Friends of Unity June Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to our Friends of Unity June Blog Hop. We are featuring a Celebrations theme this month. I was so glad that life has taken a pause for me and gave me some time for creativity and the ability to participate. It has been a while, but I found some fun inspiration and I wanted to share. 

This category is so broad, and every year I say that I am going to get better about sending birthday cards. Well, I failed at my goal... but in May I have several friends with birthdays on the same day, and two very close friends with birthdays just a week apart. I saw a card similar to the one I created and then realized I could make it a two for one. 

The alphabet dies used in this card were my first set purchased and while they are a tad on the big side, the make a bold statement and I love how they turned out on this card (just ignore the crooked 'e' in the first line). This card fits my friends perfectly and I hope to find ways to use this style in future creations. 

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

Crystal O. Minkler

Tammy Hawes

Eileen Mathys (you are here)

 Gaylynn Martling 

April Sarandrea

Amber Trubiak

 Colleen Balija 

Dawn Fields

  Rachel Duong 

 Kim Klinkovsky  

Jane Bosi

 

Stamps:

Infinite Birthday Wishes (Unity Stamp Company)

Paper:

Stampers Select White (Papertrey Ink)

True Black (Papertrey Ink)

Ink:
Versamark 

Wilted Violet Distress Oxide (Tim Holtz)

Picked Raspberry Distress Oxide (Tim Holtz)

Villainous Potion Distress Oxide (Tim Holtz)

Accessories:

Sizzix Big Shot

Bold Alphabet Dies (Altenew)

Alabaster Embossing Powder (Brutus Monroe)

Scalloped Stitched Rectangle Dies (Gina Marie)

Subtle Embossing Folder (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!!

Spring into Christmas 2023

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. In our house we are swapping out our winter clothes for spring and summer items and talking of turning down the heat. These are the days when you need the heat on to chase the chill from the air, but don't need it by the time lunch comes around. Crocus and daffodils are blooming in every year.  Robins are nesting and many animals are coming out of hibernation. 

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 April 21-28, 2023. 

 

Stamps:

Woodland Squad (Taylored Expressions)

Buffalo Plaid Background (TE)

Christmas Simple Strips (TE)

Paper:

Classic Kraft (Papertrey Ink)

Vintage Cream (Papertrey)

Garden Green (Stampin Up)

Mocha (TE)

Ink:
Mocha (TE)

Vintage Photo Distress Oxide (Tim Holtz)

Accessories:

Sizzix Big Shot 

Woodland Squad (TE)

Stitched Frame Stacklet (TE)

Simple Strips Die (TE)

Simple Strips Die Backer (TE)

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 May Hop

 

Hello and welcome to our Friends of Unity May Blog Hop. This month the theme is 'things with wings'. What a great idea, with so many options to chose from. This could be bugs, birds, an airplane... the creativity our team has shown with their designs will inspire my creative juices and likely expand my Unity collection.

Clean and simple cards always seem to be what I am drawn to in my designs. I purchased this set many years ago and have struggled to use it. Small stamps sometimes are a struggle for me as they can be overlooked if the background is too busy or the design of the card is overly complicated. In my opinion this simple stencil really brings the smaller stamps into focus, but doesn't make the card look overly simple.

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

Crystal O. Minkler 

Amber Trubiak

Eileen Mathys (you’re here)

Dawn Fields  

 Rachel Duong   

April Sarandrea 

Bobbie Sue McConathy

Colleen Balija 

Kim Klinkovsky  

Joyce Verdon 

Dawn Bryson

Robyn Jordan

 

Stamps:

3 Little Butterflies (Unity Stamp Company)

Paper:

Summer Sunrise (Papertrey Ink)

Stampers Select White (Papertrey)

True Black (Papertrey)

Ink:

Fired Brick Distress Oxide (Tim Holtz)

Spiced Marmalade Distress Oxide (Tim Holtz)

Wild Honey Distress Oxide (Tim Holtz)

Gina K Amalgam Jet Black (Unity)

 

Accessories:

Masking Stencils- Square Windows (Taylored Expressions)

Blender brush (Taylored Expressions)

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 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)

April Sarandrea

Dawn Bryson

 Rachel Duong  

Colleen Balija

Dawn Fields 

Joyce Verdon

Alaine Tanner 

Robyn Jordan

 

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

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. 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)

Bobbie Sue McConathy

 Rachel Duong  

Dawn Fields

Colleen Balija

Robyn Jordan

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

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 September Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to our Friends of Unity September Blog Hop. This month the theme is friendship. I wanted to share two cards this month. One being a card I always have on hand and ready to go. The sentiment fits lots of occasions and is easy to add a couple of lines and drop in the mail. 

The first card has a border made from a large background stamp. I die cut a frame from it to hopefully give the appearance of a picture frame. I blended some distress oxide colors in the background to give a blurred appearance of ground and sky. 

The second card is one that I tend to make in bulk using up paper scraps. I mass stamp the typewriter using my stamping platform, add splatters to compliment the patterned paper and the card is ready to go. I believe this is a CASE’d card from a fellow Unity member. Thank you for the inspiration whoever you were!

 

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
Amber Trubiak

Dawn Fields
Robyn Jordan
Joyce Verdon

Stamps:

Hope in Uncertainty KOM 4/2020 (Unity Stamp Company)

Paneling (Unity)

Type-Write (Unity)

Paper:
Classic Kraft (Papertrey Ink)
Stampers Select White (Papertrey)

Ink:
VersaFine Clair Nocturne (Unity)
Frayed Burlap (Distress Oxide)
Antique Linen (Distress Oxide)
Stormy Sky (Distress Oxide)
Bundled Sage (Distress Oxide)
Crumb Cake (Stampin Up)

Accessories:

Sizzix Big Shot

Wonky Stitched Rectangle Die (Gina Marie)

Stitched Rectangle Frames (My Favorite Things)

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 our favorite Angie Girl or Guy. I narrowed it down to two. One because it has one of my favorite flowers, the other because it has my favorite beverage.

In my first card I opted to go for a colorless image. Sometimes we need to make a card quick, other times we feel intimidated by people who just seem to color better than we do. This card was made to show that sometimes you can make a fabulous looking card without coloring it at all! The sentiment is meant for our current time. I am really "missing out time together". 

In the second card, I used some Tim Holtz Distress Oxides over a stencil. I love creating my own background paper with stencils and ink. Oxides and blending brushes make it so easy. The image was colored in with Copic markers to compliment the overall color palate. 

Hop along with the other Friends of Unity and see their creations... The winner of my giveaway from the April blog hop is Wilma DeG. Please contact me to collect your goodies!

Crystal O. Minkler

Eileen Mathys (you’re here)

Amber Trubiak
Bobbie Sue McConathy
Kim Klinkovsky

Dawn Fields

Joyce Verdon

Dawn Bryson
Robyn Jordan
Jeanie Hayes
Alaine Tanner
 

Stamps:
Emerson Girl (Unity Stamp Company)
Hope in Uncertainty 4/2020 KOM (Unity)
Daisy Girl (Unity)

Paper:
True Black (Papertrey Ink)
Stampers Select White (Papertrey)
Blueberry Sky (Papertrey)
Petal Passion Designer Series Paper (Stampin Up)

Ink:
Versamark
Memento Tuxedo Black
VersaFine Clair Nocturne (Unity)
Stormy Sky (Distress Oxide)
Bundled Sage (Distress Oxide)
Antique Linen (Distress Oxide) 

Accessories:
Sizzix Big Shot
Slanted Sentiment Strips (My Favorite Things)
Stitched Mod Square STAX (MFT)
Drifting Stitches Borders (Simon Says Stamp)
Scripty Thanks (Lawn Fawn)
Alabaster Embossing Powder (Brutus Monroe)
Copic 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 a sketch challenge.  Crystal picked out an amazing sketch for us this month. I just needed to decide what I would make with it. I had a great idea in mind... just needed to find the perfect stamp to play along.

The March 2020 Kit of the Month has to "bee" one of my favorites. I am a friend to our pollinators, as well as a fan of all things spring! The beehive stamp and the punny sentiment combinations were just the right size to bring this sketch to life.

I stamped the beehive in an ink that after it was cut out, I realized wasn't Copic friendly. So I decided to watercolor it with my distress oxides instead. Easy peasy... I squeezed some of the ink on my Tim Holtz media mat and began to fill in the colors. The end design came out exactly as I anticipated. I fussy cut the bee and added some Wink of Stella to the wings for a little bit of shimmer.

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

Crystal O. Minkler

Eileen Mathys (you’re here)

Dawn Bryson
Amber Trubiak
Kim Klinkovsky

Dawn Fields
Robyn Jordan

Jeanie Hayes
Alaine Tanner

Bobbie Sue McConathy

Stamps:
Spring & Things KOM 3/2020 (Unity Stamp Company)

Paper:
Weathervane (Papertrey Ink)
Stampers Select White (PTI)

Ink:
VersaFine Clair Nocturne (Unity)
Scattered Straw (Distress Oxide)
Fossilized Amber (Distress Oxide)
Brushed Corduroy (Distress Oxide)
Vintage Photo (Distress Oxide)
Peeled Paint (Distress Oxide)
Weathered Wood (Distress Oxide)

Accessories:
Bubble Layering Stencil (Tim Holtz)
Wink of Stella Clear

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 “All is Calm”. With that theme, I opted to find winter images that evoked feelings of peacefulness and serenity. On any given winter day, you can find that just looking out the window. Snow as far as the eye can see... in my world, when I’m not working I call that reading weather. This month we are also celebrating two years of crafty goodness with Unity. I am already looking forward to 2020 and what the new year will bring.

 

With my first card I created a galaxy background to represent the night sky. I stamped some tree images over the background to create an outdoor ambiance perfect for stargazing or watching the snowfall. Our young lady is enjoying her cocoa or coffee to keep warm.

The second card uses the beautiful snowflake from the November 2019 SMAK kit. I stamped the image with versamark than lightly dusted the image and cardstock with perfect pearls to give it all a light shimmer. I dipped the Joy sentiment in versamark and heat set a glitter embossing powder to give the card some extra sparkle.

Here is what we have planned... our usual giveaways PLUS we have 2 HUGE prize packages that Angela Magnuson put together just for this celebration. Comment on my blog to be entered in my giveaway, plus there are lots of other personal giveaways this month to celebrate our two year anniversary in addition to the two grand prizes. 

Crystal O. Minkler

Eileen Mathys (you’re here)
Joyce Verdon

Dawn Bryson
Alaine Tanner
Kim Klinkovsky
Amber Trubiak
Jeanie Hayes
Dawn Fields
Robyn Jordan
Donna Baes (Guest Designer)
Shannon Edwards (Guest Designer)
Jessica Pickeral (Guest Designer)

Stamps:
Winter Wild SMAK 10/17 (Unity Stamp Company) Card 1
Dream of Being So Loved (Unity) Card 1
Beauty of Life SMAK 11/19 (Unity) Card 2

Paper:
True Black (Papertrey Ink)
Stampers Select White (Papertrey)
Cold Press Watercolor Paper (Tim Holtz)
Dark Indigo (Papertrey)
Silver Shimmer (Papertrey)

Ink:
Tuxedo Black (Memento)
VersaMark
Seedless Preserves Distress Oxide
Wild Honey Distress Oxide
Peacock Feathers Distress Oxide
Salty Ocean Distress Oxide
Black Soot Distress Oxide

Accessories:
Sizzix Big Shot
Slanted Sentiment Strips (My Favorite Things)
Bold Borders: Flurries Die (Papertrey)
Perfect Pearls (SimonSaysStamp)
Holographic Embossing Powder (Simon)

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!!

Warm Wishes ~ Neat and Tangled

I promised myself at the conclusion of last year, I would get a head start on Christmas cards this year. My intentions were to start in March, but I guess May is better than starting in the fall. Christmas stamps are totally my addiction. So I knew when I was going to start making Christmas cards, I should start with my uninked stamps. I would’ve have liked to have used this stamp last year, but it was sold out. This card was quick and easy, so I am glad to now have it in my collection. 

I love the large sentiment on this stamp, and wanted it to remain the focus of the card. I used a blended oxide combo on the die cut that used a coffee colored hue, with some wintery blue shades mixed in.  I watered down the oxide colors used to make a splatter background to tie it all together. 

Stamps:
Warm Wishes (Neat &Tangled)

Paper:
Vintage Cream (Papertrey Ink)
Blueberry Sky (PTI)
Dark Chocolate (PTI)

Ink:
Versamark 
Ground Espresso Distress Oxide
Faded Jeans Distress Oxide
Tumbled Glass Distress Oxide

Accessories:
Alabaster Embossing Powder (Brutus Monroe)
Sizzix Big Shot
Nesting Basics: Circle Dies (PTI)

Friends of Unity April Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to our Friends of Unity April Blog Hop. This month the theme is Rainy Days. I took a detour of sorts with this theme, and opted for a rainy day color palate and simple stamp. The April 2019 sentiment kit has some wonderful sentiments that fit this theme beautifully! If you haven’t seen this kit yet, check it out here.

My background was inspired by an ink blending sample that Crystal Minkler created and shared earlier this year. I used three of my favorite oxide colors combinations and decided to add the larger stamp on top, knowing the edges would fade into the white spaces. I used the sentiment from Harmony Girl to tie in the theme.

Comment on my blog to be entered into my giveaway, then hop along to the other
Friends of Unity blogs and see their creations also. Psst... there are other giveaways too!

Crystal O. Minkler
Eileen Mathys (you’re here)

Jeanie Hayes

Bobbie Sue McConathy
 Dawn Fields

Joyce Verdon
Kim Klinkovsky
 Robyn Jordan

Stamps:
Take Care of You (Unity Stamp Company)
Harmony Girl (Unity)

Paper:
Stampers Select White (Papertrey Ink)
Dapper Denim (Stampin Up Retired)
Hawaiian Shores (PTI)

Ink:
Faded Jean Distress Oxide (Tim Holtz)
Iced Spruce Distress Oxide (Tim Holtz)
Cracked Pistachio Distress Oxide (Tim Holtz)
Gina K Amalgam Ink Jet Black (Unity)

Accessories:
None

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!!

An Abundance of Birthdays

If you have read my blog long enough, I am notorious for saying “special people deserve special birthday cards”. I needed two birthday cards for two long time friends with birthdays that are just a few days apart. I try to not make cards for them that I have made in the past... this can be a challenge since I don’t always remember what stamp set I used, I try to use a brand new stamp set or newly learned technique. This year I combined a little of both.

Jennifer McGuire recently posted a video using Tim Holtz Distress Micro Glaze. I love her videos and how she takes things step by step and really makes you feel that you can accomplish the same thing she is doing. That was the case here. When I was done with the technique, I was in awe. I then had to decide what to do with this pretty paper I created. It looked liked water... so it would be perfectly paired with a mermaid stamp I recently purchased. Instead, I used my Altenew alphabet dies and cut out the letters h-a-p-p-y and created two birthday cards from the one sheet.

 

Stamps:

Sunshine Wishes (Stampin Up Retired)

Paper:

Whisper White (SU)

Tempting Turquoise (SU Retired)

Pacific Point (SU)

Tim Holtz Alcohol Cardstock (Blitsy) 

Ink:

Tempting Turquoise (SU Retired)

Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Faded Jeans (Blitsy)

Tim Holtz Disress Oxide Broken China (Blitsy)

Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Cracked Pistachio (Blitsy)

Accessories: 

Sizzix Big Shot (SU)

Bold Alphabet Dies (Altenew)

Classic Label Punch (SU)

Decorative Dots Embossing Folder (SU Retired)

Tim Holtz Distress Micro Glaze (Blitsy)

Amazing Friend

After the week I just had, I was looking forward to some relaxing time spent at home, hoping to lift my spirits. Looks like my crummy week wasn’t quite over yet. The cherry on my sundae was our kitchen sink needing a repair. It was a minor one if you were the plumber, but a major one to us. This gave me some unplanned extra time to be crafty, but all this bad news really zapped my creativity.

I stared longingly at my supplies with no initiative to begin...so I closed my eyes and randomly selected something. I picked my Concord and 9th Dahlia Turnabout bundle. While I have never had any luck getting the stamp exactly correct, I was able to get the die perfect on every try. With this card I made a stencil using the turnabout die, then sponged on Tim Holtz Distress Oxides. My template was made from cardstock, but the next one I will make from acetate, hoping to make it reusable. I blended Picked Raspberries on the outer petals and Wild Honey in the center. The space where they meet is a beautiful soft orange shade. 

I made two of these cards and sent them to a couple of my “amazing friends” who served as cheerleaders for me and kept me in good spirits over the past two weeks. Friends like these are simply priceless. 

Stamps:
Dahlia Turnabout (Concord & 9th)

Paper:
Stampers Select White (Papertrey Ink)
Hibiscus Burst (PTI)
True Black (PTI)

Inks:
Black Onyx Versafine (Simon Says Stamp)
Versamark (SSS)
Picked Raspberries Distress Oxide (SSS)
Wild Honey Distress Oxide (SSS)

Accessories:
Marvy Heat Tool
Clear Embossing Powder
White Embossing Powder
Dahlia Turnabout Die (C9)
To The Point Edgers Die (PTI)
Die-namics Essential Fishtail Sentiments Strips (My Favorite Things)

Look Mom, No Stamps!

This card was created as part of Papertrey Ink’s Anniversary celebration. This challenge was to use dies only- no stamps. I initially thought it would be easy peasy. I have lots of word and background dies.  I would just need to figure out which ones to use. Hmmm.... that became the hard part.

I wasn’t sure the colors I was going to use once I decided on my background... I have 24 oxide colors to choose from, and I decoded to stay away from the blue/green combo I usually default to. I grabbed picked raspberry and started blending it in to the one end. Yikes! It was a brighter color than I wanted. Then I switched to worn lipstick on the other end and wasn’t liking the huge swing between the two pink shades. I then added the iced spruce to the middle hoping to balance out the colors. Once I oxidized the card, I was glad I waited... the colors mellowed out and blended together nicely.  

Here are the supplies I used:

Stamps:

None

Paper:

Stampers Select White (Papertrey Ink)

Smokey Shadow (PTI)

Brushed Silver (Recollections)

Ink:

Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Iced Spruce (Blitsy)

Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Worn Lipstick (Blitsy)

Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Picked Raspberry (Blitsy)

Accessories:

Sizzix Big Shot (Stampin Up)

Plaid Mix and Mat Die (PTI)