Inked by Eileen: 2021

Saturday, December 4, 2021

Friends of Unity December Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to our Friends of Unity December Blog Hop. This month the theme is vintage. Totally unplanned, but my stamp choice matches the picture cue! I love this image and this layout has been used so many time to make quick note cards for my friends. No reason to send a card, just dropping a quick line to let them know that I am thinking about them. I have been told several times that my cards have come at the most opportune times.

I chose this stamp as a nod to one of my favorite hobbies… reading! I always imagined an author sitting for hours in front of an old typewriter, fingers moving as fast as they can, while their next best seller simply unfolds before them. As I would finish book after book in my teenage years I would secretly long to have the skill to write a novel the world would want to read. Since my ability to write a book is shadowed by desire to simply read them… I will let the daydream of being a famous author stay locked away in youth.

Looking through my paper scraps, I opted for this pretty paper I purchased from Hobby Lobby. Not a leaf in sight on any of our trees, but the calendar still says its fall! Living in Northern New York we see the beauty of the fall colors outside our windows.

Friends of Unity are celebrating four years of hopping! Thank you for stopping by visiting. Please visit the links below and comment for the opportunity to win a Unity prize from me! I will announce the winner in our January hop.

Hop along with the other Friends of Unity and see their beautiful creations...

Crystal O. Minkler

Eileen Mathys (you’re here)

Alaine Tanner

Stamps:

Type Write (Unity Stamp Company)

Paper:

Merry Merlot (Stampin Up)
Fine Linen (Papertrey Ink)

Vintage Cream (Papertrey)

Ink:
Memento Tuxedo Black

Accessories:
Sizzix Big Shot

Hero Arts Infinity Rectangle Dies

Copic Sketch Markers

Disclaimer:
We all on the Friends of Unity design team appreciate every single comment we get.
That's why we use our own stash every month for a giveaway.
We are NOT sponsored by Unity Stamp Co. but, they do approve of our hop, and that make us all very happy.
We started this hop because we love Unity. That's it. This hop is our way of showcasing our cards made with our favorite stamps!!

Saturday, November 6, 2021

Friends of Unity November Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to our Friends of Unity November Blog Hop. This month the theme is a non-card project. Not one to wait until the last minute... we barely moved into our new home and I was scrambling to get something finished for this hop. I had two ideas in mind for this month, and I chose the one that was easier for me to do. Lucky for me I had some spare Halloween candy hanging around ready to model these cute treat holders.

These items are quick and easy to make and a great way to use up some of your scrap paper. Substitute the holiday paper and they can be used for any occasion. I chose Christmas since that is what is coming right around the corner, but wouldn't these be cute as place holders for Thanksgiving dinner? Please note the instructions are included at the bottom of this blog.

Hop along with the other Friends of Unity and see their creations...

Crystal O. Minkler

Eileen Mathys (you’re here)

Stamps:

Glimmering Greetings (Unity Stamp Company)
Small Stuff Christmas (Unity)

Poinsettia Wishes (Unity)

Paper:

Cherry Cobbler (Stampin Up)
Garden Green (SU)

Be Merry DSP (SU)

Stampers Select White (Papertrey Ink)

Ink:Cherry Cobbler (SU)
Garden Green (SU)

Accessories:

Banners Pick a Punch (SU)

Nesting Infinity Circle Dies (Hero Arts)

*Credit for this treat holder and design goes to Terri Gaines.

Saturday, October 2, 2021

Friends of Unity October Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to our Friends of Unity October Blog Hop. This month the theme is technique. Instead of deciding as group what technique we would all try, we would focus on our personal favorite. I will say that I have a couple that are at the top of my list, but I have to say that galaxy backgrounds probably come out as number one.

I struggled with these for so long... trying one tutorial after another, each attempt ending up in the trash. I don't recall if this was a new video by Jennifer McGuire, or how I stumbled upon it. I was adamant I was going to learn how to do this, and hers was the hands down winner. I love the part in the video when she says "it may look like a hot mess, but keep going" because when I made my first one, I was certain that I had ruined this one too. When I am in the mood to make these, I will make them in multiples. They are messy, but oh so worth it. If you struggle making galaxy backgrounds, i suggest you give her video a try.

Hop along with the other Friends of Unity and see what techniques are their favorite...

Crystal O. Minkler

Eileen Mathys (you’re here)

Stamps:

Hello Winter Days 10/20 KOM (Unity Stamp Company)

Paper:

Watercolor Paper (Tim Holtz)
True Black (Papertrey)

Ink:
Versafine Clair Nocturne

Seedless Preserves (Distress Oxide)

Wild Honey (Distress Oxide)

Peacock Feathers (Distress Oxide)

Salty Ocean (Distress Oxide)

Black Soot (Distress Oxide)

Accessories:

None

Saturday, September 4, 2021

Friends of Unity September Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to our Friends of Unity September Blog Hop. This month the theme is a color challenge. Sketch challenges and color challenges are exactly what I need sometimes when faced with the 'what will I make' conundrum. Sketch challenges are useful when you realize that those smaller stamps can make a big impact when used correctly. Color challenges can sometimes get us out of the routine of always reaching for our favorite color and trying a new palate.

I've been making a lot of cards for the upcoming craft fair season, so I was happy to switch gears from Christmas. I wanted to make a card that not only utilized the colors, but would also feature a lot of the sage green color in the image. I found the cactus stamp in the KOM from 2018 that had never seen an ink pad and went right to work. What could be more perfect than that? Pair it with a punny sentiment and I was in heaven.

Hop along with the other Friends of Unity and see their creations...

Crystal O. Minkler

Eileen Mathys (you’re here)

Stamps:

We Can Rise KOM 6/2018 (Unity Stamp Company)

Paper:

Pear Pizazz (Stampin Up)
Stampers Select White (Papertrey Ink)

Ink:
Memento Tuxedo Black

Accessories:
Sizzix Big Shot

Oval stack dies (Hero Arts)

Copic Sketch Markers

Saturday, August 7, 2021

Friends of Unity August Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to our Friends of Unity August Blog Hop. The theme for this month is 'lets go for a ride'. I had a few ideas for this cue, and for the first time in many months, I finished two cards for the hop. It feels nice to have the free time and energy to get back into my crafty space.

The motorcycle card uses core'dination cardstock that I have had in my stash for several years. I ran it through an embossing folder and then lightly sanded the raised edges. I stamped the motorcycle and tore the edges to continue with the textured took. I lightly rubbed my brown ink pad over the top of the stamped image to give it a more grunge appearance. All the men in my life are motorcycle riders, so this card will come in handy for whatever occasion comes up next.

The truck card was my original plan. I wanted to try this color combination using my distress oxides. When I blended it out, I was very pleased with the outcome and can see how this will make an excellent color combination for several other stamps. I chose to make this one a birthday card for a friend who has a birthday coming up in September.

Hop along with the other Friends of Unity and see their creations...

Crystal O. Minkler

April Sarandrea

Eileen Mathys (you’re here)

Stamps:

Ride it Out (Unity Stamp Company)

Truckload of Blooms (Unity)

Demand a Re-Count (Unity)

Paper:

Early Espresso (Stampin Up)
Early Espresso Core'dinations (SU)

Vintage Cream (Papertrey Ink)

True Black (Papertrey)

Just Jade (SU)

Ink:
Versafine Clair Nocturne

Early Espresso (SU)

Speckled Egg (Distress Oxide)

Evergreen Bough (Distress Oxide)

Black Soot (Distress Oxide)

Accessories:
Sizzix Big Shot

Woodgrain Embossing Folder

Sanding Tool

Blending Brushes

Friday, July 23, 2021

Christmas in July 2021

Welcome to Build Your Stash Holiday Hop! Let this holiday hop inspire your creativity and get you in the mood for some holiday cards. This is the time of year where Christmas is the furthest from our mind. Tank tops and flip flops litter our wardrobe, with our boots and jackets safely stored away. Yet, if you start to look around, you will find hints of fall and Christmas in the stores. Hallmark has their ornaments on display and school supplies are on the shelves

I have always said Christmas is my favorite season (minus the weather that goes along with it) and this is the holiday that I own the most stamps for. I especially love Christmas music. I didn’t marry a Grinch, so once November is here, it’s Christmas music all the time. We usually have to stream it online because some of our favorites don’t get played as often, while others get played a tad too much. That can be said for music on any station during anytime of the year.

We hope that you are inspired by our creations and will play along with us, so make sure to check out our BYSHC blog. We have awesome sponsors that have generously offered up wonderful prizes, so don't miss out! Dates for this hop are July 23-30, 2021.

Stamps:

Full of Joy (Concord and 9th)

Paper:

Cherry Cobbler (Stampin Up)
Emerald Envy (Stampin Up)

Stampers Select White (Papertrey Ink)

Presents & Pinecones DSP (SU)

Ink:
Cherry Cobbler (SU)

Accessories:

Sizzix Big Shot

Full of Joy trifold dies (C&9)

Saturday, July 3, 2021

Friends of Unity July Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to our Friends of Unity July Blog Hop. This month the theme is summer vacation. I have never been one to take a summer vacation... I am more likely to take a winter vacation to a warm location and dream about the summer days to come and forget the wintery days I left behind. Winter days are when I stay home and stay warm. I am not much of an outdoors person, so whatever I can do to stay inside and keep warm I will do it. That could be reading, crafting, or baking.

Creating this card was so much fun. I like the cute gnomes that Jeanie has created for Unity, and it is hard to not want them all. The embossing folder was a perfect fit and an excellent choice for this card. I lightly ink blended over the raised image to give it the color of water.

Hop along with the other Friends of Unity and see their creations...

Crystal O. Minkler

Colleen Balija

Eileen Mathys (you’re here)

Stamps:

Beach Happy Gnome (Unity Stamp Company)

Paper:

Dark Indigo (Papertrey Ink)
Stampers Select White (Papertrey)

Spring Rain (Papertrey)

Ink:
Memento Tuxedo Black

Faded Jeans (Distress Oxide)

Broken China (Distress Oxide)

Accessories:
Sizzix Big Shot

Waves 3d folder (Memory Box)

Copic Sketch Markers

Saturday, June 5, 2021

Friends of Unity June Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to our Friends of Unity June Blog Hop. This month the theme is masculine cards. Since none of the men in my life are much for cards... I really had to dig deep to find someone or some occasion in which I could make a card. I had this card completed and sitting on my desk for over a week without a sentiment on it. Suddenly signs started appearing on lawns and invitations started to arrive, and realized that this card would make a great graduation card.

I opted for a twist on the spotlight technique, I cut a panel from the middle of the stamp and colored the center vehicles while leaving the ones on the perimeter white. I even included a pink Cadillac, a subtle nod to Elvis Presley. Funny story... I took a trip to Nashville in the early 2000’s and all I wanted to do was see ‘The Grand Ol Opry’ and get my picture taken with an Elvis impersonator. After a week there, I never got that picture.

Hop along with the other Friends of Unity and see their creations...

Crystal O. Minkler

Colleen Balija

Eileen Mathys (you’re here)

Stamps:

Vroom (Unity Stamp Company)
...Say it Big (Unity)

Paper:
Stampers Select White (Papertrey Ink)

True Black (Papertrey)

Ink:
Memento Tuxedo Black

Accessories:
Sizzix Big Shot

Rectangle Stitched Dies (Papertrey)

Copic Sketch Markers

Saturday, May 1, 2021

Friends of Unity May Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to our Friends of Unity May Blog Hop. This month the theme is flora and fauna. Such as broad theme and so many choices! I wanted to use this background stamp as this was a recent addition to my collection and I was eager to use it. I had seen a lot of great inspiration in the show and tell page, and found that this was better suited for a floral image than fauna.

The next step was my color combination. After deciding on what you see here, I can see how this background stamp could be used in so many ways. I opted to shake things up a little and stamp a portion of it in yellow as I felt the monochromatic theme I started with looked a little drab. The flower was fussy cut and quickly colored to draw attention to this spring birthday card.

Hop along with the other Friends of Unity and see their creations...

Crystal O. Minkler

Dawn Bryson

Eileen Mathys (you’re here)

Stamps:

Be Unstoppable (Unity Stamp Company)

Polka Dance Background (Unity)

Paper:
Stampers Select White (Papertrey Ink)

True Black (Papertrey)

Ink:
Memento Tuxedo Black

Daffodil Delight (Stampin Up)

Versamark

Accessories:

Sizzix Big Shot

Infinity Circle Dies (Hero Arts)

Wagner Heat Tool

Alabaster Embossing Powder (Brutus Monroe)

Copic Sketch Markers

Friday, April 23, 2021

Spring into Christmas Holiday Hop

Welcome to Build Your Stash Holiday Hop! Let this holiday hop inspire your creativity and get you in the mood for some holiday cards. This is the time of year I don't even think about holiday cards as the spring flowers are blooming, leaves are budding on the trees and the birds are returning to nest. Hopefully this allows me to prepare myself before I am in the mad dash between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

I have always said Christmas is my favorite season (minus the weather that goes along with it) and this would be the holiday that I own the most stamps for. I have really been trying to use more and buy less as I have enough supplies to keep me busy for months and months to come. This fun card uses a sketch created by Crystal Minkler. Sketches and color combinations are a perfect way to get the juices flowing especially when you feel the creative bug bite, but aren't sure what to make.

Stamps:

Shakin' Things Up (Unity Stamp Company)

Paper:

Misty Moonlight (Stampin Up)
Highland Heather (Stampin Up)

Snowflake Splendor DSP (Stampin Up)

Ink:
Memento Tuxedo Black

Accessories:
Copic Sketch Markers

Sizzix Big Shot

Subtle Embossing Folder (Stampin Up)

Saturday, April 3, 2021

Friends of Unity April Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to our Friends of Unity April Blog Hop. This month the theme is birds and bees. Since I jumped the gun and did a bee card last month, it is only fitting that I do a bird card this month. It felt like spring the last few weeks of March, and the robins have arrived and I even saw a few early spring flowers in bloom. I have lived in New York long enough to know that there may still be a few days ahead of us where we need a winter jacket, so it is still hanging in the closet.

I picked this stamp out and then searched for a fun sketch to use with it. I used some bright and colorful paper as spring makes me think of lots of colors, leaves return, grass starts to grow, and flowers of all sorts start to bloom. Spring and Fall are two of the most colorful seasons in my opinion, they are so different, and yet so beautiful.

Hop along with the other Friends of Unity and see their creations...

Crystal O. Minkler

Eileen Mathys (you’re here)

Stamps:

Note This Birdie (Unity Stamp Company)

Paper:

Pacific Point (Stampin Up)
Stampers Select White (Papertrey Ink)

Spring Rain (Papertrey)

Really Rainbow (Lawn Fawn)

Ink:
Memento Tuxedo Black

Accessories:
Sizzix Big Shot

Subtle Embossing Folder (Stampin Up)

Copic Sketch Markers

Saturday, March 6, 2021

Friends of Unity March Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to our Friends of Unity March Blog Hop. This month the theme is a sketch challenge. I love sketch challenges. These are the perfect thing when you are stuck in a crafting slump or when you need a dose of inspiration. The great thing about these is that it gives you a general layout but doesn't require you to conform to the design. Last year when we had our sketch theme, so many people played along. I hope you will join us again, and if you do, please share your creations on the Unity Show & Tell page.

I am so excited that next weekend we get to set our clocks ahead. While losing the hour of sleep is not on my list of fun things, it does mean spring is right around the corner. I don't know about you, but February is the slowest month of the year and I'm so glad it is finally over. I looked through my stamps and wanted to go with something that had a spring vibe. Ironically my sketch last year featured a bee, and it does again this year. I am a friend of the pollinators, and will be happy to see them when they return.

Hop along with the other Friends of Unity and see their creations...

Crystal O. Minkler

Eileen Mathys (you’re here)

Joyce Verdon

Stamps:

Eyes of the Beholder KOM 4/2018 (Unity Stamp Company)

Cuttlebug Zebra (Unity)

Paper:

Stampers Select White (Papertrey Ink)
Harvest Gold (Papertrey)
Smokey Slate (Stampin Up)

Ink:
Harvest Gold (Papertrey)

Smokey Slate (Stampin Up)

Accessories:

Tim Holtz Stamping Platform

Sizzix Big Shot

Subtle Embossing Folder

Hexagon Dynamic Embossing Folder

Circle Dies

Banner Punch

Saturday, February 6, 2021

Friends of Unity February Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to our Friends of Unity January Blog Hop. This month the theme is paper piecing. This is a technique I admire in others but seldom do myself. This is a quick and easy way to get away from coloring images if that is something you struggle with or are a beginner crafter and just lack the tools to work with.

Looking through my vast Unity collection, I did not have many stamps that I felt that would work for this month. I try to use a new image each time, especially with the large collection I have. The image I chose was partly inspired by the beautiful creation made by Dawn Fields last month, and my desire to want to make a slim line card. If you missed our hop last month, check out Dawn's card.

Hop along with the other Friends of Unity and see their creations...

Crystal O. Minkler

Eileen Mathys (you’re here)

Dawn Bryson
Dawn Fields

Joyce Verdon

Robyn Jordan

Stamps:

Funky Flowers (Unity Stamp Company)

Paper:

Stampers Select White (Papertrey Ink)
True Black (Papertrey)

New Leaf (Papertrey)

Ink:
Versafine Clair Black

Versamark

Weathered Wood Distress Oxide

Pumice Stone Distress Oxide

Accessories:
Versafine Clair Nocturne

Copic Sketch Markers

Word Window Punch (Stampin Up)

Saturday, January 2, 2021

Friends of Unity January Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to our Friends of Unity January Blog Hop. This month the theme is black and white. While this card is more of a gray scale... even on a black and white TV this would be the colors you would see, so I went with it.

I love the look and the simplicity of monochromatic cards. Black and white is one of my favorites. I was inspired with the card and to use this stamp by fellow team member Crystal with one of her design team creations when this stamp was a new release. I like how the gray coloring makes the wood look weathered. I opted to heat emboss the sentiment on the front to give it a crisp look. The background is done with emboss resist, one of my favorite techniques.

Hop along with the other Friends of Unity and see their creations... . The winner from my December giveaway is Aimee Phillips. Please contact me to claim your prize.

Crystal O. Minkler

Kim Klinkovsky

Eileen Mathys (you’re here)

Dawn Fields

Joyce Verdon

Amber Trubiak
Bobbie Sue McConathy

Alaine Tanner

Robyn Jordan

Stamps:

A Lovely Message (Unity Stamp Company)

A Faithful Letter background (Unity)

Paper:

Stampers Select White (Papertrey Ink)
Weathervane (Papertrey)