April 2019 Artist Trading Cards

Hey there... back to explain how I made these trading cards before I broke my wrist! Again, I enjoyed making these cards!

For the first card, I was inspired by a recent Unity Co. video showing a vintage tag. I’ve been wanting to use the last stamp from the Garden Whatnot Collection and thought it might make a good ATC. I first made a mask of the middle parts of the ATC and stamp that I didn’t want to overstamp. I then pulled out some oxide inks, the image stamp from the Take Care of You Kit, and using the mask, added some background to the edges of each ATC. I then stamped the tag image in brown. I restamped the tag on other paper to get an additional butterfly and the large one. I blended glitter inks  to achieve the colors I wanted and painted all the butterflies and glasses, fussy cut the additional pieces and glued them on. I inked the edges, then added twine, a another Unity stamp sentiment and a button at the top and called the cards done.

For the second ATC, I was inspired by a freebie Unity stamp and a BoBunny Washi tape. I wanted to see if I could create something using both. For this ATC, I used a variety of kits: Sentimental Journey SMAK Kit from 5/16 (bush background), Eternal kit (gate background), Dream, Hope, Do sentiment kit (freebie), and the watering can from the 7/09 KOTM. First, I gathered attached the Washi tape at the bottom. I then covered that with a larger tape. I found distress colors I thought would coordinate with the Washi and stamped that on the media mat. I then dipped the ATCs in those colors. I then adhered the ATCS on my Misti and stamped the larger foliage tag stamp on the ATCs. Finally, I added the gate background stamp in gray. Finally I stamped the watering can in the corner ensuring I could add the sentiment later. I pulled off the top Washi and used pencils and pens to make the watering can more closely match the cans in the Washi. I also added water using pens. I then added a brown cord. Finally, I stamped the sentiment on another sheet using rose gold Delicata ink and then embossed it with a Seth Apter grainy powder. I die cut those out and added white pen where needed and attached them.

Had fun with these! Till next time (when the swelling in my wrist is gone), happy crafting!

Terrarium Card

Fell in love with the terrarium stamp from Unity’s February 2019 KOTM. I decided I wanted a more vintage feel for the back ground and based the colors on a patterned paper from Kaisercraft’s Scrap Studio pad.

I started by pulling out coordinating distress inks and oxides and a watercolor paper scrap. I stamped my media mat with the Distress inks, spritzed it with a lot of water and laid the paper in it. I touched it down a few more times and then dried it. Next I took oxides and a TCW stencil and added circles, marks and dots. I grabbed a couple of stamps, the hanging lights from the October 2015 SMAK kit and the words from the Giving it All Meaning kit and stamped those using oxides. 

I took the image stamp and first stamped it out with Potting Soil Archival ink. I painted inside the terrariums with white gesso to lighten them up a bit and dried that. I restamped it with brown Stazon ink and added the sentiment. I then mixed a combo of green Brea Reese and clear ArtC glitter inks and Primary Elements to make a light sparkly wash of a muted mint color for the glass parts. I then painted the foliage.

I die cut and backed the image with a brown paper and used another paper from the pad for a card base. I added string and crystals to complete the card. Hope you enjoyed this card. Till next time, happy crafting!

A Girl and Her Adventures Card

Well, been wanting to participate in the napkin decoupage challenge, so I did! Here it is! I started by tearing off a piece of a napkin I’ve had and loved for years, separating the 3 part ply to get the top layer. I took a Range Distress paper and layered Mod Podge on it and then laid the napkin at a tilt and painted Mod Podge again on the top. I covered the whole panel. I let that dry overnight as I pondered my next step.

After looking through my stash, I decided to use the girl from the April 2019 SMAK kit... she’s perfect and facing in the right direction! I stamped her in brown on a paper from a pad that matched the cream color in the napkin. I took postage marks from the Enjoy the Ride Kit and used blue and brown oxide inks to stamp them around the girl. I took a script stamp from the 6/17 SMAK kit and a black oxide ink to add some pen marks. Finally, to bring in a red color, I used Memento’s Rhubarb Stalk and a dotted stamp from an old KOTM from 6/13. I tore the edges adding black and brown oxides to give it a distressed look. I added color to the image with Prismacolor pencils.

I then used the same red Memento’s ink and a sentiment from A Girl and Her Adventures Kit and stamped that on a paper scrap. I took the Eiffel Tower from the 12/12 KOTM, masked off the words and stamped that over the sentiment in brown ink. I cut that down and distressed the edges.

To finish the card, I added striped twine, a metal Eiffel Tower and gold crystals.

Not sure with everything I added, I still qualify for the card challenge, but I did enjoy putting this together! Hope you have a great weekend! Happy crafting till next time!

Friends of Unity April Blog Hop

Welcome to April’s Friends of Unity Blog Hop with this month’s theme of Rainy Days! I suggested this theme as I was intrigued with how to create a rainy look. It also offers several underlying themes to it... sadness (tears of rain), happiness (singing in the rain) and just generally coincides with that time of year (it is raining as I write this blog).

This blog hop, as usual, offers giveaway goodies. I will be doing a giveaway this month as well. 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. I also want to take this time to congratulate Donna Rakestraw, the winner from my blog for last month’s hop! Please message me with your address within the next 2 weeks to secure your giveaway!

For the first card (and first time trying to create a rainy look), I used Unity’s Substance of Things Kit. I started by stamping the foliage and grass using a wet stamp technique. I chose a green and gray palette to depict a more somber mood. I pulled out Primary Elements Olive Vine and a Stone Color in Bloom spray and painted the stamp and then stamped it on watercolor paper.  I kept stamping the foliage to create a higher tree cover. The Primary Elements pigment has a gold shimmer to it. I stamped the girl and sentiment with gray archival ink and painted her with distress inks. I then stamped greens, grays and black inks on my mat and added color to the trees. Finally, I took a silver liquid pigment and a rain stencil and pained some larger drops and then I took black, silver and white pens and added rain and details. Finished the card with black paper backing, twine and sequins.

I used A Beauty All It’s Own for the focus of the second card. This time, while I wanted rain again, I wanted brighter colors and a happier theme so I went with Primary colors. I also used the background stamp from the 8/18 SMAK kit for puddles. After stamping the girl, the sentiment and the puddles, and watercoloring her, I painted the hint of a background scene with a curb and foliage. I used glitter paint on her scarf, coat and boots and the yellow parts of the sky. Again, I used pens to enhance images and add rain drops. I backed it up with bright yellow and bright green papers, and added yellow crystals and ribbon.

Finally, I decided to make 1 more card and challenge myself to create rain drops in a still life picture using a kit I’ve been itching to try, Friends Like You. I also used the background stamp, Hit the Brick.  I started by inking up the rose with a pink archival ink. I then turned to 3 (2 green, one red) of my 6 Arteza paint pens to paint the rose, buds and leaves. But first I drew in 7 waterdrops on the rose and leaves. After I finished painting, I colored in the waterdrops and used pens again to make them crisper. Not perfect but not bad. I then stamped the image again on masking paper and used that to stamp the background with blue, gray and black archival inks. I added blue paint to some of the bricks and ended up creating shadows with pencils. I again added 2 waterdrops. With pens, I again, added rain, backed the image with navy paper, and used white ink and embossing powder on navy paper for the sentiment. Finally added 3 dewdrop crystals to finish this one!

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 and ideas with others. Hope you enjoy these efforts as much as we enjoy doing them! If you are interested in my art journey, I invite you to follow me by clicking the follow button, or adding your email!

Now on to the hop:

Crystal Minkler
Eileen Mathys

Jeanie Hays

Bobbie Sue McConathy

Dawn Fields
You are here —> Joyce Verdon
Kim Klinkovsky
Robyn Jordan

March 2019 ATCs

Had fun this month with 2 different styles of ATC’s.

For the first ATC, I used one of the stamps from the 3/15 SMAK kit. I combined it with a beautiful white, gold, and pink Stampendous embossing powder, Gansai Tambi Starry watercolors, a silver and a pink Washi tape, black watercolor paper and a patterned pink gold embossed patterned paper. So shiny and sparkly! I stamped a sentiment from the 12/18 KOTM on more paper from the same paper pad and die cut that. I had been experiencing the winter blues this past quarter and shared that with my ATC group who resoundingly told me I should have said something and that I was not alone! So heartfelt...made me feel better right away. So I’m returning the message, in turn, saying I heard them and am returning the favor!

For the second ATC, I pulled the clocks stamp and sentiment from the 6/17 SMAK kit. I started by stamping the clock stamp all over a piece of watercolor paper with gray archival ink. I took the dot stamp from Unity’s Bitty Background Kit and a red archival ink and stamped areas in between the clocks. I also took an orange ink and stamped the script stamp from the same SMAK kit over some of the clocks. I cut down the paper and embossed with black ink and black embossing powder the sentiment. I then pulled out Distress and oxide inks, combined colors and painted the clocks and background adding shadows. I used a black pen to darken lines and a copper pen to add a touch of glitter to the clock hands. Finally, I stamped the ruler from A Love Beyond Measure kit on the edges and called it done.

Hope you enjoyed these ATC’s! Till next time, happy crafting!