Friends of Unity March Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to our Friends of Unity March Blog Hop. We are featuring a Winnie the Pooh theme this month. I simply could not be more excited about this theme. I love Disney and especially Winnie the Pooh. 

Classic Pooh was the theme we went with for the nursery for our youngest child. Very cute and neutral as we opted to not find out the gender of our baby. My mom convinced me that it is truly the one and only surprise you will ever have in life. This little one just turned 25 in February. I never regretted waiting until the end to find out... and applaud those who do wait for the gender reveal as well.

I have a friend who loves Pooh as well, and with her birthday coming up in March I decided to combine those two elements (as I did last year as well). She was also the one who inspired me to get into paper crafting, so it is only fitting. I was inspired by a recent sketch from Newton's Nook Design when creating this card.

  Hop along with the other Friends of Unity and see what they created with this theme:

Crystal O. Minkler

Amber Trubiak 

BobbieSue McConathy 

Gaylnn Martling 

 Rachel Duong 

Colleen Balija 

Kim Klinkovsky  

Eileen Mathys (you are here)

Joyce Verdon 

Alaine Tanner

 

Stamps:

Sweet Little Smiles (Unity Stamp Company)

Gotta Love Senitments (Unity)

Paper:

Stampers Select White (Papertrey Ink)

Birthday Girl (Echo Park)

Ink:
Tuxedo Black (Memento)

Mowed Lawn Distress Oxide (Tim Holtz)

Tumbled Glass Distress Oxide (Tim Holtz)

Accessories:

Sizzix Big Shot

Grassy Border (Lawn Fawn)

Cloud Border Stencil  (Newton's Nook Design)

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!!

Friends of Unity September Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to our Friends of Unity September Blog Hop. We are featuring a coffee, tea, and cocoa theme this month. Hard to believe that unofficial end to summer is here and kids are heading back to school next week in our area.

For my card I decided to use one of the new stamps for my creation. This brought me back to a favorite background stamp, and I just recreated a past Friends of Unity favorite from 2020 and simply changed out the center element. The earlier creation was inspired from the very talented Echo Noble, and I brought the same colors forward onto the mug and loved the end result.

 Hop along with the other Friends of Unity and see what they created with this color scheme:

Crystal O. Minkler

Eileen Mathys (you’re here)

Amber Trubiak 

Kim Klinkovsky 

 Bobbie Sue McConathy

 Rachel Duong   

Dawn Bryson

Gaylnn Martling 

April Sarandrea 

Colleen Balija 

Dawn Fields  

Robyn Jordan

Joyce Verdon 

Alaine Tanner

 

 

Stamps:

Frondescence (Unity Stamp Company)

Warm Fall Hugs (Unity)

Paper:

Cocoa Bean (Papertrey Ink)

Stamper Select White (Papertrey)

Terracotta Tile (Papertrey)

Ink:

Memento Tuxedo Black

Vintage Photo Distress Oxide (Tim Holtz)

 

Accessories:

Sizzix Big Shot

Copic Sketch Markers

Rectangle Stitched Dies (Papertrey)

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!!

Friends of Unity August Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to our Friends of Unity August Blog Hop. We are featuring a holiday theme this month. I decided to make a Halloween card, a season that I have never made cards for in the past. Now that I have grandchildren old enough to look forward to getting something in the mail, why not make something for them?

This card is a quick and simple layout that I have used several times in the past. This time I utilized a border background stamp instead of taking a smaller stamp image and stamping it many times over. This made the card a much quicker and easier process. Using any one of the many Tierra Jackson Halloween characters, this card can quickly be replicated featuring your favorite too!

  Hop along with the other Friends of Unity and see what holiday they chose and what they created:

Crystal O. Minkler

Eileen Mathys (you’re here)

April Sarandrea 

Amber Trubiak 

 Rachel Duong   

Dawn Fields   

Colleen Balija 

Kim Klinkovsky  

Gaylnn Martling 

Robyn Jordan

 

Stamps:

Mummy (Unity Stamp Company)

Entanglement Border Background (Unity)

Paper:

Stampers Select White (Papertrey Ink)

Jelly Donut (Taylored Expressions)

Earl Gray (Taylored Expressions)

Ink:
Tuxedo Black (Memento)

Jelly Donut (Taylored Expressions)

Earl Gray (Taylored Expressions)

Accessories:

Sizzix Big Shot

Stitched Rectangle Dies (Papertrey)

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!!

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)

Amber Trubiak 

April Sarandrea 

Dawn Fields

Colleen Balija 

 Rachel Duong  

Alaine Tanner  

Robyn Jordan

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!!

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)

April Sarandrea

Dawn Fields 

Rachel Duong  

Bobbie Sue McConathy 

Joyce Verdon 

Dawn Bryson

Alaine Tanner 

Robyn Jordan

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 

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!!

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)

Dawn Bryson

 Rachel Duong  

Alaine Tanner 

Dawn Fields

Robyn Jordan

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 

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!!

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)

Alaine Tanner 

Kim Klinkovsky

Dawn Bryson  

Bobbie Sue McConathy

 Rachel Duong 

Robyn Jordan

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 

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!!

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)

Alaine Tanner 

Dawn Bryson 

Colleen Balija 

Dawn Fields

 Rachel Duong 

Joyce Verdon  

Robyn Jordan

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 

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!!

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)

Ink:
Versafine Clair Black

Versamark 

Weathered Wood Distress Oxide

Pumice Stone Distress Oxide

 

Accessories:
Brutus Monroe Alabaster Embossing Powder

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!!

Friends of Unity November Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to our Friends of Unity November Blog Hop. This month the theme is backgrounds.  I love my big background stamps. I was so excited for this theme! Sometimes you will fall in love with the perfect patterned paper and then fear cutting it out because then it will be gone. With background stamps you can create that pretty paper over and over again.

There are so many fun techniques you can do with these stamps. I was inspired by a video by Echo to color these leaves and add a sentiment. I have extra cards cut out waiting to be colored. These came together so quickly and look beautiful. Thanks Echo!

Hop along with the other Friends of Unity and see their creations... Comment to be entered into my giveaway. I will announce the winner on next month's FOU blog.

Crystal O. Minkler

Eileen Mathys (you’re here)

Bobbie Sue McConathy

Kim Klinkovsky

Dawn Fields 

Joyce Verdon 

Robyn Jordan

Stamps:
Frondescence (Unity Stamp Company) 

Count Your Blessing KOM 8/20 (Unity Stamp Company)

 

Paper:
Cocoa Bean (Papertrey Ink)
Stampers Select White (Papertrey)
Terracotta Tile (Papertrey)

 

Ink:
Memento Tuxedo Black

Vintage Photo Distress Oxide (Tim Holtz)

 

Accessories:
Copic Sketch Markers

Sizzix Big Shot

Rectangle Stitched Dies (Stampin Up)

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!!

Friends of Unity October Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to our Friends of Unity October Blog Hop. This month the theme is birthday. These cards, along with sympathy cards are the few that I always have on hand. While I try to be better about sending them out early... each year I make it a goal to be better about remembering. 

When I first saw this stamp as a new release, I knew that I had to have it. My friends and I are getting to the age where we find delight in the wisdom that comes with age. No longer are we talking about someone else's ailments, we are talking about our own! Between me and my two closest girlfriends, all of our children have grown up, moved out, and now several are married with a plethora of grandchildren are between them.

With this card I followed a sketch that Crystal Minkler shared for inspiration. Sometimes when you are pressed for time you find your inspiration where you can and run with it. The paper used in this card were some freebies that I received in my recent Lawn Fawn orders. They were sitting on my desk waiting to be filed away and I decided to just run with it. 

Hop along with the other Friends of Unity and see their creations... Vanessa Osbourn is the winner of my giveaway from last month. Please reach out to me to claim your prize. 

Crystal O. Minkler

Eileen Mathys (you’re here)

Joyce Verdon 

Bobbie Sue McConathy 

Kim Klinkovsky

Dawn Fields
Robyn Jordan

Dawn Bryson

Alaine Tanner

Stamps:
Demand a Re-Count (Unity Stamp Company)

Paper:
Sweet Blush (Papertrey Ink)
Stampers Select White (Papertrey)
Lawn Fawn Patterned Paper 

Ink:

Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Melon Mambo (Stampin Up)

 

Accessories:

Nesting Basics: Circle Die (Papertrey)
Banners Pick a Punch (Stampin Up)

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!!

Friends of Unity June Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to our Friends of Unity June Blog Hop. This month the theme is wings. Once again I looked through my collection to find one that it sitting unused and decided to give it a little love. 

The Cuddlebug line from Tierra Jackson has to be one of my favorites. I think I have just about every one of them. They are cute and whimsical, but some of the animals would make great birthday or baby shower cards. Can't you just see it? Since I have no baby showers coming up, I opted for some bright fun colors to send to one of my friends.

I ink blended some complimentary distress oxide colors and die cut and oval out of the middle to have the ladybug peeking through the card. I fussy cut her out and opted to color her in an orange shade to highlight the carved pumpkin ink used in the center of the background.

Hop along with the other Friends of Unity and see their creations... Comment to be entered into my giveaway. I will announce the winner on next month's FOU blog.

Crystal O. Minkler

Eileen Mathys (you’re here)

Dawn Bryson
Kim Klinkovsky

Robyn Jordan

Dawn Fields

Amber Trubiak

Joyce Verdon 

Stamps:
Cuddlebug Ladybug (Unity Stamp Company)

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

Ink:
Tuxedo Black Memento
Squeezed Lemonade (Distress Oxide)
Carved Pumpkin (Distress Oxide)
Barn Door (Distress Oxide) 

Accessories:
Sizzix Big Shot
Gina Marie Designs Wonky Stitched Rectangle Die

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!!

Friends of Unity May Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to our Friends of Unity May Blog Hop. This month the theme is Fruitful. This can mean producing good or helpful results; productive. It can also mean fertile, producing many offspring. With that in mind, I decided to make this a “baby” themed card.

When I sat down to decide what set I would use, I quickly came upon the April KOM. The eggs in the nest reminded me of the storytime we recently had in my library for the Pre-K group. We read stories about birds, their nests, and made a cute craft that resembled a robins nest. I simply couldn’t pass this one by.

cghundley (Carla from Utah) you have been selected as the winner of my giveaway from the April Blog Hop. Please reach out to me at emathys93@gmail.com to claim your prize.

Thanks for stopping by, don’t forget to hop along to the other
Friends of Unity blogs and see their creations also. Psst... there are giveaways. Comment to win.  

Crystal O. Minkler

Robyn Jordan

Kim Klinkovsky
Bobbie Sue McConathy
 Dawn Fields
Jeanie Hays

Eileen Mathys (you’re here)

Stamps:
Have & Hold KOM 4/19 (Unity Stamp Company)

Paper:
Stampers Select White (Papertrey Ink)
Aqua Mist (PTI)
Polka in the Meadow (Lawn Fawn)

Ink:
Memento Tuxedo Black (SU) 

Accessories:
Sizzix Big Shot
Copic Sketch Markers
Nesting Basics: Circle Dies (PTI) 

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!!

Cuddly Cacti

Sometimes in life, you simply just don't have the right words to say. I have a friend going through a difficult time and I wanted to send her a card to let her know I was thinking about her. We met and had lunch a few weeks ago so we could have some girl time together, just to see how she was doing. It's one of those times in life where you know the best advice is no advice... but to just be an ear for the other person when they need someone to talk to. 

This stamp set I used was an exclusive set from Simon Says Stamp during Stamptember from Sugar Pea Designs. I am not sure why I needed it so much... but I am a big fan of 'punny' sentiments as that is my humor. I made my husband's valentine card with a different cactus from this set and lucky for me, he has a punny sense of humor as well. 

Stamps:

Cuddly Cacti (Sugar Pea Designs)

Paper:

Just be You (Echo Park)

Mint Macron (Stampin Up)

Night of Navy (SU)

Flirty Flamingo (SU)
Stampers Select White (Papertrey Ink)

Ink: 

Memento Tuxedo Black (SU)

Mint Macron (SU)

Accessories:

Copic Sketch Markers

Beautiful Day

Life has been so busy for me over the last two months that I pretty much resolved to limiting my purchases and using the stamps I have on hand. Haven't we all said that before? I was saving all sorts of ideas to Pinterest, adding items to online wishlists, but my crafting time was limited. I was excited to find myself with a full morning off this past week. I had lots of ideas running around my head... I just need to grab a couple as they went by and get started.

I have seen lots of ideas with this stamp set, but my main problem was deciding between the rose and the butterfly. I already had my layout in mind, and when I stamped both images the rose won out. I liked the elegant look of the simply stated background paper and the pop of color coming from the flower. Yellow roses symbolize friendship, so that is the color I chose to use on this card.

Stamp:
Beautiful Day (Stampin Up)

Paper:
True Black (Papertrey Ink)
Stampers Select White (PTI)
Petal Passion DSP (Stampin Up Retired)

Ink:
Memento Tuxedo Black (SU)
VersaFine Clair Nocturne (Unity Stamp Company)
Copic Sketch Markers Various (Jerry's Artarama)

Accessories:
Brother Scan N Cut (Brother)
Triple Banner Punch (SU)
Clear Embossing Powder (SU)

Hey, Gullfriend!

When I saw this stamp set it was just too cute to pass up. I also couldn’t resist having a “punny” seagull stamp set in my collection. Especially since I didn’t already have one. I waited for both pieces to be in stock together and I bought them. Lucky for one of my besties, the set arrived just a few days before her birthday. Her and I share the same sense of humor, so I knew she would enjoy this card.

This horizontal cover plate from Papertrey Ink makes for a perfect template to cut out and then inlay the ombré of colors to represent the sky background. Several of the sentiments from this stamp set fit perfectly between the horizontal layers... but I chose the one I knew would make my friend laugh out loud when she saw the card. My Tim Holtz Stamp Platform was used and my sentiment was straight on the very first try.

Stamps:

Seaside Seagulls (My Favorite Things)

Ink:

Memento Tuxedo Black (Stampin Up)

Paper:

Stampers Select White (Papertrey Ink)

Enchanted Evening (PTI)

Blueberry Sky (PTI)

Spring Rain (PTI)

Accessories:

Sizzix Big Shot (SU)

Cover Plate: Stripes Horizontal Die (PTI)

Die-Namics Seaside Seagulls (MFT)

Tim Holtz Stamp Platform (Blitsy)

Copic Sketch Markers (Jerry's Artarama)

Birthday Bouquet

This week I reached for another stamp set that I have purchased and haven't used yet. This past week we "celebrated" the first official day of spring. According to the calendar spring has sprung, but if you look at my yard you would think winter is still here. The forecast looks promising for next week and I am already thinking about spring flowers. 

I picked a pretty pastel shade for my card and matched the flowers accordingly. I have been working diligently on my Copic marker skills... and I think my slow and steady method are definitely showing in the end results. The ScanNCut made quick work of cutting out the flowers shown on this card. It once again has saved me on the cost of buying matching dies for this stamp set. 

Stamps: 

Floral Bouquet (Avery Elle)

Ways to Say: Birthday (Papertrey Ink)

Paper:

Aqua Mist (PTI)

Stampers Select White (PTI)

Ink:

Tuxedo Black (Memento)

Aqua Mist (PTI)

Accessories:

CutNScan (Brother)

Cover Plate: Stripes Horizontal Die (PTI)

Copics Sketch Markers (Jerry's Artarama)