Unity Hop!

Hello! Welcome to MY very first blog hop ever. Of course, I've hopped before as a reader, but never as a blogger. Unity hops are so inspiring and fun. They also give away prizes to commenters! Make sure you visit each blog and leave comments so you can be counted in the prize drawings.

Today, I am showing a couple of seasonal items. First, Merry Christmas in July! My husband and I are crazy for Christmas. We love those sappy movies on Hallmark, and count down the days to be able to put up the twinkling lights and the tree. (Shhhhh! I still have my little tree up here in the Art Room ;) ) We acknowledge the feeling of Christmas monthly by celebrating Twenty-Fifthmas. :~D Christmas music, a movie or even a Christmas style meal. Sure, we are crazy. But whatever! It's FUN! Since we are so close to the 25th and it's July, why not start with Christmas cards!
Despite all my love of the holiday, I am never prepared. This year I will, at the very least, have my cards DONE!

My first one is really different for me. I've always admired the striking cards and wrappings featuring black as the dominate color. I never felt confident enough to pull it off myself until last year, when I made a Christmas card using the flower from Jolande's & Marleen's Blow Your Mind kit.  There was something about that Magnolia looking flower that lead me to see a Poinsettia, so I played with it and fell in love! I made some in other traditional colors but the Black and White one is still my favorite. The tag is stamped with the Far Better Things Ahead sentiment kit.  

But, That was last year!
This year, I'm playing with Reindeer and loving the outcome.
My first card features All Santas Reindeer, if you look closely, you can see their names are all cleverly outlining the antlers. It paired perfectly with the Wonderful Time of Year sentiment

My second card features the Magical Holiday deer. We all know who that silhouette belongs to! ;)
My daughter gifted me a vintage style Christmas paper stack featuring a lot of black so I used a few patterns and they really helped capture the 50's vintage vibe I was going for with these fantastic Unity Reindeer.

Finally, Because it is summer, and I love my birth month of July, I have to share a summery card too.
When I saw Speedy I could not wait to pair him with Fishy Philosophy.  Aren't they great together? This card was so much fun to create! I used Jolande's & Marleen's Bubbles from the You Can Do It kit, as well as the long twisty flower stem from the I Am Who I Am kit for some sweet seaweed effects.

Whew! I hope you're feeling the inspiration spirit & enjoyed your visit to my blog today! Be sure to follow the links to visit all the hopping Growing In Unity girls this week. Don't forget to comment! You could win some yummy Unity stamps. 
Thanks for spending time with me today! XO
Shannon

Anna Natalia
Shannon Horch
Suzanne Shaft
Heather Bolli 
Linda Pekrul
Lynda Lindley
Lee Ann Barrett 
Belinda Beshirs
Suzi Baker McKenzie
Monica Edwards
Alyson Kerr Esposito