Happy Hip Hop!!

Thursday's Hip Hop days are one of my two favorite days of the week, 

ied with Monday's for Hippity Hop!

You should have started at the Unity blog by now and worked your way through all the

Unity DT members and you should be coming to me from Karen Maldonado's blog...

to start at the beginning... click HERE!!

I made a card today following the Hip Hop Sketch Challenge HHSC 27 which was made by our ever so talented Ippity Guest Designer Angie Blom!! (You know her talents don't end with just amazing cardmaking... she is a great sketch designer (like Maria) too!)

Anyway, I got home from work yesterday, wishing I wasn't the procrastinator I am, because I really needed to go straight to bed and catch up on some overdue rest.  But, alas, I had to finish my card for today's post!

I am nearly "drowning" in my responsibilities these days!!  I am going through my divorce which means that all the household responsibilities that my husband used to assume are now falling on me (currently a broken disposal tops the list) in addition to all the day to day responsibilities that I continue to have.  But to make matters worse, something horrible happened nine months ago causing a baby boom in my area that I just don't understand!!  We are slamming at both the hospitals I work for!!  I have been on call for 26 of the 30 days in September and am doing my best to train for my triathlon in October too!  I am simply exhausted!!!

I put a post on Facebook (you can friend me BTW by searching for Kelly Mahany) stating how exhausted I am and how something needs to give.  But I love everything that is on my plate, so I can't imagine giving up any of it!!  My wise BIL Claude says "just keep juggling!!"  And truly, he is so right!!   :-)  

But to put it in stamp terms... I need to "just keep swimming!"

What a fitting sentiment for someone who feels like they are drowning on a daily basis and also for the person (like myself) training for a triathlon who needs to remember to stay strong during the swim portion of my race and just keep swimming!!  

I think I need to send this card to myself!!!

LOL!

I used the Ippity stamp set called Fishy Philosophy to create this card. 

If you are looking for this or any other Ippity stamp set to purchase,

 please Click HERE to find a chick near you!

And the DP is from My Mind's Eye.  I used two of the square scallops from Nestabilities to create the scalloped frame and then stamped the fish and background seaweed in SU ink.  I colored in the fish (aka ME!!) with Copics and added a Gelly Roller for sparkle on the fishes' fins!!

Here's to hanging in there when it gets really, really tough out there!!  I know I can keep it up... my whole life I have been in training for this specific time!!  I am trying to patiently wait to see what happens next to help my life find some peace again, but in the meantime, I am just going to keep on swimming!!  It really is what I do best!!  

Thanks for letting me vent!!

Now to continue on the Hip Hop today, 

please head over to Lisa Arana's blog for your next Ippity inspiration!!!

Have a great day and until next time.... just keep swimming!!  :-)

P.S. Mark you calendars for World Card Making Day beginning Oct 2nd for fun filled activities all day long!

Heavy Metal Hippity Hop!!

Good Monday Morning Ippity Peeps!!

Hippity Hop!!!

Hope you had a great weekend!!  I had been nursing a pretty mean cold/virus all week long and was so thankful to have gotten most of my strength back by Friday and Saturday.  I got a lot of neglected housework done over this weekend and even found some time to clean and reorganize my scrap area too!  Things are looking good and it really helps me feel more creative when my scrap area is organized!

Our lovely Eva is our Hippity Hop Hostess for this week and she has challenged us to use metal (IHHC43) on our creations this week!!  Be sure to stop by the DT members' blogs (the links are HERE!) to see what we have done with this challenge.  And then head back to the Ippity Blog for the complete list of today's Hippity Hop participants!!  You can have a chance to win a prize just by playing along with our challenge so be sure to visit SCS's Ippity Forum to read more about this week's metal challenge contest!

Here is what I created for today's challenge...

The metal I chose to use on my project today comes in the form of a metal stick pin by Karen Foster Designs and also a row of metal dots.  I used the pretty, feminine paper from The Girls Paperie Paper Girl collection.  I added the row of pink piping for trim and also rolled a flower from it too!!

The Ippity stamps I used on today's card are the frame and Birthday sentiment from the Just Wanted to Say set and the leaves from the Now & Always set.

  

Are you in need of some Ippity stamps like you see here today?  Then just click on the link below to find an Ippity Chick near you to purchase them from!  As soon as you get some of your own, we sure hope you will sign up and join us each week for our Hippity Hop Blog hop!!

Have a wonderful Monday and thanks so much for stopping by!!

Hugs!

It's a Flip Flop Hip Hop!!

What a fun Hip Hop we are having today!

It's a FLIP FLOP HIP HOP!!

The Unity girls are playing with Ippity Stamps and the Ippity girls are playing with Unity stamps!!

To start at the beginning, click HERE!!

You will be directed to all the DT members by clicking on the "Next Blog" icons from each blog.  Hopefully you are arriving to my blog from Karen's.  And next I will be sending you off to Lisa A's blog!

My project was based on this week's Hip Hop Sketch Challenge HHSC26

The Unity stamp set that I chose to work with is the Donna Downey set called She! (Available only in stores.  To find a store near you, please click HERE!)  I love this set and intend to make a complete album using the whole collection.  My album will be a sort of autobiography taking me from young womanhood til now and talking about the accomplishments, challenges and dreams that I have experienced in my life.

I made the cover for my album for today's project using the sketch above.

The DP is from Basic Grey's Pyrus collection.  I cut strips at various lengths and widths and staggered them onto the background paper that I spritzed with Glimmer Mists.  The edges of the cover were distressed with Jumbo Java ink and it was adhered to a chipboard album cover by Zutter.  I also added a piece of lace to add more texture, dimension and femininity to the cover.

I colored the faceless lady with Copic Markers and used only the word "She"as my album's title.  "She" will be defined by my stories that will follow in the future.

For some more Unity goodness by one of our Ippity girls, please head over to Lisa Arana's blog!

Have a great day and we sure hope you enjoyed us flipping this around a bit today! We enjoyed the chance to play with some of our other favorite stamps!!   Please stop by the SCS Unity Forum today for some chit chatting and prize give aways!!

Hip Hop and a Farewell!

Hip Hop!!

Thank for stopping by my blog today! If you started at the beginning of today's Unity and Ippity DT Hip Hop blog hop then you have made it through all the Unity DT girls' blogs and should have just left Karen's Ippity blog on your way to getting through the Ippity DT girls' blogs.  I hope you are finding lots of inspiration!

CLICK HERE!

To start at the beginning!!

And follow the icons to each of the next blogs!

Many of you know Michelle Ogdahl as the previous Manager of Ippity.  She was kind of like the team mom for the DT too!  But most importantly from the minute I started working with her and especially upon meeting her in person for the first time at CHA Winter in Anaheim, she has been my friend!

She has decided, with the blessings of all of her Unity and Ippity friends to move on in a new direction in her life and the card that I have made for today will be sent to her to show her my love and support in all that she does and has done for us!  I love her to death and hope for continued success and happiness in her new life's travels!!  We will miss her for sure, but you never want to hold someone back from knowing when it is their time to make a change!!

Thanks for all you have done Michelle 

and I wish you the best in your New Beginning!!  ♥

The card I made is based on this week's Hip Hop Sketch Challenge which is pictured below!

HHSC25

I used DP from Pebbles May Bouquet Collection, Nesties Label 10 and the following Ippity Stamp sets...

  

 To purchase either of these or any Ippity stamp sets, please click HERE!!

To create the flower image in the centerpiece, I stamped it four times total.  First in green, then in golden yellow and cut out the whole flower, then again in orange and cut out the top layer of the flower and a fourth time onto scratch paper and cut it out for a mask.  Next, I placed the mask over the my flower and used my Copics' air brush system to spray the blue around the flower for the sky background. I purposely left a little of the green flower showing underneath at the bottom to create a shadow!  I also added some stickles to the flower center and below the sentiment!  

As we bid farewell to Michelle, we are also welcoming Amy as her replacement, (see the blog post about it here!) so all will be wonderful as always in the Unity and Ippity worlds!!  Hope you guys have a great day and enjoy the rest of the Hop.

Your next stop is Lisa A's blog!!  Enjoy!!

Happy Early Birthday Stephanie!

It's Monday and I am looking forward to a wonderful week?  

I hope you are too!!  

To get  things started off in that great direction, 

let's celebrate with a little 

Hippity Hop!!

Today there are lots of bloggers and the Ippity DT ready to participate in our weekly Hop.  

Just start at the Ippity blog  for the complete list of blogs and hop along with us! 

Stephanie Muzzulin, a dear and sweet friend of mine (who I CAN"T WAIT to meet someday) was the Ippity Guest Designer for our last release and she is currently the Unity Guest Designer for August and September.  Well, tomorrow is her birthday and the Ippity DT wanted to do a little something special for her!  So the DT has dedicated the cards that we made today to Stephanie in honor of her birthday!!  When you are done with the Hop, you can head over the Unity blog where you can see Stephanie's post for today and leave her some birthday wishes in the comments section!

Here is the card I made for her. ( It is going to go postal today Steph!)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEPHANIE!!!

Maria is our hostess for today and she has challenged us to use the colors RED, GREEN, and YELLOW on our cards.  It is Ippity Hippity Hop Challenge IHHC41.  We hope that you will play along with us this week as one lucky challenge participant will win a free stamp set.  If you play along be sure to upload your card to the SCS Gallery and use the keywords, Ippity, Unity and IHHC41.

For my card today I used the following Ippity sets...

 

The designer papers I used are from Cosmo Cricket and I paper pieced the butterflies from Now and Always after stamping three of them on both the yellow floral paper and the green paper.  I also added a rhinestone to the head of the body on the butterfly!

The sentiment stamp from Just Wanted to Say stamped perfectly onto the pre-made journaling block from Cosmo Cricket.  At first I wasn't sure I would like working with these colors, but when all was said and done I was quite happy with my finished product.  Now I just hope that Stephanie is!  LOL!!

Many of the other Ippity Chicks have a special blog post honoring Michelle Ogdahl, our Ippity Manager who will be leaving us for a new venture soon.  So enjoy the hop and be ready for some wonderful Ippity Inspiration along the way!

To get some Ippity stamps of your own, please visit the link below to contact an Ippity Chick near you or select one as you hop along the blogs today!!  Have fun!!

  

Hippity Hop into Fall!

Hippity Hop and Happy Labor Day!!

And can someone please tell these pregnant women around here that Labor Day has NOTHING to do with having babies??  LOL!!  I have been on all weekend and it hasn't been too bad, but I really hope to make it through today without having any more deliveries to attend!!

So today, you know the drill!!  We are first visiting the blogs of the Ippity DT members (the list is on the Ippity blog) and then we will send you back to the Ippity blog again for the complete list of Hippity Hop participants' blogs to visit.

To get to the Ippity Blog, Click HERE!!

Angie is our hostess for today's challenge and she would like our projects to use a Fall theme!  So here is what I made for today's challenge.  It's IHHC40.

I started with the base of Kraft paper that I crinkled up and inked the wrinkles and edges with Jumbo Java ink from Versamagic.  Then I added a strip of fall colored paper by K& Co.

I stamped three leaves from the Fall For You stamp set 

and added some Copics for depth and shading.

Here is a closeup of the leaves and sentiment!

The frame is from the Love in Return set and the sentiment is also from Fall For You.  I added a rafia ribbon and bow that was completed with a Recollections fabric brad that coordinated with my projects colors to finish the project off!  Unfortunately this is as close as I will get to see any leaves with changing colors.  In Florida it is still in the 80's and 90's everyday and we really don't get to see the leaves change color too well!!  

I hope you enjoy the Hop today!!  Have a great rest of the holiday  and enjoy your day!!

 Be sure to stop by the Ippity Blog later today 

where I will be announcing the winner of last week's 

Hippity Hop Back to School Challenge!!

Thanks for stopping by!!

A Note-worthy Hip Hop!!

Welcome to my Blog!
I hope you are having a great time!!

You are on the Unity and Ippity DT Hip Hop and if you came to me from Karen Maldonado's blog then you are "right where you should be"!

If you want to start at the beginning just head over to the Unity Blog and then folllow all the Next Blog icons til you reach the end of the Hop at the Ippity Blog. I have a special tutorial there for you today, so stick it out til the end and leave some love along the way!!

If you visited my blog on Monday's Hippity Hop, then you saw my Notepad Holder HERE!  It was my sample for this week's Back to School Hippity Hop challenge for the week!

I decided to learn to make my own Notepad Holder and I have shared the tutorial on how to do it for you on the Ippity Blog.  I decorated this one up very femininely for my sweet neighbor and friend Lisa!  What do you think???

The finished size of this is 3.5 x 5.125 inches.  I used the Life is Good line of Echo Park paper that is the paper for the Ippity Summer collection.  

The Ippity stamp set used is from the Just Wanted to Say stamp set.  I first stamped the frame on The Echo Park flowered paper with our Burnt Umber Hybrid Ink. Then I stamped it again on Kraft and cut away the outer frame leaving only the inner portion.  Next I stamped the Just a Note sentiment!  I added the row of rhinestones to enhance the label!

For all the details on how to create this Notepad holder, please finish the Hop and end up at the Ippity blog for my picture tutorial.  It's a really fun and easy project to make!!  I hope you will give one a try too!!

To continue on the Hop, please head to Lisa Arana's blog for your next amazingly inspired project!!

Have a wonderful day!!