Unity Friends with Flair - A Few of My Favorite Things

Hi Everyone!  I am finally back to creating following my surgery this week and thought I would catch up with my Friday Friends at Unity FWF which I haven't played along with for a few weeks.  At present I am not sure whether my hearing has been fully restored following my inner ear reconstruction, as my ear is packed up with wadding until the stitches come out on Tuesday but I am confident that everything will be okay.  I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who sent me their prayers and well wishes, your words meant a lot.  It turns out that I had 2 of the 3 bones in my ear not connected and this may have been something I have had since birth.

Yesterday I sat down at my desk not sure whether I was up to creating or not and decided to tidy my desk. I spotted some paper towel where I had been sopping up some spray inks that I had been using on other projects and decided to use this to make a textured and colorful background for some ATC's.

I simply tore up my paper towel and randomly placed pieces across a piece of white card stock sticking it down with some Gel Medium.  Once done I added a little bit more spray ink to cover any white gaps and brayed a tiny amount of gesso across my background to tone down some of the areas of color and add further interest.  I left it to dry (plus I wasn't doing great sitting up for too long).

So a few hours later I returned and cut my background into 4 ATC size pieces.  I added a strip of scrap paper (She Art papers from Christy Tomlinson) down one side of each of my ATC's and I ran over the top of this paper strip with a Yellow Gelato.  I then  reached for my Unity Stamps and a Butterflies Collage Sheet from Altered Pages.

The stamps I used with the positive affirmations are from the Moment by Moment Stamp Set by Unity. I kinda think these affirmations are fitting for my week and everything happening in my life at present.  I was happy, not only that I had been creating but because these ATC's combined some of my favorite things. Bright Colors, Butterflies and Positive Affirmations (let's not forget too that I love my Unity Stamps and Altered Pages Images).

Thanks so much for stopping by and enjoy your weekend.

Unity FWF

I think its pretty obvious that I love Unity Stamps 

given they have been regularly featured on my blog, particularly of late,

and today is no exception.  

I am joining in with the Friday Friends with Flair Link Up

and sharing my card for Day 5 of the Itty Bitty A Day Challenge 

on their Show and Tell Facebook Group.

My first project is a canvas page

inspired by the current {Be Inspired} Challenge.

This is one of my favorite Unity Sentiments (Sept 2011 KOTM)

 and I am planning on making a second page to match 

where I can write everything I am grateful for in my life.

 I will paste these both into my journal.

Supplies: Canvas Page, Stamps - Unity KOTM Sept 2011 and Jan 2012, Gesso, Gel Medium, Basic Grey Paper and Book Pages, Faber Castell Big Brush Markers and Gelatos.

My second project is my card for Day 5 of this weeks Itty Bitty Challenge.  

Supplies: Stamps - Unity Beautiful Itty Bitty, Paper from my scrap stash, Versamark Ink, Black Zing Embossing Powder, Faber Castell Gelatos, Lindy's Stamp Gang Flat Fabio Mists, Dienamics Mini Royal Roses Die, Spellbinders Circle and Scallop Circle Dies, Sizzix XL Borders Die, Kaisercraft Rhinestones.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

  Hubby and I are enjoying a quiet one, child free and relaxing.  

It's a nice change from the busy pace of the last few months 

and gives us a bit of a breather before 

the pace picks up again.

FWF - Garden Wall Plaque

Yesterday hubby and I went out for our usual date day, we had breakfast, morning tea and lunch all out in between doing some shopping.  On the way home we stopped at Bunning's Hardware to pick up a couple of things and whilst there we were looking at some Bamboo Flooring which we have in mind to lay in part of our home, when I spotted their laminate flooring samples which were available to purchase for a small cost.

These  samples are a light weight piece of laminate measuring approx 19.5cm x 36cm and which have a hole at the top perfect for hanging on a hook.

I grabbed a handful thinking these would make great wall hangings.  

So last night I couldn't resist having a play.

Laminate Flooring is somewhat scratch resistant so trying to sand with sandpaper is useless so I reached for my Gesso and gave it a light coating and then immediately started gluing all sorts of paper over it, book pages, tissue paper, scrap bits of green toned papers and then in between any gaps I took my green toned gelatos and scribbled into the spaces.  I wet brushed this in and then took more white and green tissue paper and layered over the top to tone down the background.

My flower, vine leaves were both stamps from a recent Unity Grab Bag I received and the Butterflies are from the Unity January 2012 Kit of the Month.

My flowers and vines were stamped on book pages, tissue paper and directly to the panel.  I used some punchinella and white and green paint to add interest as well as some stamping with a smaller black flower stamp.  My Butterflies and quote are stamped onto copy paper cut out and stuck down, colored with Gelatos and I have highlighted my butterfly with a Metallic Letraset Marker.  This quote is one of my favorites which I thought would be perfect for a Garden Wall Hanging.  I have this on a stamp also, but as it is small, I used a recently brought alphabet set to stamp the words.

For further interest and texture to the bottom half of my panel I stenciled some impasto gel medium using my Damask Stencil and buffed this lightly with some white and green gelato.  I also added one fussy cut vine which had been stamped onto a green scrap piece of paper. 

It is this type of creating that I love, getting messy and blending color around with my fingers, needless to say that when I was called to dinner I had to wash my hands for about five minutes and still haven't got it all off.

I hope you all have a great weekend and thanks so much for stopping by.

I am linking this project up with the following challenges:-

Unity Stamp Co - Friends with Flair

Design Memory Craft - August Challenge - Words to Live By

Crafting with Dragonflies - #8 Alter Something

Flutter By Wednesdays - #247 (Must have a butterfly or fairy)

Itty Bitty a Day Challenge - Day 4 & 5

This week sure has gone fast and today I have two cards to share which complete the week of the Itty Bitty A Day Challenge over on the Unity Show and Tell Facebook Group.  Both of these cards were also inspired by the latest Be Inspired Challenge over on the Unity Blog and I am sharing this as my Friday Friends with Flair Post too!

But before I do that I just wanted to share my cute find in a local dollar store yesterday which I visited after having lunch out with Rod.  With all the renovating and fixing up of our old house to put on the market to sell, and my back problems its been a while since we have had our usual Friday Date Day out.

They are Tiny Burlap Flag Pins. And there was a whole range of other burlap items in stock including flowers, and rolls of burlap in assorted colors too.  I was restrained and only brought the flags and some more tiny baskets to store my ever growing stash of Gelatos.

Anyhow on to my cards.

Here's a look at my main source of inspiration for them.

Thursday's Card - Itty Bitty a Day Challenge
I am just loving this spotty Glitz Paper (okay the whole paper collection in fact) and my colors were inspired by Be Inspired Challenge above.

Supplies Used: 

On This Journey Together Itty Bitty by Unity Stamp Co, Bohemian Bazaar Paper by Graphic 45, Uncharted Waters Paper by Glitz.  Heart Trio Punch by Stampin' Up!, Memento Ink Tuxedo Black, Twine and Antique Linen Distress Stain.

Friday's Card - Itty Bitty a Day Challenge

The use of strips of paper was inspired by the latest Be Inspired Challenge Card Sketch and sort of evolved from there into this woven paper design.

Supplies Used: 

A Beautiful Sight Itty Bitty by Unity Stamp Co, Bohemian Bazaar Papers by Graphic 45

Stampin' Up! Scallop Border Punch, Gelatos and Memento Ink Tuxedo Black

There is so much Unity Goodness to be found on the net, so be sure to check it all out starting with the three links I have mentioned above.  

It's a beautiful day here today, so I am about to heading out to sit in the sunshine with a coffee.  Hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Mixed Media - Fusion - Play

Hi Everyone, Happy Saturday!  In the wee cold hours of this morning I woke in pain following a Bowen Treatment yesterday, so I sneaked into my craft room not to wake anyone and decided to just have a play with whatever happened to be on or near my desk.

I had the latest Fusion Card Challenge in mind and given I was planning on playing with some of my Unity KOTM Stamps decided I would link up also with their Friday Friends With Flair.

Starting with a piece of white cardstock I misted this with my Lindy's Stamp Gang Flat Fabio's Spray - Carribean Blue and then taking my Gelato's put some stripes across the lower section in colors to tie in with the inspiration photo and sketch of the Fusion Challenge.  Using a Wet Paint Brush I water-washed over my stripes.

I stamped and paper pieced the hot air balloons, whilst my cloud was stamped on white and cut out and my sentiment was stamped directly on to the background and then colored in with an Inktense Watercolor Pencil.    All of these stamps are from the Unity May 2012 KOTM.

I then rounded the corners with a punch and defined my Gelato stripes with some faux stitching like doodles.

Playing with the bright colors certainly warmed me a little too and the beautiful sunshine we experienced here today certainly would have been perfect for anyone brave enough to take a ride in a hot air balloon.

It is on my list of things to one day do. How about you?

FWF - Ready to Play

Its been a couple of weeks since I have linked up with my Friends with Flair over on the Unity Blog.  Holidays and life got in the way.  As some of you might know last Saturday we picked up our two new fur-babies Felix and BB who are purebred British Short hair Kittens.  They are so cute and playful so I couldn't resist taking lots of photos of them and using a couple for a scrapbook layout.

Stamps:  Unity Nov 2011, Jan 2012, Feb 2012 SMAK Kits and January KOTM. 

 Just Rite Times New Roman Alphabet, Dark Room Door Leave and Art Warehouse Mini Monogram Set

Cardstock/Papers:  Stampin' Up and Echo Park

Ink:  Black and Vintage Sepia Archival Ink, Stampin' Up Pear Pizazz

Other:  Stampin' Up Owl Punch, XL Bird Punch, Felt Flowers, White Roses, Brown Paper Cord

Brick Wall and Wood Grain Embossing Folders.

For this layout I have used lots of stamps, mostly from my Unity SMAK Kits, a couple from my Unity KOTM along with a few others alphas and a leaf stamp from other companies.  I also chose to play along with the current inspiration board #221 over at Colour Combos Galore, using the closest thing I had to their challenge colours.  The other inspiration from this challenge was that the photos of Felix and BB are of them on our bed and they are leaning over the wooden rail at the end, which I thought was similar to the owls in this photo on the wooden ledge.  I have also included two owls sitting in a tree to one side of my layout.  For the simplified tree trunk I embossed a piece of brown cardstock with my wood grain embossing folder.
Also if you look closly at the middle owl of the inspiration photo the patterned paper on him reminded me of brickwork so I created a brick ledge using my brick wall embossing folder at the bottom of my page.

Ready to Play is exactly what Felix and BB are ready to do almost every minute of every day......and these photos were taken at one of those moments.  Hence why I chose to incorporate ribbon, string and falling leaves into the layout, as every cat I know loves to chase or play with these things.

FWF - Sweet, Kind, Nice, Wonderful

Boy has this week flown, I've literally been all over the place this week both physically and mentally and didn't get much crafting done apart from attending our Terrific Tuesdays Craft Group's first day back for the year and making a Baby Card for a last minute order yesterday. Following a morning of shopping and because I am on dinner duty tonight I wanted to get a quick card made and catch up with all my Unity Friends for their Friday Friends With Flair so I have another CAS Card for you this week using the Inlaid Embossing Technique.

A QUICK HOW TO - IN LAID EMBOSSING

For my Inlaid Embossed Card I started with 3 Die Cut Hearts, a  Piece of White Cardstock (as my backing piece) and the "Entangled" embossing Folder.   You can use any punched or die cut shape, paper scraps or even stamped and coloured images to create your inlaid piece with your chosen embossing folder.

I simply positioned and stuck down my die cut hearts where I wanted them onto my white cardstock piece, and then ran this through the big shot machine using my Entangled Embossing Folder.

My 3 Die Cut Heats cut from floral paper positioned on the backing piece

Placing my piece in the embossing folder ready to emboss with the Big Shot

  

That completes the inlaid part.

To complete my card today, once embossed I took some red ink on a sponge dauber and highlighted the embossed pattern on my hearts, this covers up any white showing from the  papers core that I used for my hearts that  has been exposed by the embossing process.  I then simply mounted this white piece to my red cardstock base and added my stamped sentiments.

The circular words for my sentiment - 'You' and 'Are' are from my Unity November 2011 SMAK Kit whilst the 'Sweet, Kind, Nice, Wonderful' is from the January KOTM which I just received in the post yesterday.

There has been some exciting new stamp releases over on the Unity Site lately including some just being released today, so be sure to take a look and for more Unity Inspiration be sure to visit their blog and view the other FWF Creations this week.

I also created this card with the following challenges in mind.

365 Cards - Day 346 Spread the Word Challenge
Paper Sundays - #106 Clean and Simple
Cards for Men - Seeing Red

More Crayons, Colour and Challenges with FWF

I can't believe its the end of another week already.  It's been wet here this summer which has meant cooler weather, but trying to get the washing done in between showers has been a challenge.  But I am not complaining, at least we are one of the lucky ones not having to be evacuated from our homes, which is happening at present to many people in other parts of NSW and Queensland.  The wet weather is set to remain with us for some time as I just heard the forecast that in February 21 out of the 28 days are expected to be wet.  It's great weather for ducks and frogs and need I say crafting!

Whilst having my crayons still on hand from yesterdays post where I showed a quick how to on doing a Crayon Resist Background, and with Valentine's Day just around the corner,  I thought I would use a Resist design (using some of my new Unity Stamps) and link up all my Unity Friends over at the Unity Blog for Friday Friends with Flair (FWF).  Today's post for FWF not only links you up with the wonderful creations of lovers of Unity, but also showcases some wonderful new stamps by Christy Tomlinson that I've just added to my wish list, so be sure to check it out!

For my CAS looking card today I started out using the Sketch over at Paper Players,  Challenge #80 using my resist piece.  Once I had completed my design and used my crayon I sponged around the stamped hearts with red ink to reveal the resist and then used my Red Tria Maker to colour in a couple of the hearts, finishing off the design with a punched heart and a rhinestone in the centre of one of these hearts.  These fabulous newspaper print hearts and the sentiment are from the 'We Treasure You' Stamp Set by Unity which was an end of year gift sent to their Kit of Month Subscribers.  They are just perfect to make a Valentine's Day Card for my hubby who is not really into all the cutesy stuff.

I am also entering this card into a couple of other challenges I play along with from time to time but this will be the first time in 2012.

Cards for Men - Challenge #3 Seeing Red
Paper Sundaes - Challenge #105 Valentines

I hope everyone has a Fabulous Weekend.

FWF - Watercolor Wash Take 2

If you saw yesterdays post I shared with you a quick 'How To' on how to make your own watercolor wash backgrounds using a plastic protector sleeve, your felt tip markers and water.  In that post I created my background using colours of similar tonings eg.  all Yelllow/Oranges and then stamped over the top of these designs with a darker colour in the same tones to achieve a unique background for the thank you cards I made.

Today I am using this same technique however I have used different contrasting colours. (Pink and Green which is my favorite colour combo).

The overall result I achieved today is a much softer look compared to yesterday cards, this has a lot to do with my choice of colours and embellishment.  I embossed my background with my Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder from Stampin' Up! and teamed this with a fabulous sentiment from the Unity December KOTM and some sewing themed die cuts from K & Co (Amy Butler Lotus Tea Box Die Cut Cardstock Emphemera).

The blue is not part of the card but the background I laid the card on to take this picture.  Given pink is often hard to photograph in good light, let alone the miserable weather we are experiencing here at the moment, this gave a much better result than the white background of my white photo box.

Aswell as showing you another take on the Water Colour Wash Technique, I have created today's card to join in the fun over on the Unity Blog for their Friday Friends with Flair Link Up.  Be sure to pop over and check out all the other wonderful Unity Goodness there and don't forget if you leave a comment on my blog or any of the other blogs participating in this link up you have a chance to win some Unity Goodness for yourself.

Thanks for stopping by.

FWF - Orange the Colour of Hope!

If you haven't visited my blog for a while, you may notice that its gone Orange and for today's Unity FWF Post my card is also orange.  This is in honor of little Allie Robinson who is currently battling Leukemia and it comes with a special request!.

Stamps:  Unity Oct KOTM, Unity Generations Stamp Set

Cardstock:  Stampin' Up!, Ink:  Black Memento and SU Markers

Other:  Martha Stewart Ribbon Punch, 3 Girls Jam Ribbon, K & Co Rhinestones, Brad

Allie is the two year old grand-daughter of my dear friend Toni and she was diagnosed with Leukemia two days before Christmas which also was one month after her grandfather John (Toni's husband) had passed away following a very short battle with Cancer.  As you can imagine the world of my friend Toni and her family has been turned upside down.  Treatment locally is not an option, so since Allies diagnosis, her immediate family including Toni have been living in Brisbane (2.5hrs away).  This is putting all sorts of financial strain on them not to mention huge emotional turmoil given how soon after John's passing this has all happened.

John & Allie

LIVE LAUGH LOVE - is the Duncan/Robinson Family Motto

and is also the Motto for Leukemia Awareness

On the 28/29th of April I will be joining a team consisting of Toni's Family and Friends to walk in the Cancer Council's Relay 4 Life.  This is a fundraising event to raise funds for Cancer Research, Awareness and Prevention, we are calling ourselves the Purple People Eaters after two of little Allies favorite things, (the colour Purple and Monsters) and will be relaying in support of Allie and in memory of John.


However I want to do more, I am wanting to raise further funding to directly assist Allie and her family, so I am hoping to hold a couple of additional fundraisers throughout the coming months.  My friend Toni and I both share a passion for scrapping and card making so with this in mind I was thinking of ways I could connect her love for paper crafts to raising these funds.

The ways I am planning to do so are listed below.

To hold a Blog Hop in little Allies Honour, to do this I am:-

• Approaching Paper-craft Related Companies and asking for support in way of special products to be sold for a set period of time with proceeds going to the cause, and promoted during the blog hop.  This could be include digital images, selected existing product ranges.  The other way companies could support this idea is by donating products to be used as prizes for the event.
• Having a special image in honor of Allie designed as the center focus of the blog hop (with out giving it all away it is being designed after two of her favorite things (The Colour Purple and Monsters).  I will be asking my blogging friends, such as you to be part of the blog hop.  You would need to create a project in honor of Allie using this image and post at a set time to your blog promoting the cause and the blog hop.

I am also looking at setting up a Crafting for Allie Community/Forum where anyone wanting to support Allie throughout her treatment can come and be kept up to date with her progress as well as participate in lots of crafting fun and inspiration.  Attached to this forum would also be some paid access areas, which would allow users access to some exclusive tutorials and projects.  The proceeds from the paid access areas would then go back to the cause.

• For this idea I would be looking for support from fellow crafters who would like to provide a tutorial with full instructions on how to make a particular project, allowing it to be used to raise funds as part of the paid access area of the forum.

In order to ensure these efforts are successful, I need help!  So my special request today is for Expressions of Interest.  Are you be able to help me?  Is it possible for you to help me to support Allie and her family/raise funds for vital research, and awareness programs?  If you think you could assist by being involved in the blog hop, or providing a tutorial I would love to hear from you.  I still have a few things to be organised before I can definitely go ahead with these plans but my aim would be for both of these events (for want of a better word) to be up and running by March.

To express your interest to help could you please send an email to dmay4stamping@gmail.com with the Heading:  Crafting for Allie and detailing how you would like to assist.

I would also ask that you keep Allie and her family in your thoughts and prayers.
I really appreciate you taking the time to read my post today, thank you.

FWF - Filled with Love

Today I am Filled with Love and Joy because yesterday my December KOTM from Unity arrived which meant I got to play with these new stamps in time for Friday Friends with Flair.  This whole set is Filled with Love literally ........with lots of wonderful images and sentiments relating to love......but the stamp I was most looking forward to receiving was one of a Jar.

Yes that's right a Jar.  Why a Jar you ask.....well its because you can fill that jar with just about anything your heart desires and because I love making ATC's and can't draw for quids, it means I can now participate in the 'In A Jar Swaps'.... over at ATC's For All.

But this is really getting off the track, because today I have two Cards, Filled with Love, using this fabulous Jar and a couple of other stamps from the December KOTM to share with you.

For this first card I made a piece of crayon resist patterned background paper in my chosen colours to coordinate with the cardstock and add some interest by making a small colour block panel to go behind my jar.  The same crayon resist piece was used for a punched strip down one side of the card also.

For this second card I used the zigzag stamp from the December KOTM with my Kaleidocolour Ink Pad and Brayer to give a multi colour effect and filled my jar with hearts in the same colours.  Purple is one of my favorite colours however similar to pink  it doesn't photograph that well or that true to color unfortunately.

I just love my December KOTM and can see that it will be one I reach for often.  It is filled with love just like my post today.  So in ending if you Love Unity, are looking for Love-ly Inspiration be sure to pop over to the Unity Blog.

I am also entering these loved themed cards today in the Paper Players Challenge #77 - All You Need is Love!

FWF - Imagine Dream Fly

Imagine anything is possible, Dream Big, and Fly is a positive way to start the New Year right?...., and its also the perfect sentiment for a Card for the First Friday Friends with Flair over on the Unity Blog.

This card uses an image and sentiment from the Unity October 2011 Kit of the Month.  The cute papers with birdies and flowers is from the Springtime Collection from Echo Park and I have teamed it with Rich Razzleberry and Melon Mambo two fabulous colours from Stampin' Up!

I have used the stamps from the October 2011 Kit of the Month (Faith, Hope, Love .......live by it.) quite a bit lately especially with some of my ATC's for a recent Art A Thon over on ATC's for All Forum.  Here's a couple of them I created.........using this kit.

So as you can see it is jammed pack with lots of wonderful sentiments and images of a positive and encouraging nature and a great kit to begin crafting in the New Year with.

Lots of other Unity Goodness is showcased every Friday with the FWF link up so be sure to pop over to the Unity Blog and check it out.

FWF Friday - Remembering Jester

A month ago today we said goodbye to our beloved cat Jester.  He was our baby and had given my hubby Rod and I many years (13) of unconditional love and joy.  There is a void in our lives since his passing and there isn't a day that goes by where I don't think of him and expect to wake up to him running me to his food bowl, jumping up and curling up next to us on the bed or simply being  somewhere nearby, his playing with the Ornaments on the Christmas Tree at this time of year is sorely missed.  Thinking of him yesterday lead me to scrapping my favorite photo of him.   This photo captures his two most favorite pasttimes, sleeping and playing with ribbons.

In November I joined the Unity SMAK (Scrapbooking and Mixed Media Artist Kit) Kit Club, and was yet to use the stamps I had received so far, so given this was my first scrap layout in some months I immediately reached for them.  All the wording on this layout is from the November SMAK Kit and the cat themed images are from a set by Outlines Rubber Stamps that I hadn't used in quite some time.

Because I have used Unity Stamps and because its Friday I have linked up this layout to the Unity Friends with Flair Post so be sure to pop on over to the site and check out all the Unity Goodness from all the Unity Friends who play along this week.

Jester is now buried under the Grevilla and Climbing Red Rose at our new home a spot which is frequented by lots and lots of birds, particularly the rainbow lorikeets.  As he was a indoor cat he could only ever watch the birds from a distance, so it is fitting that he have them overhead and so close to his grave.

In the last months of his life Jester along with our dog Elwood, had brought a lot of enjoyment to my mother who suffers from dementia and who with my father now lives with us, so as a family we decided that we would get two new additions to our family for twice the love and joy.

I contacted the breeder we got Jester from, knowing we would have to wait for a new litter to be born etc and just last week we had some good news that with a bit of juggling around, she has a boy and girl born last month available for us.

Aren't they are just adorable?  I love the lighter shade of grey that they are, now we just have to think of names for them.  We hope to bring them home in February next year once they are old enough and have been desexed, it gives us all something to look forward to in the New Year.

FWF - Inspirational Gift Giving

It's yet another Unity Friends with Flair Friday!  My how the weeks are speeding by. 

Well if I haven't said it enough I will tell you again I love my Unity Stamps!  As well as great images they also have some wonderful sentiments and quotes.  One Set that took my fancy was their Quote Bundle Pack which has five inspirational quotes which are not only perfect for cards and scrapbook pages but make a wonderful gift idea.  With a touch of decoration and a coordinating frame they become a wonderful Inspirational and rather inexpensive Gift for a friend. 

Knowing my love for butterflies, you no doubt knew I couldn't go past using this particular quote.

As well as using your creative skills there are a huge variety of cheap frames available at your dollar discount stores so the possibilities are endless.   You may like to use a more basic frame and decorate it aswell to make your gift even more unique and one of a kind.

Don't forget Unity Stamp Company is having a Huge Inventory Reduction Sale leading up to Christmas.  Right now this Quote Bundle Pack along with 10 other best selling sets of 2011 can be yours for $11.  And if you buy all 11 Sets they can be yours for $100.  There are many other fabulous savings to be had so be sure to check them all out on the Unity Website.

Wishes from Our House to Yours

This morning when I woke up and was visiting some of my blog friends (Paige)  I saw a post that triggered both a happy and sad memory for me.  It took me back a few years ago to happy times scrapping with my best friend Toni and showing her how to make Wine Bottle Tags for her husband.  Her husband John worked in Real Estate, so it was customary for him to give a bottle of wine to his customers when they purchased or sold their home.......my thoughts then immediately came to John who sadly passed away just over a fortnight ago following a very short battle with Cancer.  It just felt so right that I make a Wine Bottle Tag this morning for my post to share with you for Friday Friends with Flair.

I immediately knew which stamps I would use from the November Unity KOTM, and that it would be another great project for using up some Christmas Paper scraps left over from my card making.  

I enjoy the odd glass of wine as do my family and friends so it is no suprise that wine is often part of our Christmas Gift Giving and I think these tags would make a wonderful personal touch.  The saying Drink & Be Merry comes to mind as I write this post, but I would also be sure to tell you not to drink and drive. 

Now because this is a FWF post it means that over on the Unity Blog you will find lots of other wonderful inspiration using Unity Stamps, and the Friday $5 Feature, which again this week is actually two stamps at less than $5.  But the even more fantastic news is that a Huge '3 Week Inventory Reduction Sale' is now on over at the Unity Stamp Co Website, with over 150 items up to 45% off.  So be sure to check all this Unity Goodness Out!