Monday, March 18, 2024

Growing In Unity - Day 1 Falling into Place

 How fun is it that I get to enjoy another Growing in Unity week? Very, I say! Reminder: this week of my posted cards is sponsored by Unity Stamp Co. At the end of the week, I get to pick a winner from commenters here of store credit from Unity Stamp Co… so be sure to add your comments below! Let me know your likes and dislikes!

Today I a sharing a card I made using the stamp kit Falling Into Place. I was drawn to a Pinterest painting of a butterfly using grays and soft blues and tried to create version of it with this card. I used a watercolor paper and my Schmincke pan set on this one. I started by stamping the image using a black ink which on the textured paper produced a gray broken image and then watercolored it, including adding a soft wash and spatters in the background. I pulled out a black pen and detailed the flowers and darkened the black areas. I used gray and white pens to add wing details. I used negative painting, black pen marks and white gouache brush marks to create the illusion of stamens.


 
To create the card, I decided to use a 6x6 format. I found this brick patterned paper I thought matched the mood of the painting and the sentiment. I die cut the image, stamped the sentiment and backed everything with matching black and blue papers. For embellishments, I added back and blue enamel dots and called it done. 

Must admit, I had fun trying to create the illusion of stamens with detailed negative painting brush strokes around the stamens. This stamp is so pretty and and the possibilities of colors and mediums used to create cards is endless!

Reminder, comment below for a chance at winning Unity stare credit! Thanks for stopping by!

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

BYSHC Sketch 43 - Bo Bunny Cards

 Welcome back to another BYSHC sketch for the month of March! Here’s the design!


I decided to take advantage of this sketch and try out some Bo Bunny papers I’d collected over the years. For the first card, I pulled out my old Yuletide Carol collection (papers and ephemera). For some reason, the lovely papers in this collection really drew me in. It was pretty easy to create this card using papers and chipboard pieces from the collection. For the sentiment, I used an Alexandra Renke kit and added enamel dots to complete the card.

For the second card, I used papers from Bo Bunny’s Christmas Treasures collection. This time, I coupled the papers with Unity stamps from a retired Tags, Glorious Tag kit. I stamped the image and watercolored it, added copper spatters and then copper embossed the same image onto acetate paper. Since I had stamped the image with an oxide ink and watercolored over that, the details of the ornaments was lost, so the acetate embossing brought those details back.  I ended up creating a shaker card using those two pieces. 



I stamped the sentiment and embossed it with a glittering embossing powder. To complete the card, I added pearl embellishments. 

Clearly, with this card I took some creative freedom from the following the detailed sketch. Must admit, both cards are a big departure from my usual style but were fun to experiment with! Thanks for stopping by, till next time… happy crafting!

Saturday, March 2, 2024

Friends of Unity March Blog Hop

 Hello there… its a new month, so welcome to a new blog hop featuring creations with this theme…

If you are new to the hop, we offer giveaways every month from our own stash. To be eligible, you just need to comment on blogs in the hop including your name. We randomly select names when choosing winners. Check out the other blogs for who’s doing giveaway this month!

Now, on to the first card! I paired Stamperia’s Forest papers, with a couple Unity kits, Happy Soul from February 2023, and Difference Maker from December 2023. I stamped the image using Antique Linen onto one of the ~6x3” frames in the kit which already ha$ some foliage on it. I then used my Prismacolor pencils and some pens to color in the image. I fussy cut out the paper and distressed the edges using Scorched Timber ink. I inked up the sentiment with varied brown and green inks and clear embossed it. To fill in behind and around the image I lightly added sprigs of foliage. To complete the card, I used another paper from the pack and added enamel dots. Unfortunately, a couple friends of mine enduring some hard times were on my mind in creating cards this month.

This next card was also inspired by the Stamperia paper which you can see in the background of the photo. I used Jeanie Hays’ Unity Sail With No Limits kit and for the sentiment, Fresh Air and Sunshine from July 2022. I used my watercolors and watercolor paper after stamping the image with Antique Linen. I added pen marks to tighten up lines and inked the sentiment on when done. This time, I embellished the card with twine, metal embellishments and sequins.

Again, I’m hoping this card provides some encouraging words to get outside and enjoy nature when life gets rough! Funny story, I grew up summers on a small lake in upstate NY which is why this image so resonates with me. Well, my first and only attempt at sailing with my 11 year old girlfriend, ended us up at the other end of this 7 mile long lake. Of course, we had to be humiliatingly towed back to the other end by strangers as we had no idea how to tack! Give me a motor or oars any day over sailing…although I do love looking at them from afar! Love, love, love being on the water!

Hope you enjoyed my nature cards…and now on to some spectacular cards from my creative fellow bloggers! You may have ended up here from: 

Gaylynn’s blog 

Next stop on the hop is:

Dawn’s blog

Or, you can start at the top with:

Crystal’s blog

Wednesday, February 21, 2024

Altenew’s Statement Flowers

 So, in an attempt to get back into watercoloring, I pulled out Altenew’s Statement Flowers Kit, Antique Linen oxide ink and Arches Watercolor paper. After stamping the image, I first painted the background. I then watercolored the flowers loosely. I painted the background several times to darken it and added palette knife scraping marks to give the appearance of stems. I also painted the image a couple times, continuing to darken the colors and added paint spatters. I wasn’t satisfied with my painting so I proceeded to add colored pencils and pens to continue to give the flowers depth. This ended up adding quite a bit of texture to the flowers that I was okay with for a change. Here’s some of the progressions - 


Finally, I settled on a slightly darker version, added black and patterned paper to offset this 5x7 card, and embossed and stamped the sentiments. I left the busy card unembellished. Here’s the final version!


Welp, it’s a little rustic?, coarse?, rough?? I had considered adding mixed media stamps and scripting in the background, but I didn’t think it would actually help the overall esthetic. Must admit - it is growing on me, not my worst, so I decided to share it after all that effort. Feel free to let me know your thoughts! Thanks for stopping by!

Sketch 42 Holiday Cards

 February came in with a new Build Your Stash Holiday Card sketch challenge:

So, I was inspired to create a few different cards using older papers and ephemera I hadn’t touched in a few years! Here’s my first card using My Mind’s Eye Yuletide collection. I split one of the papers up and backed it with another paper from the pack and a shiny silver holographic paper to spruce it up. I then took one of the tag ephemera from the collection and stamped a sentiment from a Tim Holtz kit. To complete the card, I added silver snowflakes, silver twine, a metal snowflake and a Snow ephemera sentiment. I really like the gray tone scenes on this card!



 For the next card, I used an old Amy Designs Christmas Wishes paper set. I took Unity’s Sweetest Snowman stamp set and tried to match the colors and theme of the paper using alcohol inks. 


To complete this card, I added the sentiment from the kit, twine and enamel dots. Hope you enjoyed my interpretation of this sketch with these cards. Thanks for stopping by!


Friday, February 16, 2024

Creative Expressions Vintage Baubles

 Oh my, I fell in love with this very cute stamp from Creative Expressions, called Vintage Baubles, that I had to pick up recently. I was so inspired by a sample card that I had to try my own version of it.

Sometimes, I get so excited that I don’t take the time and care I should on painting the image (using watercolors and Gansai Tambi paints), but I still think it turned out okay. I started by gold embossing the image on watercolor paper. After painting it, I cut it down to fit a 5x7 card base and distressing the edges. I then searched for paper scraps that I thought could complement the colors I used to paint it. I distressed the edges on those as well after cutting them down.

To complete the card, I glued down the first layer. I then used glue to adhere the centers of the rest of the layers, ensuring the sides could lift a little. I found a sticky sentiment that I cut in half, adhered paper scraps to and distressed the edges as well. I added gold thread behind the sentiment and called it done!

For some reason, I love the random sloppy vibe of this one! Well, hope this inspired you to try this kind of busy stamp! Let me know if this style works for you! Happy stamping till next time! Thanks for stopping by!

Saturday, February 3, 2024

Friends of Unity February Blog Hop

 Hey… it’s time for another blog hop! With a different, for us, theme … that of a card sketch!

Before I review the cards I created this month, I wanted to remind you to comment on my blog for a chance to win Unity goodies! As I was searching my stash for this month’s cards, I happened upon some dups … shocking, I know ;-) ! So, I’ll be doing another giveaway this month! And… speaking of giveaways, my winner from last month’s hop is…. 

Kendra Storm

Congrats, Kendra…  please PM me your address and I’ll send out some goodies! 

So, had a bit of fun this time making a small bunch of cards with varying purposes… time to restock some multipurpose cards! First off, I made a masculine card using both Unity’s May 2023 KOM, Bloom in Color, and June 2023 KOM, From the Countryside (sentiment). I coupled the stamps with a Paper Roses’s One of a Kind patterned paper. I used alcohol markers on the image. I also used Unity’s ABC.123.washi kit on the background strip. For embellishments, I added sequins, feathers and a button.

For the second card, I pulled out Unity’s What If. I paired this image with some old patterned paper and a green tinted vellum sheet. Must admit I had fun coloring up with pencils and paper piecing the image to match the background. I also pulled out the Get Your Happy On to add matching colored pencil flower images that I fussy cut. I think I might be getting ready for spring already with this one! I added coordinating sequins over the card and green sticky strips to the vellum. Now I think I need to color the floral image alone for another card…hmmm… another day, perhaps!

For the last card, I pulled out My Smiles Begin. I used pencils again, on this one. I ended up pairing her with a very old favorite Kaisercraft paper collection called Keepsake. All of the paper used on the card came from that collection, including the ephemera. I distressed all the paper edges. I ended up adding string and crystals to complete this card.

Overall, I had a lot of fun pairing papers with Unity kits to come up with these cards. Now, on to the rest of the hop! Should be great fun to see the variety of cards created with this super sketch! Remember…. Leave a comment, with your name, for a chance at Unity goodies!

You may have come here from:

Amber’s blog

You may continue on with:

Rachel’s blog

Or you can start at the top with:

Crystal’s blog

Friday, February 2, 2024

Life is Tough

 Just wanted to create an original card today, so I pulled out an already die cut embossed burlap stamped image scrap and a small scrap of watercolor paper. I embossed a sentiment from Unity’s Difference Maker kit onto the watercolor paper and then proceeded to watercolor some sprigs. I then distressed the edges.

 I found a piece of paper I had tried leaf/coffee staining on that I could use as a background. I used a background stamp from an old Unity SMAK kit on it. I then added a paper strip to it.


To complete the card, I added fancy string and matching crystals!


Unfortunately, I know a few folks that can use this one! Thanks for stopping by - till next time, happy crafting!

Wednesday, January 24, 2024

Another Galentine Card!

 Just had to do it… pulled out some of Unity’s Angie Blom kits, Born Again Today and No Time for Guilt and coupled them with Prima papers! I started by stamping the image, using a beige ink, onto a peach colored stationary paper that I could use colored pencils on. I stamped it again using a Mulberry ink onto Prima patterned paper. I used my Prismacolor colored pencils on both and paper pieced the clothing onto the original image. I then fussy cut them out. I cut down another piece of patterned paper for the base layer. I used heart dies on several more patterned paper sheets. I inked up all the edges.

I then found pink and maroon coordinating paper stock I could use for the card base, bottom layer and another heart. I then assembled the card using dotted ribbon, a brad and crystal dots. I cream embossed the sentiment from the other kit and fussy cut it out, completing the card. 

Guess I’m on a bit of a vintage vibe right now! Hope you enjoyed this Galentine card!

Sunday, January 21, 2024

A Few More Sketch 41 Cards

 Okay, I kinda got onto a Sketch 41 kick earlier this month… just had some fun. So here’s 2 more using:

Sketch 41

First, I continued using Scrapbook.com’s Hello Winter kit, this time using the polar bear stamp. I used sone alcohol markers for the first time with so so success. I ended up using a pink marker trying to obtain the pink hue of the paper. I added cheesecloth and sequins to complete the card.

For the second card, I used the Dress My Craft’s Christmas Vibes paper collection again coupled with an ephemera pack from Studio Light. Pretty easy card to pull together with a Studio Light sentiment, and twine. I added Liquid green dots to complete the card!


Really love the Dress My Craft paper images! Well, that’s it for this sketch…thanks for stopping by!

Monday, January 15, 2024

Valentine 1.0 - 4 Cards

 So, I’ve been on a Valentine’s Day kick, for some reason! Maybe, I needed a break from holiday cards or just needed another holiday to look forward to! (January is a bit of a downer!) Even thinking of baking some Valentine’s Day cookies! Whatever, but here’s hodgepodge of cards I can share that I’ve created over the last week! After pulling out my boxed up heart supplies and stamps, I just needed to play!

First off I started by taking a sheet of paper and cutting a couple hearts out of the center. I had some leftover glossy tissue paper from a craft store pancake that I used as the base for a shaker card. I diecut a couple other hearts I could use to frame the cutout hearts shape from scraps. I then used acetate and pretty crystals and hearts to create the shaker. I ended up using an old Stampin’ Up Sealed with a Kiss kit to create a little envelope and note. I die cut more hearts for embellishment and backed up the shaker with another patterned paper. I used an ephemera and Gina K kit for the besties sentiment. Finally added little sticky hearts to complete the card! Not my best, but shakers are fun!

For the next card, I decided to pull out an old BoBunny Sweetheart die and a Simon Says Stamp sentiment die. I used a shiny silver paper from a Recollections pack I just picked up to die cut pieces. I used an Altenew Dainty leaves die to cut out foliage sprays. I then cut down various papers from my stash and pulled the card together using lace, crystals and matching ribbon. I used a sentiment from a Simon Says stamp kit to complete the You Are phrase. Liked this one a little better!

Next, I pulled out a background I created last year using glimmer sprays and powders along with Simon Says Stamp Heart to Heart background stamp. I had white embossed the paper first before spraying water and using the powders and inks. Lovely background to use with this technique. I coupled it with a metal hearts embellishment I picked off an old card. I found a black paper from an older LDRS paper pack that I decided to use as the base and for a sentiment background. I used a Simon Says Stamp sentiment due and a glossy white paper to create the sentiment.  To complete the card, I added bunches of sequins! Made for a pretty card.

Finally, going vintage,  played around with Prima’s With Love paper collection. I cut out a base and another flower layer from the paper. I decided to pair it with another leftover stamped background I created using Unity’s Love Quilt. To match colors I ended up adding pink and mauve tones and spatters to it. I then pulled out Unity’s Poppy Impressions stamp set. I used the smaller flower image twice, once having stamped the base layer with a matching sand colored Memento ink, then pink embossing the outline. Then, the second time, I pink embossed the outline and used pink, gray and green Inktense pencils  to color in the image. I fussy cut both out. Then white embossed the sentiment on scrap paper and fussy cut that out. I used the tiny background stamp from the kit to add a little texture to the rose image and lower background paper. Finally, I distressed all layers, added a tie dyed pink fabric paper, rose ribbon, metal leaf and pink crystals to complete the card! Must admit, this one is my favorite, but then I’m a “vintag-y” gal!

If nothing else, they are all interesting to look at and were a lot of fun to play with! And, I got to use a lot of my old stash!

Hope these were inspiring for you! Thanks for stopping by!

Saturday, January 6, 2024

Friends of Unity January Blog Hop

 Happy New Year! Welcome back to another Friends of Unity Blog Hop! Starting off the new year with a new, to me, theme:

Guess it was time to bust out a few unused stamps sets and try them out for fun! Went a little vintage on these but had a great time pulling them together! Before I start, wanted to remind you that our blog hop contains giveaways from our personal stash! All you need to do to be eligible to win a prize is leave your name and a comment!

So, for the first card, I used a brand new stamp set called Stunner! I had to snicker at the snarky sentiments on this one! And, I remembered my snarky friend has a February birthday! I pulled out a pretty Ciao Bella Brocatto Estense paper pack I thought looked old fashioned enough for the image. I had a freebie paper I received from Unity with a postcard image on it that I used as a starting point for the stamp. I used pencils and a white pen to color it in. I stamped the sentiment on another paper from the pack. I then cut down papers from the pack for the background. I decided to use a leftover burlap stamped paper I had created previously. I inked all the edges, to distress them, before assembling the card. To embellish the card to match the image, I used Jane Davenport feather dies with colored papers and sparkly embossing powder. I also used a brad, pearls, Washi tape, a paper flower and blue thread. Can’t help laughing at what my friend’s reaction will be when she sees this!


For the next card, I pulled out an older stamp set, called Queen of the Universe! I used an old Kaisercraft paper pack I recently received in a mystery craft bag, called Cherry Tree Lane. I stamped the image and sentiment on one of the papers and proceeded to cut or tear down papers from the pack. I used a notebook die on the side. I paper pieced a blous on the image with another paper from the pack. I used pens to add color to the image. For embellishments on the one, I used lace and a fancy ribbon, another freebie flower embellishment from Unity, Washi tape, a Tim Holtz sentiment strip and pearls, again. Had to fussy cut some extra flowers as filler, but I like the soft look the flowers add.


Love Unity’s snarky and funny stamp sets…again there’s many to choose from! And these vintage type stamps, in particular, just resonate with me! Well, hope you enjoyed these ideas for using these stamps! Thanks for stopping by and remember to comment, with your name, for a chance at winning some Unity goodies from me! Now, on to the rest of the hop!

You may have arrived here from:


You can start at the top of the hop with:


Friday, January 5, 2024

{BYSHC} Sketch Challenge #41 - Unity Stamps

Hello there - nothing like starting the New Year with my first 2024 Christmas cards using the new Build Your Stash Holiday Card Sketch Challenge #41!


I decided to make my own ornament for the first card using a circle die, Unity’s Ornament Builder’s Set 1 stamp set, and a hook holder I designed and watercolored myself! I used a combo of watercolors, oxide inks and embossing powder on the ornament! I added Unity sentiments, and embellished the card, after cutting down the panels, with sequins, gold ribbon and a Tim Holtz die.

For the second card, I had to try out Scrapbook.com’s new Hello Winter card kit, which I couldn’t resist picking up! I used a slightly larger card base for this one. I used paper from the pack and glittery silver card stock to create this one.

I used pens to color the polar bear and a Simon Says Stamp die for the sentiment. I’m just in love with the polar bear images and dies from this set! I embellished the card using the snowflake die and some silver snowflakes. Pretty simple but had fun playing with this card!

Thanks for stopping by and try your hand at this cute sketch! I already have another card in the cue using this one!