Operation Julie's Smile blog hop Oct. 7-10

Hello, friends:}

Today is a BIG day in blogland--we are having a benefit blog hop for Julie Ranae. If you came here from Nicole Rixon's blog, then you are in the right spot. If not, you may want to start from the beginning at the Sweet Stamp Shop's blog and take your time! You have ALL WEEKEND to hop with us and win prizes!! 


Many of my followers know that I am on the SSS and PDCC with her....and I would consider Julie as one of my best friends! She is always there with advice, love, support, encouragement....she is the BESTEST:} I wanted to share a small story about this hop and Julie-- 

Nicole Rixon, owner of Sweet Stamp Shop put together this benefit after finding out about this situation and before Julie Ranae knew it, it took flight! Because she is an event organizer by trade, she has taken on the job of organizing all of the blogs in this hop as her way of ‘working overtime’ for what she needs, the same as if she were able to work overtime at an outside job to pay for the work to be done. It is the goal of all of these generous friends & sponsors to help make this situation more do-able for our friend so that she can share a brand new smile with all of us soon. If there is anything you can do to help with a financial donation, there is a donation button ready for you to click.  Any amount is appreciated and ALL DONATIONS will be eligible for prizes from our sponsor pool of over $2500.

Here is a bit of information about our prizes: We have over $2500 in prizes donated by very generous companies [a complete list of sponsors will be listed on the SSS blog].

Prizes will be drawn for the following: 

1) from Blog comments left 

2) from Paypal Donation list {donation button found below or on my sidebar}




For my creation, I used my Sweet Tooth stamp set by SSS. I thought it would be appropriate! I saw an add from My Favorite Things stating a deal that was the "triple scoop special". It made me think of Julie--she's triple scoop sweet:} Then I saw a sketch by Ingrid that I wanted to use. And this is what I came up with--LOVE it! LOVE the papers and the triple scoops--love those alphas {by My Little Shoebox}!!! And I just LOOOOVE these ribbons, available at The Ribbon Carousel!

That's it for me--be sure to stop by the next blog on this hop::: CAS-ual Fridays! If you get lost at any time, just stop by the SSS blog for a complete list of participants! Make sure you leave a comment here before you go so that you can have a chance at the amazing prizes up for grabs and if you can--please make a donation so we can help bring back a new smile for Julie! And don't forget that you have ALL WEEKEND to leave comments and love for everyone, donate, and win prizes! 


THANKS so much for stopping--and THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for all your support for our friend, Julie!! This means a lot to her--and to me:} Be blessed!

Operation Julie's Smile

Hello, friends:}


I have some special information to share with you today! I bet you've heard me talk about my friend, Julie Ranae, before! I first "met" Julie when I was asked to join The Play Date Cafe challenge...and it was just meant to be! Julie has been a super amazing friend, teammate, and leader! She is sooooo caring and super encouraging! We even met in person last Christmas--you can read about it HERE! 

Recently, Julie has undergone some oral surgery where she had her two front teeth pulled. My good friend, Nicole (owner of The Sweet Stamp Shop), has explained this situation well---
Many may know that a few weeks ago, Julie Ranae had to have emergency oral surgery resulting in the removal of her two front teeth.  The dentist at that time believed the best course of action would be to remove the rest of her teeth and replace them with permanents. (as to avoid *years* of dental work) Relieved at finding a solution to this major dental problem .. she visited the office for dental surgery the week. Unfortunately, it wasn't the visit she was expecting.  After the consultation and scheduling the surgery, the surgeon's office informed her that she would need to bring $4000 back to the appointment with her and they would proceed.  This amount would not include the 'dentures' to follow.

Here Julie is today, sitting without front teeth that were pulled with the belief that they would be replaced immediately. It is an overwhelming experience for our dear friend and one that I hope our creative community can help with.

I am super excited about our benefit blog hop called 'Operation Julie's Smile'. This hop will take place October 7-9. There are a variety of companies and design teams who will be participating in this hop to help raise funds for this benefit. So far, nearly $500 in prizes have been made available and will be awarded for both participants and those who donate!!!

Operation Julie's Smile is now accepting designers/teams who would like to be a part of the benefit hop.  If you are interested
in getting involved in this creative fundraising event, please contact Nicole Rixon at nicolehrixon@gmail.com  The deadline to be a part of the hop is Wednesday, Sept 28th.  Participants will be notified of the blog hop order between Oct 3rd-5th.

This blog hop is an opportunity to have fun, feature your design work and raise money for a friend in need.  A donation button will be made available to all who participate {see below}.


I hope you will join in the fun--and please pray about your involvement/donation! Don't forget--if you would like to participate in the hop, please contact Nicole. And here is a donation button if you feel so inclined to help out our friend, Julie!

THANKS so much for visiting-- your participation and donation mean so much!! THANK YOU!!! Many blessings:}

PDCC #78 - Growing In Unity Day #5

Hello, friends:}

I've got lots to share...first up....It's my week of Growing in Unity!! Be sure to stop by each day {April 17-23} and leave some love for your chance to win several prizes!! Become a follower for an extra entry!! Gotta love prizes!! 

Today also starts another beautiful color story over at The Play Date Cafe. OH! Just love this color palette! And this inspiration photo by Julie Ranae is FABBBBY! We are going red, pink, and baby blue this week! I used my Unity Life Becoming set for the butterfly. I embossed it on transparency. The baby blue polka dot paper is a digi from Nina Bracket. LOVE it! I also used my Unity April KOTM {Small Things Matter Most} for the sentiment. I love that twine [light pink and red] holding the button on the seam binding bow--overall...I LOVE it! 

Not sure you can tell--but that smaller polka dot paper is light pink-S.E.I. Happy Day paper.

ETA--UPDATE:::Because I had an overwhelming response to my CAS frame [before picture to the left]--I edited it to add a light blue butterfly on transparency {Unity's Small Things Matter Most}. I also added a large light pink gem. I think this matches the PDCC challenge colors this week PERFECTLY! LOVE it! 

Not sure if you can see the colors well--but I promise you that it matches the PDCC colors in real life! Sometimes the camera doesn't catch that! Eh!

That's it for me--but you will want to jump on over to all these other amazing PDCC DT members' blogs! Our special Guest designer this week is Hanna Craner. So happy to have her on our team this week:} 

Sarah Anderson

Andrea Ewen

Ruby 2 Shoes

Julie Ranae

Jaclyn Miller

Michele Gross

Tracey Kuzniak

Jinny Newlin

Libby Hickson

Fiona Shultz

Colleen Dietrich {New Private Blend Designer}

Hanna Craner {Guest Designer}

Be sure to head over to The Play Date Cafe for ALL the details--remember to link up your creation before Tuesday, April 26th at 11:59pm. And don't forget to stop by our sponsor's site:: Market Street Stamps. All the information for this challenge is HERE over on the PDCC blog. Hope you will join in the fun!

Thanks so much for stopping by! LOVE LOVE LOVE my PDCC challenges! LOVE the team soooooo much:} And I love our players--we have the BESTEST players! Be blessed.

ps...Your comments make me smile--and they enter you in this week's giveaways for Growing in Unity! I've got a couple of prize packages, as well as a Unity stamp set, to give away! If you haven't stopped by HERE or HERE or HERE or HERE-- do so and leave some love for your chance to win!! 

H{ippity} Hopping April 18

Hello, friends:}

It's my week of Growing in Unity!! Be sure to stop by each day {April 17-23} and leave some love for your chance to win several prizes!! Become a follower for an extra entry!! Gotta love prizes!! 

Today is also H{ippity} Hop!! HOOORAY! Be sure to stop by the Ippity blog for a complete list of participants! Love hopping around and seeing all the wonderful eye candy! 

I made these fortune cookies for the Paper Crafts April 2011 Gallery Challenge {wedding projects}. These cookies are perfect favors. Inside they say different things, but the one featured uses my Ippity Regal Greetings set [flourish-masked] and So This Is Love set. The cookies themselves have been embossed with Ippity's Regal Greetings image. LOVE how they turned out! **NOTE:: Thanks to Trav for great photos--mine were NOT that good! 

A great photo by Trav--so clever:}

And I made this fun Easter/Spring card for ABC DT challenge. I love love love this bunny from Ippity's Sweet Thoughts of Spring. I also used a sentiment from that set--I masked it and stamped it several times using my new A*Muse Studio inks {available from Julie Ranae}. LOVE LOVE LOVE! I also used Ippity's sketch challenge for this card. PERFECT! LOVE!

That's it for me today! Don't forget to head over to the Ippity blog for more blogs to hop! And while you are out and about in blogland...check out these challenges:::

• PDCC #77- tan, green, and white color story
• EIC #135- visiting Creating Is Fun
• ATU#29- using a sketch and Unity/Ippity stamps

Thanks so much for stopping by! LOVE when I get to share my creations with you!! I also LOVE Growing in Unity!! LOVE LOVE LOVE:) Blessings!

ps...don't forget to leave some comments all week! I've got Unity stamps to give away, plus a couple packages of goodies!! 

High Heels and the Unity/Moxie Fab challenge

Hello, friends:}


I just love my high heels! And I told Jimmi and Julie Ranae that I would do a post about heels! So gals--this is for you:}


I would like to introduce to you my newest loves:::
Love #1: {brand} Guess-- I just love this color (taupe). LOOOOOVE how sleek and sexy these shoes are! And HIGH! These are the shoes that I wore when I met Angela!! LOVE!

Love #2: Another Guess pair and in the same color! We call these the "Las Vegas shoes"--the bottom style was super popular out there in November last year. I just started wearing them....so I'm a bit behind. Still love them though!!

Love #3: {brand} Jessica Simpson-- Not so crazy about the color but I have to admit that these look HOT with white shorts and a green shirt! LOVE LOVE LOVE! Maybe I will take a pic of that outfit tomorrow!

And all these high heels inspired me to make a fashion 3D project for the Unity monthly challenge {fashion forward}. I used my Unity animal print [Just You] with the sentiment from To The Moon & Back, as well as the ticket [The Best Is Yet To Be]. On the ticket, I used Unity's Soiree and Such for the sentiment. LOVE how this shoe box turned out with the heels! This wasn't hard to make either! Makes me love this project MORE! This gift set/gift card holder also fits the Gift Wrap Challenge in the Moxie Fab World challenge. Perfect:}

  The whole thing--shoe box, lid, gift card for shopping, and shoes

Just one shoe--embossed and inked. LOVE it!

That's it for me today! Be sure to stop by tomorrow for more Play Date Cafe fun!! And later this week, I'll be bringing some Unity creations for FWF and EIC challenge projects too. And while I'm at it--I'll mention that the All Things Unity challenge {buttons} ends this Saturday! So link up HERE! 


Thanks so much for stopping by! LOVE sharing with you! Oh--and just in case you are wondering...I'm 5'9" on a bad day and 5'10" on a good day...and on a really good day with heels I can get to 6'2" or 3"!! LOVE IT! Be blessed:}