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 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 August Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to our Friends of Unity August Blog Hop. This month the theme is a sympathy.  These are cards I try to always have on hand. Death usually occurs with no notice. It’s helpful to have a few of these on hand, so the card can be sent out in a timely manner.

Sympathy cards can be difficult to make, especially if emotions are wrapped up in the need to make this type of card. This card was CASE’d from a Unity video I saw a short while ago. I made this card early in the morning only to get the devastating news later that day that a friend of mine had lost her son to a medical complication. Needless to say this card went into immediate use.

Each of the colors are stamped tone on tone. This card style/layout will easily fit any sentiment. Perfect card to make use of scraps and add the sentiment right before you send it out.

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

Crystal O. Minkler

Eileen Mathys (you’re here)
Amber Trubiak
 Dawn Fields

Dawn Bryson
Kim Klinkovsky
Bobbie Sue McConathy 
Robyn Jordan
Alaine Tanner

Jeanie Hayes

Stamps:
Insightful Meadows (Unity Stamp Company)
Feeling Sad, Feeling Sorry (Unity)

Paper:
Classic Kraft (Papertrey Ink)
Lemon Tart (Papertrey)
Aqua Mist (Papertrey)
Antique Linen (Papertrey)
Vintage Cream (Papertrey)

Ink:
VersaFine Clair Nocturne (Unity)

Lemon Tart (Papertrey)
Aqua Mist (Papertrey)
Antique Linen (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!!

Christmas in July 2020 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 try to create one or two a week as time allows to prepare myself before I am in the mad dash between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

All of the cards I make and send out will be hand made. Some of my friends are very special and dear to my heart and will get very special one of a kind creations. Other friends will get very punny cards, and other friends yet don't celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, or even Kwanzaa. They celebrate Yule, more of a pagan holiday. Being respectful of that, I opted to create this card for those who don't celebrate the traditional winter holidays as we know it.

I am a big fan of my Copic markers, but chose to experiment with some inexpensive watercolor paints that I picked up from Michaels. While I have a lot to learn yet with them, I figured the wide open spaces on this stamp set would be very forgiving to my novice hand. I splattered white acrylic paint over the finished image to give the appearance of snow, which isn't clearly visible in the picture.

Stamps:
Warm and Cozy KOM 8/2019 (Unity Stamp Company)

Paper:
True Black (Papertrey Ink)
Stampers Select White (PTI)
Watercolor Paper (Tim Holtz)

Ink:
VersaFine Clair Nocturne (Unity)

Accessories:
Watercolor Paint (Michaels)
White Acrylic Paint for splatter

Friends of Unity July Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to our Friends of Unity July Blog Hop. This month the theme is a paper piecing challenge.  True to form, I had to think outside of the box. I grew up with paper dolls and Barbies, but didn't want to use an Angie girl. I opted for something to spark some creativity in others. 

This onesie is perfect for this months theme. I also had a friend who was expecting a baby when I made this card. If it was going to be a boy, I figured I would just need to make a second card in shades of blue. Lucky me she had a girl and this card was quickly whisked away to them to celebrate.

I utilized one of my favorite layouts to make this one. I didn't default to this design because I was stuck in a creative rut, but rather a lack of time with college classes and back to work taking up my precious free time. Happy to have finished what I decided on and a baby card to boot! That totally slipped my mind until she made the announcement. I guess lucky for me I picked pink. 

Hop along with the other Friends of Unity and see their creations...
The winner for my giveaway last month is Denise Bryant. Please message me your info so I can mail out your prize. 

Crystal O. Minkler
Kim Klinkovsky

Eileen Mathys (you’re here)

Robyn Jordan

Dawn Fields

Jeanie Hayes
Alaine Tanner
Joyce Verdon

Stamps:
New to the Crew (Unity Stamp Company)

Paper:
Lovely Lipstick (Stampin Up)
Stampers Select White (Papertrey Ink)
Flirty Flamingo (SU)
All My Love DSP (SU)

Ink:
VersaFine Clair Nocturne (Unity)

Accessories:
Sizzix Big Shot
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 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!!