Friends of Unity January Blog Hop

Welcome to the New Year’s Friends of Unity Blog Hop! I expect this blog hop to be interesting again as we all provide our take on the theme, New Year! In keeping with prior years, my New Year resolutions all relate to crafting goals! So, I thought this key Unity stamp kit, Enjoy, Explore and Believe, says it all and reflects my wish for all of you! I just love this stamp! I have combined and used it in a variety of ways, so let me know your favorite! I also happened to obsess over and use new patterned Kraft paper, recent Unity SMAK kits and gold Perfect Pearls throughout.

This blog hop, as usual, offers giveaway goodies. Several of us, including myself are offering up giveaways this month. To be eligible, please leave a comment on each blog in the hop. Winners are randomly selected and posted on or by the next month’s blog hop. At this point, I’d like to congratulate, JAN VINT, for being my winner on last month’s hop! Congratulations, Jan! Please PM me providing your address within the next 2 weeks and I’ll gladly send out my giveaway!

For this first card, I chose a fairly standard card design. I decided to frame the sentiment with the frame from the 11/18 SMAK kit. I seem to be in a peach-like mood lately, so I first selected a patterned paper to use with the striped Kraft paper on the bottom. I stamped and clear embossed the sentiment on watercolor paper. I then stamped and embossed the frame using my new Wow Metallic Gold Rich Ultra High powder, which left a very thick beautiful layer. I then fussy cut the frame out and watercolored the insides, adding Perfect Pearls iridescence in spots and spatters. I pulled this card together with gold/white twine and a silver/gold metallic mesh underneath the frame.

The second card was developed with a mixed media bent. I again used watercolor paper and began by  spraying the paper with a green stain, brown stain and water. I mixed some Primary Elements together with a liquid medium and water and sprayed that as well. After drying, I then stamped the script/paper stamp from the 12/18 SMAK kit all over the paper. I then stamped the mushrooms from the same kit, this time using Faber Castelle gelatos, an orange and a metallic gold. I then also put a layer of Bo Bunny glaze over the tops, giving them a shiny sparkly raised look. I took white and brown pens to delineate the details. I stamped, cut up and added color to the sentiment strips. I then took a cream Bo Bunny glaze and an Altenew stencil and added paste where the sentiment pieces would go. Finally, I used pastel sticks and pens to enhance the mushrooms and areas surrounding them. I embossed the Barn Wall stamp on the Bo Bunny background paper and added the vines from the 11/18 kit to add some greenery in the background. Card was finished with sequins and twine.

The last card, was actually the first card I did, to start the new year off with crafty inspiration. I used a variety of products here: Star brads, Prima Paintables paper (built in with resist patterns which I stamped and added watercolor to...look closely and you’ll see the pattern), Tim Holtz dies (smudge spot and circle), Washi tape, gold and gold tinsel string, clear embossing powder, wood chip butterfly,  sticker numbers, crystal dots and patterned papers. I know this one will be the least liked, but I love the power behind the woman with wings and that beautiful sentiment. I wanted not only to surround them by all the crafty craziness, but also make a statement piece, with an exclamation mark!

Hope you enjoy these cards and my friends’ cards on this hop. Be sure to leave comments on each hop for your chance to win a giveaway. Just to remind everyone, we are not sponsored by Unity Stamp Co., but they do approve of this hop. I and my fellow crafters on this hop are keen users of their products and enjoy focusing our attention on monthly themes where we can showcase their products. We use our own stash as giveaways to share our inspiration with others. Hope you enjoy these efforts as much as we enjoy doing them! Happy New Year everyone and happy crafting! Now on to the hop:

Crystal Minkler

Kim Klinkovsky

You are here => Joyce Verdon

Bobbie Sue McConathy

Eileen Mathys

Jeanie Marie Hays

Robyn Jordan

Dawn Fields