The Whimsical Butterfly: July 2010

Saturday, July 31, 2010

L8R Sk8R...

Hey everyone!

As promised, I'm back for another RAD preview from The Greeting Farm as I make the trek home from CHA! We are SO excited to bring you another preview today, a new 4x6 sheet featuring a Miss Anya AND a My Guy Ian: "Later Sk8R" This adorable and hip new set will be available for purchase beginning on Sunday, August 1st! It's been a WHILE since we did either one of these beloved characters in rubber, so the BUZZ is all about the Farm that this is one FUN set!

Today we are also teaming up, Farmers and Team Anya alike for another sample soiree! Today it's OUR turn to play along w/ Team Anya using a FABULOUS Saturday Sketch challenge by Pam!

Here's the sketch:

...and here's my card using the fun and funky new "Oliver" line of DP by Basic Grey-isn't she super cute w/ her blue hair? I LOVE this new set!!!

Be sure to head on over to Club Anya & Friends for all the details of how to play along this week, and be sure to visit ALL the DT's blogs because ONE LUCKY COMMENTER on the Club Anya and Friend's blog today will WIN THIS SET!!!

Our awesome DT 'force' is waiting for you:

Cindy Haffner
Jessica Diedrich <--you are here!
Kadie Ensley
Kim Nath
Mary Giles
Mercy Kerin
Randi Wall
Tammy Maxvill
- Amy Young
- Kelly Booth
- Kristy Young-Aug Guest Designer CA&F
- Kim Costello
- Pam Varnell
- Traci Porter

Thanks again for stopping by today and we'll see you back TOMORROW NIGHT at 7pm CST for a one hour chat on PCP, our HUGE customer Blog Hop on the TGF blog, and we cannot WAIT to celebrate TGF's second birthday with you!!!

I sure do hope you've enjoyed this week of previews here on the blog and can't WAIT to party w/ you tomorrow!!! xoxo,

Friday, July 30, 2010

Tuesday's Child is Full of Grace...and kinda Creepy ;)

Hello, everyone and welcome back!

Today is The Greeting Farm's Farm Fresh Friday! We have a special post today featuring TWO brand NEW CREEPERS on the TGF Blog! Be sure to stop by and say hello to Tuesday and Friday! These WICKED SWEET new additions will be released on Sunday, August 1st during our 2-year anniversary celebration! Can you BELIEVE TGF is turning two?!?

Before we get to today's challenge, we have a SPECIAL annoucement for you! Helping ring in TGF's second birthday is Tammy Maxvill, TGF's newest FARMER! Many of are probably familiar with Tammy's work and her awesome 3D projects from back when she was a Gardener for TGF! We are happy to welcome her back and know that she's thrilled to be here, too!

We are also excited to announce, should you have missed it this past Wednesday on the CA&F Blog, that Kristy Young has joined Team Anya as our AUGUST GUEST DESIGNER! Woo hoo! HOORAY for special announcements and for parties beginning! Can you sense the magic in the air!?!

Sadly, we are also saying goodbye to two of our Critter Crew members this week, Sandra and Sparkle! Thanks for all your efforts and be on the lookout for a DT call coming SOON!

Let's get to the challenge! The wonderful MARY GILES has put together not one, but TWO sketches for you today, combined w/ inspirational elements we'd love to see incorporated in that sketch! Your mission? Choose ONE sketch and recreate it using the INSPIRATIONAL elements drawn into the sketch as well! TWO years-TWO choices, TWO previews today! You get to choose!

Here are the sketches:

The Farmers & Team Anya are gearing up for a HUGE 2nd Anniversary week and are joining forces ALL WEEK to bring you even more fabulous samples, ideas, and prizes! In fact, FOUR DT members have "hidden" Creepers up for grabs on their blogs today, so be sure and VISIT! We'll announce the winner on the TGF Blog tomorrow!

For now, I'd like you to meet Tuesday Creeper. She's a little bit creepy, little bit classy, and I ADORE her!

Be sure to visit the blogs of my teammates today and the Critter Crew, too! .ALL of these talented ladies have something amazing for you:

Cindy Haffner

Amy Young
Jessica Diedrich
Kelly Booth
Kim Costello
Kristy Young-Team Anya Aug Guest Designer
Pam Varnell
Traci Porter
We'll be back tomorrow for ANOTHER stellar preview that you won't want to miss! The FUN is just beginning this week at the Farm-we are celebrating BIG!

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Brave Girls like to Hip Hop...Part Two...

Hello, hello again!

This week is just CRAZY FULL of new and fun stuff, is it not?!? By the time you read this, I will hopefully be gallivanting around the Donald Stephens Center with two or twenty of my closest stampy friends, LOL! I am SOOO excited to see people again and to meet new faces, too! Good times are ahead..GOOD times.

I have more of my Brave Girl mini-album to show you today, and I hope that you'll stop by the UNITY blog as well, as there are more samples there, too! Today we are celebrating Melody Ross and all of the wonderful new kits she is bringing to UNITY!

Here are some more pages inside the book using Brave Girl, some Scrapbook Royalty, and her latest "One Precious Life":

I'm a little bit Sassy...I do things ANYWAY...

...and I'm DEFINITELY a big softy...in fact, I cry

often just because things touch my heart and you know what...THAT's ok :) I appreciate

tender moments,

silent photographs that are being taken constantly in my MIND-

EVERY time I look at my children...

(two-page layout)

This is one of my FAVORITE pages.

It was a MISTAKE. I used my ChipArt tool and had the S sideways...

..at first I was going to throw it out..but then...an idea was born...

and it sprouted wings, too :)

This is MY art...and it's not perfect...and it's a little bit sparkly... just like I feel... :)

Yeah, I make stuff...'nuf said :)

(two page layout)

Thanks for remaining on this little journey of self w/ me. I really enjoyed your comments and your asking to see more last week-it really made me feel good to know you liked it!

Last but not least, we have ANOTHER Unity Sneak Peek today featuring a stamp from the August Kit of the Month:

Isn't it great? I have some ideas swirling for this one ALREADY...and I'm really diggin' the ledger backgrounds...SUPER fun!

Be sure to head on over to Jimmi's blog next and also to head over to the UNITY blog if you haven't started there and I'll be back NEXT FRIDAY for Friends With Flair to show you Part THREE of my five-part mini-album :) So glad you're here!

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Everyone Loves a FLIRT...

Hey friends!

I am back with another preview for CHA week and the first of the ADORABLE Greeting Farm previews that I have up my sleeve! It's going to be an exciting week on the Farm and there is no better way to wind up our MONTH of COLOR CHALLENGES at Club Anya & Friends then to end with a preview!

Here is this week's WCW Challenge, brought to you by Traci:

And HERE SHE IS....

Introducing....FLIRTY Anya! HOW cute is she?

I have to admit, these colors threw me for a loop. But I am so glad that I recently gotten the ADORABLE "Walk in the Park" paper line from Echo Park-the colors worked perfectly and she is just DARLING!

Be sure to head over to the Club Anya blog-there are LOTS more previews and this great challenge just WAITING for you to play! I'll see you back on Friday with more TGF love and tomorrow I have more of my mini-album to show you!!

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Cosmo in the HOUSE!...

{{{THANK YOU for scrolling down to see my Mercy's Tuesday Sketch Challenge post!}}}

Hello my friends...can you FEEL the excitement in the air???

The stress is beginning to melt away and there is a light at the end of the tunnel...or should I say HIGHWAY, baby! That's RIGHT! In just a few short days I'll be CHA bound and cannot WAIT to see my Unity girls again, let alone my friends that I'll be makin' the trek with. I also can't wait to see my high school best friends-one for sure and another hopefully, both who I had lost touch with for several years, but thanks to Facebook I have some GOOD TIMES ahead. Most of all, I can't wait to see my SISTER and COUSIN/BFF :) . Most of you know I lived in the Chicago 'burbs my whole life until a year ago when we moved to Nashville, and even though Nash feels like home in ways Chicago never did, I can't wait to get together with them! Should be SUPAH FUN!

Well-gearing up for CHA is the NAME of the GAME over at UNITY. We have sooooo many awesome projects on the UNITY BLOG this week as we show ya some peeks of what's being released THIS WEEK!

I have two projects to share on the Unity Blog...but here is one using the new "DeLovely Vintage stamp set. You can see ALL the Cosmo sets HERE:

Be sure to head to the UNITY blog for more samples and for the rest of the week to keep up with the CHA madness-it's ALWAYS a blast!

Last but not least, I have another Kit of the Month sneak peek for AUGUST-it's my FAVE image of the kit and I cannot wait to get this one inky!:

Thanks for stopping by today and I'll be back tomorrow with TONS more to share-TGF Previews start and it's gonna be INSANE CUTE! See ya then!

Love to be CAREFREE...

SOOOO true!

And if there was EVER a day I needed the reminder, today would be THE day! It always tends to be stressful before a big trip or event and I have to say I can 'feel' it in the air this week. It started to make me sad...so when I saw this CUTE CUTE CUTE sentiment from Echo Park's "Summertime" line-I knew I had to use it!

I flipped the AWESOME MTSC Sketch this week:

And here is my card using the ADORABLE "Tree Hugger" image by Christy Croll. I LOVE this little Tiddly Inks image and since my DD is so environmentally conscious I thought it was PERFECT for her! I'm going to leave this card for her when I leave Wed. for CHA!

Be sure to check out the rest of Mercy's Muses this week, including our FABULOUS Guest Designer, Peggy! My sweet friend has come to her last week w/ us and I'm going to miss her but thankfully we still have Oh, Alice together! Here are the rest of our awesome friends:

See you back here with a UNITY sneak peek you won't want to MISS!

Monday, July 26, 2010

Are YOU a Creative Girl?...

...I think you ARE!!!

Hey everyone...

Well, it's HERE. MARATHON WEEK BEGINS!!! I have a TON to show you this week, and am anxious to get started with some new UNITY RUBBAH!

UNITY is proud to be working with some really awesome designers to bring you a HUGE CHA release that's going to be debuted in JUST a few days! But hey, if you're here-you can get a sneaky peek today and also on the UNITY blog...

Introducing "CREATIVE GIRL", illustrated by the UBER fun and funky Suzi Blu:

(Click to enlarge and see Stardust Pen detail more closely)

This is a HUGE 3.5x5 stamp and she is just as whimsical and doodly as ever and I LOVE the quote that surrounds her:

" I am a CREATIVE GIRL. I have the right to make my MARK. I deserve a rewarding and CREATIVE LIFE..."

I used a Sakura Stardust pen after coloring her w/ some Copics (mostly BG10) and my favorite part of making this, besides the Stardust pen, was paper-piecing her little dress here :)

I did create another card using this image-not sure how I feel about this one. I do like that it's a bit more colorful though?

What do you think? I definitely think I like the one on top better, but that pic also came out a lot better. Either way, this SUPER fun "CREATIVE GIRL" will be available in stores that sell Unity after Summer CHA!

Last but not least, today is the first day of sneak peeks for the August Kit of the Month as well! Here's a little peek for ya:

In traditional Jessica style, I'm not going to tell you that it's my fave because I know..they are almost EVERY month..BUT....

BUT!....I will tell you-it's TOP THREE for sure ;) LOVE this new kit and I'll have a peek for you tomorrow as well!

Thanks for hanging with me today and I'll see you here tomorrow for another UNITY sneak peek! (TWO of them ,actually ;)

Saturday, July 24, 2010

CHAPTER 23: Ravens and Writing Desks...

"The Hatter opened his eyes very wide on hearing this; but all he said was, "Why is a raven like a writing-desk?"
"Come, we shall have some fun now!" thought Alice. "I'm glad they've begun asking riddles. — I believe I can guess that," she added aloud.
"Do you mean that you think you can find out the answer to it?" said the March Hare.
"Exactly so," said Alice.
"Then you should say what you mean," the March Hare went on.
"I do," Alice hastily replied; "at least--at least I mean what I say--that's the same thing, you know."

Hello everyone!

We are ready to FLY with this week's challenge here at Oh, Alice!

This week, we challenge you to use BIRDS on your card or papercrafting project! We may never know the answer to the riddle above, but while we're pondering that and life's little mysteries we may as well make a great card or two in the process, right?

I used the incredible Melody Ross's "Brave Girl" stamp set from UNITY to make this card-"Born to Fly". I LOVE the vintage birdcage look and it's all the rage right now!

I want to THANK ALL of you for the super sweet bday wishes yesterday-I am truly touched by your sweet messages and can really say y'all know how to make a girl feel GOOD. I had a WONDERFUL day with my family and I'm so lucky to be living this LIFE! I am TRULY Blessed and grateful beyond words for ALL of it!!!

Be sure to visit Oh, Alice for this week's samples by the lovely and talented DT...and my sweet friends from every corner of the globe:

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!!!

Friday, July 23, 2010

Friends FOREVER...

HELLO, HELLO!

Today is a lot of things...it's Farm Fresh Friday at The Greeting Farm, it's also the day that my AMAZING Design Team decided to pretend there were blogger problems and kick me out of admin. Surprisingly this didn't unnerve me as much as it NORMALLY would...because today is ALSO the day that I found out that I will be published in Paper Crafts magazine for the FIRST TIME (Jan issue :) and ALSO the day that my cousin came to visit me from Chicago. I'd say it was a pretty good day for starters!!!

It only got better when I found out WHY "blogger" was having this little issue....today is my birthday. Apparently my TGF peeps had a little something up their sleeve...and well...you'll just have to check out the TGF Blog and Club Anya Blog (wince, LOL!) to see WHY!

The card I have for you today is appropriately titled "FRIENDS FOREVER". That is exactly what I hope to have with these girls. You guys have TOUCHED MY HEART in ways I can't even explain and now MY post is late because I was crying too much to see the computer screen, LOL! (add to that Marie was really trying to distract me til the stroke of midnight, LOL!)

I don't know what else to say...I am really floored by the display of generosity in spirit and the beautiful things that you guys have to say...add to that all the Facebook messages I'm already getting and emails too...and I haven't even gone to bed yet, LOL. I am really excited about ALL of it.

THANK YOU----from the bottom of my VERY. FULL. HEART. I have a lot of reading to do today on your blogs...and from what I've read so far, I don't have words yet...just love. SO MUCH LOVE.

Please do me the honor today of checking out these AMAZINGLY talented dear hearts and see what they've been keeping from me, haha :

Love you all!!!!!! I hope that I can make someone smile today as much as you've made ME smile...I adore this day even more now. What a beautiful bunch of hearts you all have!

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Brave Girls like to Hip Hop...

Hello bloggin' friends!

{{{PLEASE SCROLL DOWN for my TGF Scrappin' Summer post-there are two girls that are TOO cute to miss on this week's layout ;) THANK YOU!!!}}}

Thursday has come again so quickly but I'm kind of glad about that because I have been holding in a pretty big project for a while and am SO glad to be able to show it to you little by little over the next week or so...

Most of you know by now from reading my blog lately that I am SUPER amazed with the designs of Melody Ross-beginning with her Brave Girl line and the wonderful sets she has been designing for Unity ever since! Melody also has a lot of products available that you can create with, aside from her awesome stamps, this adorable (and pink!) mini-album is one of her products (got it at Archiver's the last time I was in Chicago for a day, long time ago and it's been CALLING my name to use it!)

I decided I wanted to make an album that defined ME. I have to say, beginning the journey was a little unsettling, seeing as how most of the pictures were of ME and it felt...I dont' know, kind of weird to be making this focus on myself when I'm normally scrapping pics of my kids or friends, etc. Me. No "holds barred" as they say (and, in the case below, NO makeup...which is really unsettling for me to be showing you this BUT it's ME :) Take it or leave it, right? ;) Mostly, I just wanted to embrace that there were little tidbits of my soul that could be transpired onto paper:

However, if you know me, at ALL-you might not be surprised that I really have embraced my ability to be vocal about my sentiments-love life and I have a lot to say. While it's not for everyone, I WANT to be able to share that and pass it down to my children, especially. Nothing puts you in touch w/ your own mortality better than them. I hate to say that-it's my biggest fear in a lot of ways-but a BIGGER fear is that if something were to happen to me tomorrow that I would want them to know that I loved them to the core of my being-that they ARE my very purpose for living and that they are the most amazing people I know. You'll see more of them as I reveal the pages of my little book here...

That starts with a little about me and the way I choose to see my world...

Well, I'm so glad you stopped by today and be sure to get YOUR Brave Girl on while shopping at UNITY and seeing what the scoop is on the UNITY Blog today!

For now, thanks for letting me share...there's lots more, but for now, my sweet friend Jimmi is waiting for you!

Have an AMAZING Thursday-I will try to pop in on the SCS forum today but my wonderful cousin/BFF Kim is in for the day and I cannot WAIT to hang w/ her!!!

Makin' a SPLASH all Summer Long...

Hi, friends!

I actually am a little emotional sharing this layout with you today as I realize how very close we are to the end of summer...maybe not weather wise...but...

Where we live, the kids to to "year-round" school. This concept puzzles me because a.) it's not true and b.) well...it's just not true. LOL! Nevertheless, the kids start late July or early August, have a few longer breaks during the year, but then are only off about 8 weeks in the summer. MY how time has FLOWN this summer. We have a crazy busy schedule this week/weekend, next week is CHA, and then the kids start school the following Monday. We are all prepared-school supplies have been purchased and everything labeled...but my heart does sink a bit knowing how fast this all occurred!

Over on the TGF Blog we are having another Scrapbooking Challenge and this week the theme is SUMMER FUN!

Looking at this layout, you can tell these two water babies are having just that-FUN. And always so happy together. HOORAY for having a sister, friend, cousin maybe (said as my "cousin/BFF is in TOWN visiting me!!)? that you're HAPPIEST with when you're around :)

Til next time...

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Nothin' but BLUE SKIES, baby!...

Well, HI there!

Hope you are all doing well on this fun and busy Tuesday. It occurred to me that this is the last week I have to get the kids school supplies purchased and make sure everyone's jeans still touch their heels so I'm a little frazzled! The kids go back to school here on Aug. 2nd and I'll be gone the week before so gotta do it all this week!

I'm also expecting some VERY fun visitors at the end of this week (thurs) so this week is a busy stamping week for me too! Can't wait to see some family and enjoy the next few days!

I do have my card to show you today for Mercy's Tuesday Sketch challenge-it's an awesome sketch this week as usual:

I used the adorable Birthday Ivy from my good friend Jen's Wildflower Kids Stamp line and the ADORABLE decals and papers are from Echo Park. OMGOSH I am in LURRRRVE with Echo Park! If you haven't yet been introduced to this new line of ADORABLE, well...prepare to lose all your money, haha ;)

(click to view larger pic, thanks!)

On that note, I'm sure that the MUSES have adorable things for you to look at too!

aand don't forget to check in with our AMAZING July Guest Muse, my sweet friend Peggy McCurry!

I will see you tomorrow or Thursday but in the mean time...BIG HUGS and here's to having a FUN and busy week along with me ;) Hugs!

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Chapter 22: Dancing under the Sea...

"Will you walk a little faster?" said the whiting to the snail;

"There's a porpoise right behind us and he's treading on my tail!

See how eagerly the lobsters and the turtles all advance!

They are waiting on the shingle, will you come and join the dance?`

Will you, won't you, will you, won't you-WILL you join the dance?"

Hello everyone!
{{{[PLEASE scroll down for some IMPORTANT Greeting Farm BLOG HOP info!!!}}}

Greetings from here in Wonderland...or maybe today it's UNDERland? As in Under the Sea, perhaps ;)So, today's challenge at OH, ALICE! involves all things sea-worthy and we at Oh, Alice are challenging YOU to create a card or project using sea life! Turtles, whales, dolphins are fabulous as are other sea creatures as in merfolk and those deep, dark creatures you sometimes hear about but seldom see.... the possibilities are as endless as the ocean itself!We also have a FUN prize for you this week! One lucky winner will receive a Sweet Pea Rubber Stamp courtesy of Oh, Alice! These stamps are large and BEAUTIFULLY detailed and we just happened to have one 'swimmin' around!' Will YOU be the lucky winner? ;)

My card today uses the first Sweet Pea image I ever owned, "Dark Royalty" and I absolutely LOVE her! She's just gorgeous, isn't she? I added some Glossy Accents to her fin and my camera is acting but included another close up of it. That green trim? Webster's Pages and it sort of reminded me of seaweed, LOL.

Be sure to stop by the Oh, Alice blog to see all the details of the challenge and to add your card using In Linkz! See you under the sea!

Guess WHO is Turning TWO?!?!

THE GREETING FARM is turning TWO!

Hey all! It's hard to believe that just TWO short years ago, Marie had a couple of 4x6 sets for sale, a brand new blog, and watched Pink Poison become The Greeting Farm. Two years later, after some big dreams realized (including our first trip to Anaheim for CHA!), after seeing some AMAZING designers work their magic for us, and after truly befriending all of YOU...here we are!

TWO YEARS and TWO BLOGS later, The Greeting Farm invites YOU to be a part of the celebration!

We are pleased to invite you to:

THE GREETING FARM's TWO YEAR ANNIVERSARY Blog Hop!

When: SUNDAY, AUGUST 1st

7:00pm CST

Your posts should go LIVE at 7pm CST (promptly, please!) with a link back to the TGF Blog where there will be ONE master list of hoppers

Live chat on our PCP page from 7pm CST to 8pm CST

Where: starting and ending on the TGF Blog with stops along the way by all of YOU!

RSVP: Here's the important part

PLEASE EMAIL teamanya@gmail.com with the

SUBJECT LINE: TGF 2 Year ANNIVERSARY HOP

Since a lot of us will be gone that last week in July, PLEASE RSVP NO LATER than SATURDAY, JULY 24th. No late rsvp's will be able to be accomodated since we will have very little access to internet and will have to finalize that post before we leave.

What shall I post with?

You may use ANY TGF Stamp/stamps.

In addition, during that week, we will be rockin' the "OLD SCHOOL" challenge and will have more info on that later!

Prizes? Did someone say PRIZES???

YOU BET!

*THREE RANDOM COMMENTERS (that participate in the hop!) that complete the ENTIRE HOP by Monday, August 2nd at NOON CST will be entered to win the ENTIRE August RELEASE!!!!

*In addition, there will be an EXCLUSIVE Birthday digi for sale!!!! and quite a few digital images given away as well. You know TGF-we LOVE our prizes and LOVE our customers even more!

This will be a HUGE celebration-please join us!

Feel free to attach the above badge to YOUR sidebar as well with a link back to THIS post!

Can't wait to see you there!

Friday, July 16, 2010

Digi-Try Something New?

Hello everyone!

It's time for another Farm Fresh Friday challenge at The Greeting Farm and this week we are trying a new (or newly favorite ;) technique while using a DIGITAL stamp from the TGF Collection! This was a great challenge that Melyssa blogged about today on the TGF Blog and we hope you'll play along!

I discovered ribbon pleating a few months back and well, it's my fave ;) LOVE it! I used the cute HG Classy stamp and made a SUPER simple layout so as to showcase the ribbon pleating as the 'main event'. I use glue dots to hold my ribbon down when I don't want to bust out the sewing machine or when I don't want stitching on the ribbon!

SUPER easy and love the look! Be sure to check out what the rest of the Farmers and Critter Crew have going on for you today-you might find something new and fun to try!

That's it for me today-I'll see you all tomorrow for Oh, Alice! Hugs!