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!!

Friends of Unity November Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to our Friends of Unity November Blog Hop. This month the theme is “Give Thanks”. Thanksgiving was the first thought that came to my mind, followed by some fancy thank you cards, or even cards of appreciation or admiration. But since I’m a outside of the box thinker, I opted for a different occasion that rightfully fits this topic... Veterans Day.

My family is rich with military service... my husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, siblings, even my in-laws. They have served in every branch of the armed forces, some even seeing combat for many years. I have a great deal of respect for the military and our flag. We spent this past weekend in Washington DC, and I was reminded of just how much we have to be grateful for. This is a picture of one of my two favorite memorials.

Hop along with the other Friends of Unity and see their creations...Pssst! There is a giveaway too!

Crystal O. Minkler

Eileen Mathys (you’re here)

Kim Klinkovsky
Alaine Tanner
Jeanie Hayes
Dawn Bryson
Bobbie Sue McConathy
Joyce Verdon

Dawn Fields

Robyn Jordan

Stamps:
Ragged Ol’ Flag (Unity Stamp Company)
Flourish Wonder (Unity)
Stars & Stripes Forever (Unity)

Paper:
Classic Kraft (Papertrey Ink)
Stampers Select White (Papertrey)
Pure Poppy Bitty Big (Papertrey)
Pacific Point (Stampin Up)

Ink:
Real Red (Stampin Up)
Pacific Point (Stampin Up)
Crumb Cake (Stampin Up)

Accessories:

Sizzix Big Shot

Lucky Stars Embossing Folder (Stampin Up)
Washi Label Punch (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 change. With summer turning to autumn and all the beautiful colors changing around me, I easily could have easily found my inspiration right outside my window. Instead, I went in a uniquely different direction with the theme.

My inspiration for this card was sending a note to a far away friend or maybe the sender had recently moved away and was mailing a letter back to someone in their hometown. I then realized that after a friend recently switched jobs, this could also make a great retirement card, or even a little pick me up for a college student who is away from home at school.

Hop along with the other Friends of Unity and see their creations...Pssst! There is a giveaway too!

Crystal O. Minkler
Kim Klinkovsky

Eileen Mathys (you’re here)
Alaine Tanner

Dawn Bryson

Joyce Verdon
Dawn Fields

Stamps:
Stay in Touch (Unity Stamp Company)

Paper:
Flirty Flamingo (Stampin Up)
Stampers Select White (Papertrey Ink)
Just Be You (Echo Park)

Ink:
Tuxedo Black (Memento)

Accessories:

Copic Sketch Markers
Sizzix Big Shot
To the Point Edgers Die (Papertrey Ink)

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!!