Friends with Flair Friday

It's Friday and time for Friends with Flair Unity style.  Did you check out the fun new Unity Release on Wednesday night?  If not here is a recap:

These are fun kits you will want in your collection.

Here is a tag I made using the Christmas one called naughty. nice. not sure.:

Other views:

I have been on a tag making kick lately so you will see more tags using these kits coming.  In the mean time be sure to head on over to UNITY STAMP CO and pick me Maria Levine as your chick when ordering.  Then head on over to my FB FAN PAGE where I share lots of information.

There are also some fun sales going on this weekend as well:

Be sure to swing on back here tomorrow for this week's JUST US GIRLS CHALLENGE and another creation I made using one of these new kits!

Maria

Christmas Time

Today was a big day my kids started school and they are big first graders now, very exciting stuff.  Mom did not cry like my daughter predicted but probably because I was too busy with PTA stuff at the school!

Today I'm posting over on the Stamping With the Oldies blog where we share things in our stash that we've had a while and perhaps haven't used or haven't used in a while.

I went into my stash of stamps and found this Tim Holtz Christmas image stamped a few times ready to be used but I don't think I ever used it yet.  This was from awhile ago for sure, probably last fall when Tim showed us how to use the felt pads to create an custom ink pad.

Here it is in very non traditional colors:

Of course now I don't know where I put that custom stamp pad to use again but oh well, I guess I'll have to make a new one.



Till later!

Maria

NEW UNITY RELEASE!

Tonight is the night for NEW UNITY!! WOO HOO!! Be sure to check out all the fun and excitement on the Unity Facebook page!

Be sure to hop along with all the chicks tonight here is the list:

{ippity} blog 
jenny - jen's cup of creations
andrea - ippity stamps 4 you
heather - i heart {ippity}
maria - ria creations -- YOU ARE HERE
jenmarie - taylor~made by jenmarie  -- GO HERE NEXT
rebecca - blooming pink
rona - a little inspiration from rona
jennifer - mitten's papercrafting
christine - christine's creative therapy
noelle - noelle scraps a lot
joan - tails in the stamp room
crystal - crystal's craft corner
lisa - schnauzerama
barbara - {ippity} do da
angie - {stampings of the shug}
mary - mary's creative journey
  {ippity} blog 

I wanted to share with you my witches broom project.  I got this idea from the wonderful Donna Downey.  Donna opened a new studio and she is decorating it and has this paintbrush project going on now.  I had a paintbrush in the house so I thought I would try so I did.  Maybe now I'll actually buy into her great project and feel like I can. :-)

This is using the new Halloween itty bitty called Halloween Greetings.

Some more views:

I paper pieced the dress/cape.

Be sure to check out all the great releases starting tonight and the sales that will be going on this weekend.  Come on by my Facebook Fan Page where I will share loads of information as well!

AND when you place your order I really hope that you will pick me as your Chick- Maria Levine!   While you are here I would love to have you come hop with me and my little Design team HERE!  I will pick a winner at the end of the week.

Be sure to keep your eyes peeled in the coming weeks as there will be some great changes coming!

NOW HEAD ON OVER TO THE WONDERFUL JENMARIE FOR MORE INSPIRATION!

Thanks for stopping by!

Maria

Just Us Girls Inspirational Challenge

Saturday means another Just Us Girls Challenge!  This week we have a wonderful inspiration photo challenge.  Check out this beautiful photo:

I was draw to the fact there is ALOT of white and some pretty pastel colors.  I decided to pull out my newest Sweet Stamp Shop set called lil sweet peeps.

Here is what I did:

Using alot of white was a challenge to me but I love how it turned out and I hope you do as well.  Be sure to check out the new challenges going on over at Sweet Stamp Shop.

Be sure to swing on by the JUGS Design Team and check out the wonderful work they have to share with you:

Vicki

Marisa

Lynn

Lisa

Elise

And our Guest Designer this month:

Jennifer Wills

How to play: Please copy and use our graphic on your post. You need to upload your project for this week's challenge to your online blog or public photo gallery. Leave a link that goes directly to your project in the Linky Tools form at the bottom of this post. If you upload to online galleries, please also use the keyword or tag, JUGS151 After you post to Linky Tools you may also leave a comment here.

Deadline to be considered for the "Chic of the Week" is 9:00 PM EST on Thursday, August 16th. The Linky Tools form will close at that time. Our top pick, "Chic of the Week", will be announced on the following Friday morning.

Thanks for stopping by!

Maria

Got {ippity} Blog Hop and Friends with Flair!

Welcome to the Got {ippity} Inspirational Blog hop!  My {ippity} design team and I are hopping today using a fun photo picked out by our Vicki as inspiration!

Here is the photo:

This was our inspiration for our projects today!

Here is what I came up with using Angie Girl and Let Your Heart Take Flight:

From the inspiration photo I pulled the textures using some fun fibers in the colors from the photo.  I just love the fall like colors this has.

Be sure to hop along with us and leave some love today!  I will be giving away an {ippity} prize to one person!  You have until Monday August 27th to hop along!  I will also be looking for someone to guest design with us in September!  So be sure to link your creation based on this inspiration photo to our GOT {IPPITY}facebook page!


Be sure to check out Unity and what they are doing to help one of their own:

Come and join us on my facebook fan page - GOT {IPPITY} and when you order your {ippity} from UNITY STAMP CO I would love to be your {ippity} chick just pick me - Maria Levine.


Blog hop order in case you get lost:

Maria - http://riacreations.blogspot.com/
Martha - http://creatingisfun.blogspot.com/
Vicki - http://allidoisstamp.blogspot.com/
Michelle - http://madebymk.blogspot.com/
Lisa - http://kindcreations.blogspot.com/
Julie - http://www.juliemakescards.blogspot.com/


Your next stop on this hop is to the wonderful Martha!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Maria

{ippity} Feature Wednesday

Today the {ippity} chicks are featuring yet another fabulous {ippity} kit over on the Unity Opportunity Blog.

This week's featured kit is FARM FRESH!

Here is a card I made using this fun kit:

I used solid papers and red ribbon by Stampin Up and the pattern paper is by Cosmo Cricket.  The "button" in the upper left corner of the image is the same Cosmo papers using the Martha Stewart button punch.  My red buttons are just random ones from my stash.

This Friday my {ippity} DT and myself are hopping with a fun inspiration challenge.  Then next week AUGUST 29 is the NEW {IPPITY} RELEASE YOU DON'T WANT TO MISS!! IT'S AWESOME!  The {ippity} chicks will be hopping that day starting in the evening as well!

In the meantime come on over and join my FB Fan Page - GOT {ippity}? - Maria Levine's {ippity} fan page!

And finally when ordering your {ippity} stamps be sure to pick me MARIA LEVINE as your {ippity} chick!  Order on the Unity Stamp Co. website today!

Till later!

Maria

Stamping With The Oldies Tuesday

It's Tuesday and time for my post on Stamping With The Oldies!  This week we are pulling out our old tools and putting them to work.

Remember this oldie but goody:

Yes that is a crimper!  And one that I purchased many years ago, I couldn't tell you when.  I haven't used this thing in years.  Ok I admit my kids found it one day and loved it but I haven't used it for a project in some time.  Today I used it on parts of my tag that I made.

Not sure how well you can tell but I promise you I did crimp.  The middle portion with the house (Webster Pages Journal cards, something else that has been sitting for some time) is crimped on the right hand side.  The butterfly (from Webster's Pages) is also crimped!  The pieces on the bottom under the button they are also crimped.

More photos:

So there you have it!  Now go check your stash I'll bet many if not all of you have one of these bad boys!  Go play it's fun, just let's not bring back the crimped hair look ok?

Till later!

Maria

Queen Kat - Edith

Here is a cool Halloween image (well to me at least) from Queen Kat Designs.  This is Edith the super cool image by QKD drawn by Maigan Lynn.

 I used some background papers with writing so I made us of the word Vampire as the sentiment on this card.  I have been loving distressed edges so my edges here are distressed using the Tim Holtz edge distresser.

There you have it for some simple spooky fun!

Till tomorrow!

Maria

Lil' Sweet Peps

I've been into making tags lately!  Recently I found a small stash of manilla (tim holtz style) tags and I've been using them a lot!  They are a lot of fun to create with.

Here is a tag using the Sweet Stamp Shop set called Lil' Sweet Peps:

Starting next week the Sweet Stamp Shop will host a weekly challenge on their flicker group.  So be sure to stay tuned and check in with their blog for more details!  I will be playing along for sure!

Well that's all for now!

Maria

Friends with Flair Friday

I'm a little late today it's been busy!  But I have a simple creation to share with you.  I've been into making some journal pages lately.  I bought a small 6x6 journal to use as an art journal/scrapbook.  I wanted to still work on art journal pages of sort but add some photos like a scrapbook.  Here is a 2 page layout I made using {ippity} stamps.

I used the {ippity} kits Love in Return.   I would love to be your {ippity} chick so when you order {ippity} on the Unity Website be sure to pick me MARIA LEVINE as your {ippity} chick!

Here are some close ups of the pages:

Now swing on by and join my GOT {ippity} FB PAGE!

That's all for now!

Maria

Sweet n' Sassy Sketch Challenge

This week over at the The Sweet Stop is a new sketch challenge.  Check out this great sketch:

Here is what I did using this sketch and the stamp sets: Cocoa's Christmas (for the sentiment) and Woof  You.

I used some new paper I got in a Fall/Halloween/Christmas pack by Cloud 9 Designs.  My solid paper is by Stampin Up.  The ribbon by Gina K Designs and the flower is Prima.  The background texture is the Provo Craft Swiss Dots folder (my favorite).

Be sure to head on over to the Sweet Stop and play along with this fun sketch this week.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Five O'Clock - Wine Time!

Today is my turn to post on a new blog called STAMPIN WITH THE OLDIES.  Have you check it out yet?  The concept is that we have so much crafty items in our stash and much of which we have never used or haven't used in a long time.  This new blog I am a part of shares fun creations using      those old crafty items.  I hope that you will swing on by for some old time inspiration!


 I pulled out an old unstamped Unity Kit I had in my stash to make this card:

The paper and ribbon where in my assorted stash of stuff so I'm not sure who they are by.  I think the ribbon is a basic spool from Michael's.

I actually don't know if this is still a part of the Unity inventory because I can't remember what the name is and I've tried to search for it.  Anyhow, it is indeed one of my first Unity kits a few years ago and these stamps were seriously unlinked!


Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Maria

Paper Smooches SPARKS Challenge

This week the Paper Smooches SPARKS challenge is a Trend Watch challenge.  Check out this simple image which is this week's inspiration:

So I took the "travel" part of this and went to an old DCWV stack pack that I have that is travel themed.  Using the set called Perpetual Bliss I came up with this card:

I guess the background paper could be sort of silly but at the same time I thought it was kinda of neat and different.

My lace is from Creating is Fun.  The black ribbon is a simple spool from Michael's, the maroon buttons are SU and the black just in my stash.

Thanks for stopping by!

Maria

Just Us Girls Technique Challenge

This week with Just Us Girls it's Technique Challenge time!  This week's technique picked by the wonderful Lisa is using Ribbon Scraps.  Check out this great tutorial by Gina K on Stamp TV HERE.

Here is what I did with my version of using scraps:

This is using my ribbon scraps some (the green ones) being from Gina K Designs.  The great pattern paper is by Simple Stories called Summer Fresh.  The fun sentiment in the middle is also from that pack as well.

Be sure to check out what the Just Us Girls DT cooked up for this fun challenge:

  Jennifer Wills - August  Guest Designer

Lynn

Lisa

Vicki

 Marisa
Elise

And don't forget we would love to have you come play with us:

How to play: Please copy and use our graphic on your post. You need to upload your project for this week's challenge to your online blog or public photo gallery. Leave a link that goes directly to your project in the Linky Tools form at the bottom of the JUGS POST.  If you upload to online galleries, please also use the keyword or tag, JUGS150. After you post to Linky Tools you may also leave a comment here.

Deadline to be considered for the "Chic of the Week" is 9:00 PM EST on Thursday, August 16th. The Linky Tools form will close at that time. Our top pick, "Chic of the Week", will be announced on the following Friday morning.

Thanks for stopping by!

Maria

Friends with Flair Friday - {ippity} Style

It's been a couple of weeks since I've posted for Friends with Flair.  The summer has me very busy with both kids home.  But it's fun.  I only wish it would get a little cooler!

Lately I've been playing around with other things than cards.  I've been into making tags and going back to working on my journals.  Basically just playing around in similar ways that I make cards, just in my art journal.  I actually just got another journal in a 6 x 6 size in which I want to start a "scrapbook" of sorts.  Keep it art journal like, play around with paints and mediums but add pictures of my kids.

Anyhow, here is a 2 page layout in my 5 x 7 sized art journal using some {ippity} stamps.

Here is one page:

So in the end these are not that fabulous and wonderful but it's fun to just play around.  I colored the flower petals using liquitex liquid ink and added that around the edges.  The base is a newsprint paper from Stampin Up but I also stamped dream to Be all around it.

Thanks for swinging by today!  I would love to be your {ippity} chick when you order from Unity Stamp Co.  Then be sure to come on and join me on my {ippity} FB page - GOT {ippity}?

That's all for now!

Maria

Love's Song

Today I want to share a wonderful image from Queen Kat Designs Love's Song.

I decided to go bright and cheery and use orange on the card.  I only cut a part of the full image using my oval scalloped nestablities.  With some simple layering these papers go together great.  

Be sure to swing on by the Queen Kat Shop to see all of Maigan Lynn's wonderful images as well as all the other great stamps offered.

Till later!

Maria

{ippity} Feature Wednesday

Each week on the {ippity} opportunity blog another {ippity} kit is featured.  This week we are featuring the kit called Quotes a'la Happy.  Check out this great kit:

I made yet another tag for this feature using paper from Simple Stories:

Be sure to swing on by the BLOG and check out what all the {ippity} chicks have cooked up.

I would love to have you come join me on my {ippity} FB Fan page Got {ippity}?

Thanks for stopping by!

Maria 

A Walk Back In Time - Stamping With The Oldies

Stamping With The Oldies is a new inspirational blog that I'm involved in.  The idea is to use your "old" stash of stuff that you haven't used in a long time!  Last week we kicked things off by pulling out our first stamp or stamp set to use.  This week we are going back to our very first public posting of a card, ie. on SCS or our blogs and case ourselves!

Here is the very first card I posted on SCS back on October 9, 2007!  Wow that was awhile ago but I seriously thought it should have been earlier than that.  I started stamping in 2002 did I really wait that long to start posting?  Hum....  Anyhow, that's what is there when I went back to check.

Here is that card:

Here is my card I made for today case'ing the above card.  I went with the same layout, theme and colors.

For this card I used images from Unity Stamp Co.  It's an itty bitty that I had for a while but never used.

Check it out go back in the gallery you post in or your blog and check it out see what your first card was.  I dare you to case it maybe you can combine it with the challenge we have going on:

Make a project using your first stamp set (or your oldest if you don't still have your first) and link it HERE by Wednesday August 8th MIDNIGHT EST for a chance to win a package of stamps, paper and goodies. 

Thanks so much for stopping by today!


Maria