang Starburst spray in Hag Wart's Orange (Bella Creations November sponsor)

Patterned Papers: Riddersholm Design The Day Before; Glitz Design Beautiful Dreamer, both from the Flying Unicorn on-line store

Ranger distress ink in Vintage Photo

Crafting a Calendar

I've started work on my Melissa Frances mini calendar book from the Flying Unicorn store. The album will house my favorite papers, techniques and products along with inspirational words, notes for ideas, etc. and the calendar pages will be used for craft deadlines.

So here is side one of the October page.

The background paper is Colette from the Riddersholmdesign Chantilly Dawn collection available in the Flying Unicorn store.  My inspiration word on this page is "curiosity" from the Tim Holtz Idea-ology Paper Stash-Craft Resist pack available in the Flying Unicorn store. The Tim Holtz tissue tape represents my musical family--I can still hear my mom playing Autumn Leaves on the piano. Tim Holtz Salvage Sticker. My techniques on this page are distressing, water distressing, and stamping. The leaf stamp is from Lindy's Stamp Gang. 

Lindy's Stamp Gang is a challenge sponsor at Bella Creations this month as is the Flying Unicorn.

 Here is side two for October:

The pumpkins are the Tim Holtz texture fade run through my Cuttlebug, using Core-dinations paper, then sanded. I created a pocket for my working calendar book so that I can jot down notes and ideas. The pocket also holds a very old Monopoly card as a symbol of my love of the game and love of collecting ephemera. The bit of crocheted doily is from a relative's auction--to symbolize my love of vintage style, heritage items, and attending auctions. In addition to techniques, My inspiration words are "chance" and "experiment"--both of which are important in learning our craft.

Today seemed like a good day to start my mini calendar book as I've made some important changes in my craft life.   I chose to step down from the Bella Creations design team.  I helped Lacee get her site up and running last January and have enjoyed being there this past ten and a half months.  This change includes stepping away from my Oh La La group which I moderated at Bella Creations.  We have 101 members and a big response to each month's challenge.  I will miss being a part of that.  However, the challenge is sponsored by Gecko Galz, and, starting in December, I will be part of the Gecko Galz design team.  So I will continue to work with those great images which have become so much a part of my craft life.  In the coming weeks, there will be more details about my transition. 

Plant Kindness, Gather Love

It's harvest time at Bella Creations and I chose to go with with HeidiGrace sticker from my stash as my theme.


This is my design team tag that I made as an example for the Bella Unique November challenge.  The Unique challenge always is a technique to try.  This month we're making a coiled flower.  The photo tutorial is in the Forum with the challenge details.  The winner of this challenge, by random draw, will get a product prize from the Flying Unicorn. 

Since I don't sew, I used wired ribbon, folding the wired sides in towards the middle of the ribbon, then wrapping the ribbon around the foil. The Heidi Grace sticker is from my stash.  I punched two hearts to go with the heart on the sticker. The paper doily is fussy cut from the Scrap Cake "Cozy Xmas" paper collection. The main part of the tag is Riddersholm "Chantilly Dawn". Both paper lines are from the Flying Unicorn on-line store--the sponsor of this month's challenge.

We have two other challenges in the Forum as well.  The Tres Chic is which a style challenge.  This month it's your choice.  Mine of course, is vintage as you can tell by this tag.  The challenge is sponsored by Lindy's Stamp Gang.  The Bella Muse challenge, which is an image to use in your project, is sponsored this month by Nikki Sivils Scrapbooker.   So be sure to stop by Bella Creations and join in the fun!

You're In the Money

My challenge at the Flying Unicorn forum this month is to make a money/gift card holder.

I used this delightful Mrs. Claus paper doll from Altered Artifacts as the base for my money holder.  I'm hoping this is the perfect gift for a little girl.  I know I loved papers dolls when I was seven years old. Mrs. Claus is a paper doll underneath this red coat.  You can see her adorable red slippers peeking out a bit from the black boots.  She has other outfits, too. 

Frank, who's on the Flying Unicorn Creative Team with me, is always challenging us to use extreme folds.  So I used his cone idea to roll the paper bill into that shape and added some lovely Secret Garden flowers from the Flying Unicorn on-line store. 


I love how Mrs. Claus looks like she purchased some fresh flowers from a street vendor as she makes her way back to the North Pole and Santa's Workshop.


I hope you'll join me for this challenge.  Here is the wonderful prize from the Flying Unicorn.  These are some of my favorite things: G45 papers, flowers, lace--and who doesn't need Stickles?  You are allowed 3 entries and the winner is chosen by random draw.  (Visit my challenge for more details.)

I'll be seeing you at the Flying Unicorn Forum.  To find me, look for my You're In the Money challenge! 

And please remember Flying Unicorn Gives Back: a donation of $1 will go to Women in Distress for each and every project that you upload into the gallery this month, to a maximum of $1,000. 

A Special November at the Flying Unicorn

We're beginning a very special month at the Flying Unicorn.  

As expected, since it's the first of November, it's time to reveal the Kit of the Month.

But we also have a month long campaign to give back offering several ways for you to participate.  

A very special time at Flying Unicorn


Many of us know women who have had to live with the fear and reality of abuse. Flying Unicorn needs your help to empower these women to find the courage to take control of their lives and leave the nightmares they are living.


You can help and here’s how. For each purchase that you make during the month of November, Flying Unicorn will donate 5% of the sales proceeds to Women in Distress. In addition, you can help by uploading your projects to the Flying Unicorn gallery. A donation of $1 will go to Women in Distress for each and every project that you upload to a maximum of $1,000.


If you would like to make a cash contribution to Women in Distress, Flying Unicorn is collecting donations on behalf of Women in Distress from November 1 through November 30, 2011. Your PAYPAL donation can be made by simply sending money to cs@flyingunicornllc.com. Please add WID In the note section. You can also mail a check, made payable to WOMAN IN DISTRESS, to:


Flying Unicorn
201 SE 19th Street
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316


Please help Flying Unicorn empower these women to change their lives. We can all help our sisters by offering our prayers and financial support. 

The Flying Unicorn Kit of the Month for November: 
Remember the Days
Available in the Flying Unicorn on-line store