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