July Unity ATCs

This was a mixed month, hurting in the beginning, much improved in the end! Besides my wrist, I was also dealing with a partial tear in my rotator cuff and tendonitis in my foot. So, needless to say, my work improved as I improved! 

I started this month’s ATCS during our 100 degree weather, so I first pulled out a popsicle and sentiment from the 2/19 KOTM. I used glitter inks and oxides to color the popsicle. I used Tutti Fruitti patterned paper to back the popsicle. After backing the paper on an angle using ATC sized colored cardstock, I decided to try creating faux popsicles using a stencil and used 2 different BoBunny glitter pastes with it. Remembering a lot of Heartfelt Creations classes, I decided to shape the popsicles using a stylus tool, where you wet the back and roll the ball over the areas you want to add dimension to. Finally, I used pens to add details. These turned out pretty funky, but I just couldn’t redo because of pain. 

I ended up liking the second set better! I started by stamping the girl from the May 2019 SMAK kit. Masking her off, I then lightly stamped the flower from the No Rain No Flowers Kit 3 times. I then took a simple butterfly from the Heart Flutter Kit and off stamped (or second generation stamped) it in blue to add a simple touch of blue. Finally, I used part of a “stamp” stamp from another kit to add a little darker red. I added a little Tattered Rose to the cheeks and a couple small scroll parts using a stencil and Vicki Boutin rose colored paste. Finally, I stamped the sentiment that I felt when doing these ATCs (snarky of me, eh?) on vellum and attached it with a coordinating different brad to each ATC. I must say, I am very much in my happy place doing vintage work ;-)! This sentiment came from the Art & Possibility Kit. 

Till next time, happy crafting!

Gardenpartychallenge on Instagram

Was intrigued by the cards/art work in this challenge, so I decided to try my hand at it. The instructions were rectangle, blue, stars, woman’s portrait and embossing. I was originally going to use one of the Unity’s SMAK kit ladies, but then I had just received the Unity’s No Time for Guilt lady and decided to try her. I also used a sentiment from She Never Says Never Kit. For the stars, I used the Hello it’s Me kit, for the dots on the shirt, a Good Life Kit, and for the squiggly line, the Beautiful Elements Mixed Media Kit. I used a background stamp called Dinged Dots for the large dots. I did pull in another vendor with the star stamps from a Dina Wakely kit.

I have been wanting to try to create an acrylic gelli plate background, so I pulled out some acrylics and a Primary Elements powder. I used a Carabelle Studio texture plate and a Stencil Girl Stencil to create 3 backgrounds. I liked them, but next time I’ll use better contrast between colors. The process was rollout colors, add design and press paper down on top. I did this about 3 times on each paper, changing up the designs.

For the card I began by stamping the large star design a couple times. I then added color to the stars using Derwent Intense pencils, Glitter ink and water. I then added the large dots in several areas using a blue Brutus Monroe embossing powder. I then stamped and embossed the sentiment in black and added squiggle lines.

Turning to the image, I stamped it in Memento London Fog. I then added color using oxides in Tattered Rose and Picked Raspberries for the face, and Derwent Inktense pencils and silver glitter ink for the shirt. I added some of the Primary Elements blue to the hair as well as the pencils. I embossed Dinged Dots again around the girl and added a little of the cream acrylic on one side of the girl. I used a black pen on the girl to make her stand out more.

Finally, I added some black and white pastes to the bottom later using a couple different stencils (one being a Tim Holtz Star Stencil). I used the pencils again around the white stars to make them stand out. For the Dina Wakely stars, I used a Kraft paper scrap. I just stamped the large bottom one, but the 3 surrounding the girl are embossed. I inked the edges, added black string and a navy background and called the card done!

This was a fun exercise, as I got to experiment a little, hone my skills some more, all while playing around with different media. For all that, I think it turned out okay. Let me know what you think...

Till next time, happy crafting!

Patterned Paper Matching Card

I am a big fan of Kaisercraft paper, and, I think, the Greenhouse pad is one of my favorites! The colors are gorgeous and, for a change, it was focused on succulents. Used a Unity Itty Bitty Kit called Bravely Planted and paired it with a sentiment from the Poppies and Love Kit.

I stamped the image using London Fog and colored it in with Prismacolor pencils to match the papers’ color scheme. I then watercolored the background using distress oxides and stamped the sentiment also with oxides. I gave the image a border using the Rectangle Scalloped kit again combining a couple oxides to achieve the color I wanted. I gave definition to the image with light pen strokes.

I punched out a preformed tag from the pad and added the sentiment to it. I finished the card with a brad and crystals. This card was put together pretty quickly. A thank you card is always useful to have around.

 

Till next time, happy crafting!

With Sympathy and Sadness Card

I needed to make a special card for a very close friend who just lost her father. I took my cue for colors from a fellow Unie who posted a great summer color scheme that I thought would also be appropriate for a summer sympathy card for a father. I used Stormy Sky and Antique Linen oxides, dipping the card into the ink and drying in between. I made the blues darker at top. I then added a little Brea Reese Neutral Grey Gliiter ink to my pad, spritzed it with water, and dipped the paper one final time.

After drying the paper, I embossed the image from the Beautiful Moments kit onto the paper. I then found solid coordinating, papers and die cut all 3 pieces. I brushed on a little more blue ink at the top and lightly added black to the edges. To make the butterflies stand out a little, I mixed a blue glitter ink with the grey one and painted part of the butterflies with that and the rest with the grey ink.

I stamped the sentiment from the Owl So Sad kit and embossed it with Liquid Platinum powder. I die cut it and backed it with black paper. I cut another white piece of paper matching the card size and hot gun glued a Tim Holtz weave to it on the side. I then adhered all the papers to that and then adhered that to the the card base. I added a lovely internal sentiment from the ...beautiful life, blessed memories kit, some sequins and crystal dots and called the card done.

Such a sad card to make but at least it was put together with love. Happy crafting till next time everyone!

Mixed Media Inspired Birthday Card

Came across some videos demonstrating mixed media art using a combination of colored and black and white stamped images which I thought was striking. I think I may have also caught a glimpse of cards created like this as well. I combined those ideas with the image of one of my Lang coffee mugs which I love seen here!

As usual, I also added another twist in that I created a rectangle using purple tape and distress oxide reds and grey inks and then dabbed more color around that. I used a stencil and the grey oxide ink to add to the background. I then stamped the flower image from the 11/16 KOTM several times using a red ink. I then grabbed more paper and stamped the image again several times using black ink (I embossed the image with black powder for the one I was keeping black and white). I used Brea Reese glitter inks and a yellow color burst to add color to the base card, very loosely. I colored in the additional image more carefully. I embossed the sentiment, from the Tulip Wishes Kit, which will continue inside the card, again with black powder. I assembled the card adding black outline papers and red sequins.

Unfortunately, my hand is still not fully functional and painful, so, of course, I see the errors where I couldn’t handle the techniques fully. But I think you can get the gist of the style. So fun and I love the dramatic look it achieves. I love both the black and white contrast and the use of a rectangle as a background.

Hope you enjoy these ideas; till next time, happy crafting!

Just Because Card

I started this card out with embossing the flowers from Unity’s Just Because Kit with white embossing powder. I then used my watercolors to add color to the flowers and then the background. I didn’t like how plain it looked. So, I decided to add some Cosmic Shimmer powder to the background and spritzed it with water and then added some to the flowers. I embossed the sentiment (seemed apropos for the July empowerment challenge and so right on!) from the 11/2016 SMAK kit using gunmetal powder. I then spattered white, silver, and black inks and the shimmer color around. I mounted this on gray corrugated paper, and added string and a precut tag and called the card done.

Back to crafting again! Have a great day and till next time, happy crafting!

Bird and Feather Cards

Been exercising my hand with some cards lately using Unity stamps. The first card’s inspiration was the May Friends of Unity hop with a fruit theme. Wanted to create a cherry based collage card. I had pulled out random stamps I thought would look cute together and stamped some prototypes right before I broke my wrist. I’ve been itching to complete that design. So, since then, I bought a cosmic shimmer powder and I used that along with a red oxide ink to create the background... very shiny! I stamped the images using Stazon inks, inked the edges of that and some ephemera, stamped a cute sentiment, added Washi tape, ribbon, a gold heart and crystals. I did use some glitter inks and pens to enhance the images.

The second card was inspired by the current Resist Emboss Challenge on Unity’s Show and Tell FB page. I used the feather from the July 2019 KOTM. I stamped that using clear embossing powder and added watercolor (from my tubes) to the image. I also added paint spatter and crystals. The sentiment, also embossed, came from the You Will Shine Kit.

These cards have provided me a variety of techniques to exercise both my hands and skills. Not up to par yet... but I’m enjoying playing again! Till next time, happy crafting!

Friends of Unity July Blog Hop

Welcome to July’s Friends of Unity Blog Hop focused on Vintage. With my cast and splint finally off (broken wrist) and healing underway, I couldn’t wait to get back into the blog hop... especially with this month’s theme being one of my favorite styles!

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 Karen Decknick, the winner from my very last blog entry... yikes, from April’s hop! Please message me with your address within the next 2 weeks to secure your giveaway!

For the first card, I used Unity’s Magnolia Flowers kit, Authentique vintage paper pad and an assortment of ephemera, ribbon, BoBunny paste, a stencil and enamel dots. I started by stamping the whole image of the flower with Hickory Smoke oxide ink. I then used a pink Ranger embossing Powder to outline the flower. The lineup wasn't exact, but I was actually okay with that. I then used black watercolor to add shading to the image. I stamped the sentiment onto ephemera, stenciled a design on another sheet, added shading to the edges and finally added dots. 

For the second card, I used  A Girl and Her Adventures Kit. I started this one by stamping on a sheet from Kaisercrafts MemoryLane pad using a combo of Vintage Photo, Tumbled Glass and Iced Spruce to match the paper. I then took a brown pen, lightly outlined the image and added the sentiment. Again, I used a variety of ephemera, flowers and ribbon. I also used corrugated paper and inked it in the same tones. I added distress color to the edges and called it done.

I wanted to use the camera image from the same kit for the last effort. So I took a large Graphic 45 tag and first started using background stamps from the When I See You Kit. I then stamped the camera and sentiment. I added special papers and ephemera using a glue stick. I cut up one of the papers to add the numbered pieces. I also added a doily a friend sent me. I inked up the edges, added “Shoot!!”, a stamp from a gift bag and added outlines, and darkened edges. I finished up the tag with ribbon scraps and paint spatter.

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 a variety of their products - old and new! 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 hop:

Crystal

Kim

Eileen

Dawn

- You are here -

Jeanie

Robyn

June ATC’s

Back again with the next set for this month! Had fun doing these even through pain! Still somewhat hindered by a wrist and fingers semi-locked into the cast position. (I really can’t complain though as this will all heal eventually, worse things could have happened and the injury was a good wake up call to lose weight... which, yeah, I’ve already lost 15 lbs! Kudos to MyFitnessPal!)

With the 100 degree days we experienced, my thoughts immediately turned to a water theme. For this ATC, I used the She Mermaid Unity Kit! I also used 3 different stencils, an acrylic paint, an oxide ink and a couple spray paints. After creating the background, I white powder embossed the jellyfish and sentiment. I then added black and white pens and darkened areas around the jellyfish using Gamsai Tambi watercolors. I added bubbles using another stencil with white textured paste and added Sugar Cookie BoBunny paste over bubbles and jellyfish.

The second ATC is my tribute to the 4th of July, using the red, white and blue colors of the holiday! I used pieces from both the June and May SMAK kits. I first created a crude mask for the Ferris Wheel (love that wheel). I then stamped the stripes using a bright red oxide ink around the cards. I embossed the wheel using a glittery blue Stampendous embossing powder (which I love)! I then stamped purposely messily the blank ticket image using the red ink! I fussy cut those and then used another darker blue embossing powder from the same kit for the sentiment. I finished these with sequins.

Hope you like these additions! Happy crafting till next time!

May ATC’s

So, even though I was in a cast, I did try to create some ATC’s over the 6 weeks in a cast after falling backwards and breaking my wrist. My hand felt like a painful stiff Barbie doll hand, in that, I had very limited movement and could only hold things down with the back of my fourth finger... painfully. Amazing how much you need your other hand for anything... holding paper down, coloring, cutting, ripping off Washi tape. Wow, never knew!

Anywho, I did try to design easy to create ATC’s, but it’s just not possible for me to do. So, I managed to finish the first ATC over several days... sitting down and elevating my hand when the pain was too much. I used sprays first to get the color I wanted. I then pulled out my new Vicki Boutin crayons and directly colored the dragonfly stamp, from the Bold Insight Unity Kit, sprayed it with water and stamped the image. I did this several times using different colors. I then stamped the sentiment. Once dried, I added a Vicki Boutin glaze and a texture paste to the wings. The second adds chunks of iridescent pieces to the wings and the first adds a shiny sheen. To complete the ATC’s I added Washi tape. The Vicki Boutin products were all newly purchased, deeply discounted at Tuesday morning (unfortunately, shopping is not a problem with one hand ;-) )!

The second ATC’s design, stamping and first completed ATC were all completed before the cast was off, but I couldn’t face finishing them till the pain was reduced. I used a few kits for this one, the 4/19 KOTM (for the sentiment and the magnifying glass), 1/18 Uniquely Unity kit (for the magnified flower) and a flower cluster stamp I received in a Unity grab bag (not sure what kit it is from)! I think a variety of Unity stamps could be used for this technique! You can tell the quality of this one is not up to par as after stamping a bunch of clusters all over an 8 1/2”x11” paper and then stamping the magnifying glass and sentiment on the cut up ATC’s , I had to “white out” the flower clusters around the words with a Posca pen to make them stand out. I hurt too much to redo! I then used a Spectrum Noir glitter pen to add a little blue to the clusters. I tested and then decided to use Brea Reese metallic pens to color the magnifying glass. I then stamped out the large cluster on separate paper and stamped the glass again over the largest flowers and fussy cut out the circle. I colored those with a combo of pens and watercolor paints and finished those up with a clear glitter ink. I then added brown crystals to the center to match the brown centers of the background clusters.

Hope you at least enjoyed the concepts of these! Next up, June ATCS!

I’m back! Somewhat... using Hello Sunshine Girl kit

Oh my, it’s been rough few months! Broke my wrist in April, cast is off... using splint now and still recovering. I’ve done a few things, but took forever as my wrist is still swollen, stiff and very sore; surprising how much you need your non-dominant hand! It’s funny, my son broke his same bone at 7 yrs old and after the cast was removed, you’d never know it... aging certainly impacts you in many ways! Anyways, I’m pushing through the pain to get some carding done! And to start removing the rust from my skills! This one is for my sister!

I used a pretty colored Bo Bunny patterned paper and pieced this card together using this Unity Kit and some other kits. I did white emboss the shirt as I wanted the details! I used sentiments from the ... hugs, kisses & birthday wishes kit and the Hannah Girl kit. 

Well, glad to be back... hope you enjoy this rusty take on this beautiful Angie girl! Will be posting May and June ATCS soon! Take care and happy crafting!

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!