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!!

Coffee Date with Robyn and Eileen

I am excited to share my coffee date card with my friend Robyn Jordan. We have lots of stamps in common, but decided to use a color combination and surprise each other with our creations. She knew the stamp set I was using so there wouldn't a duplicate. What fun!

The color combination was randomly selected from my Pinterest board that I have created for just this reason. Sometimes you have everything you need for a creation but can't decide on your color scheme. The colors are also very bright and spring feeling since the season is now officially upon us.

I love the turnabout stamps from Concord and 9th. They are so much fun and since the addition of the alignment aid and the jig to help with image placement, they are almost foolproof. If you haven't tried them before, give them a shot.

Before you go... hop over to Robyn's blog and see what she created!

Here is what I used to create my card:

Stamps:
Coffee Blend Turnabout (Concord & 9th)
Winter Wear (Concord & 9th)
Daily Wear (Concord & 9th)

Paper:
Cocoa Bean (Papertrey Ink)
Calypso Coral (Stampin Up)
Vintage Cream (Papertrey)
Bermuda Bay (SU)

Ink:
Soft Suede (SU)
Calypso Coral (SU)
Bermuda Bay (SU)
Pool Party (SU) 

Accessories:
Tim Holtz Stamping Platform
Stitched Rectangle Dies (Papertrey)
Daily Wear Dies (Concord & 9th)

Copic Sketch Markers

Friends of Unity March Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to our Friends of Unity March Blog Hop. This month the theme is “Designers Choice”. This cue was completely done by random... and I mean random. I catalog all my Unity stamps on a Google Sheet. So when it came to deciding what I was going to use, I let random.org decide for me. Luckily it picked a stamp set that I haven't already used. I'm sure we all have a few (dozen) of those in our possession.

Once I had the stamp set, I next need to decide on my layout. Luckily I have a Pinterest board overflowing with ideas that are just waiting to be used. With my card, I embossed the center image which is hard to detect from my picture. Instead of using navy embossing powder, I stamped the image in blue ink, then stamped again with Versamark than used clear embossing powder to achieve the end result. I use this trick often since my crafty space is limited, but also it prevents stray embossing powder from mucking up my project.

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

Crystal O. Minkler

Eileen Mathys (you’re here)

Amber Trubiak

Kim Klinkovsky
Dawn Bryson
Robyn Jordan
 Dawn Fields
Alaine Tanner

Jeanie Hayes
Joyce Verdon

Stamps:
So Very Grateful (Unity Stamp Company)

Paper:
Dark Indigo (Papertrey Ink)
Stampers Select White (Papertrey)
Floral Boutique (Stampin Up)

Ink:
Dark Indigo (Papertrey)
Versamark

Accessories:
Sizzix Big Shot
Elegant Rectangle STAX (My Favorite Things)
Clear Embossing Powder (Unity) 

Stamping Platform

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 February Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to our Friends of Unity February Blog Hop. This month the theme is “Monochromatic”. When deciding which color I would work with, I decided that since Valentines Day was coming up, I would choose red/pink and have my cards be love themed.

With my first card I created an ombre background with blended distress oxide inks over a white embossed background. The "life changing blending brushes" made quick work of this card and a quick wipe over the embossed image cleaned up my background ready to add my sentiment.

The second card I created the same ombre background, this time using cardstock. I cut my strips longer than needed and trimmed down instead of trying to trim to an exact fit. I centered and stamped my daisy image over the squared cardstock before matting onto a slightly larger black background.

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

Eileen Mathys (you’re here)

Amber Trubiak
Kim Klinkovsky
Dawn Bryson

Dawn Fields

Joyce Verdon
Bobbie Sue McConathy
Jeanie Hayes

Stamps:
Floral Tapestry (Unity Stamp Company)
Be Unstoppable (Unity)
3 Little Butterflies (Unity)

Paper:
Stampers Select White (Papertrey Ink)
Scarlet Jewel (Papertrey)
Autumn Rose (Papertrey)
Pale Peony (Papertrey)
Sweet Blush (Papertrey)
True Black (Papertrey)

Ink:
Versamark
VersaFine Clair Nocturne (Unity)  

Aged Mahogany Distress Oxide
Victorian Velvet Distress Oxide
Milled Lavender Distress Oxide

Accessories:
Alabaster Embossing Powder (Brutus Monroe) 

Sizzix Big Shot
Slanted Sentiments Die (My Favorite Things)

Sunshine Wishes Die (Stampin Up)
Subtle Embossing Folder (SU)

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 our favorite Unity stamp of 2019. Initially I was overwhelmed by this thought... I had so many favorites! Then I started to think about my favorite things and the stamp sets I always buy when they come out. One of them stood right out to me, sunflowers. They are my favorite flower. Granted, I will never likely get them in a bouquet, but to drive by a field of sunflowers just makes me smile and my heart happy.

I went to my stash and gathered all my sunflower stamps. Trying to figure out what I would do with it became the next challenge. Christmas was coming and I knew that if I didn't start before Santa's big day, I would be in an epic rush the last few days before New Year's. In the mail comes the prettiest card from fellow Friend of Unity Member Jeanie Hays. The card was gold and black and I decided I would use that color scheme to make my card. Unity stamps are so nicely detailed that I knew my embossing powder would pick up the details and let this card dazzle without needing to be colored.

Hop along with the other Friends of Unity and see their creations...
The winner of my giveaway last month is Linda Abel! Please contact me with with your mailing information so I get your prize package out to you ASAP. 

Crystal O. Minkler
Kim Klinkovsky

Eileen Mathys (you’re here)
Bobbie Sue McConathy

Dawn Bryson

Amber Trubiak

Joyce Verdon

Robyn Jordan
Dawn Fields

Stamps:
All Kinds of Holiday Love 9/19 KOM (Unity Stamp Company)
Distressed Dots (Unity)

Paper:
Classic Kraft (Papertrey Ink)
True Black (Papertrey)

Ink:
Versamark

Accessories:
Gilded Embossing Powder (Brutus Monroe)

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!!