Friends of Unity December 2024 Hop, Winter Wonderland

I am so excited. The Friends of Unity are celebrating our 7th Anniversary, so Happy Anniversary to us! It has been an incredible ride and I look forward to many years with this amazing group of friends. I have been a part of this team since its inception. I am honored Crystal and Amber asked me to join those 7 years ago. Also, this is our last hop of 2024. We have some amazing hops planned for 2025, so stay tuned. Our last hop of 2024 is Winnter Wonderland. As I write this post, we are anticipating a winter storm, so how appropriate. If it comes to fruition, I won't have to go to work tomorrow, because I work at a school. I think sometimes, us educators are more excited for snow days than the kiddos.

First card:

I have always loved this Jeep stamp and I am just now using it for the very first time. I must do better in getting my stamps inky. It is from the October 2018 Kit of the Month, all winter long. I incorporated ink smooshing on both cards for this hop. After the ink smooshing, I cut the piece with a Unity scalloped and arches die. I stamped the Jeep at the bottom. I then stamped the garland from the October 2020 Kit of the Month, hello winter days, at the top. Both images were colored with colored pencils and a few metallic colored pencils. The sweet sentiment is from the September 2019 Kit of the Month, all kinds of holiday love. I used silver stickles on the lights on the Jeep. I blended the color out on the garland to make it appear as though the ornaments were glowing.

Second card:

I have always loved this beautiful fox. He is from the kit, kindness is like snow. He was colored with a Karin marker and Tim Holtz watercolor pencils. Stickles were added to the fringe on his scarf. The sentiment was stamped on pattern paper and cut with a dotted circle die.

I am giving away some Unity goodness for this month's hop. Just leave a comment on all our blogs and you are eligible to win. Thank you for all of your support these past 7 years. We sincerely appreciate each and everyone of you.

That's all for me folks! Enjoy the holiday season! Happy New Year! The hop begins with Crystal.

See you in 2025,

Dawn

Growing in Unity November 2024 Last Day

Well, we have come to the end of the road. Today is my last day of Growing in Unity. I have really enjoyed my week. Thanks again for all of your lovely comments. I truly appreciate each and everyone of you and I can't wait to see who the two lucky winners will be. I saved this mixed media creation for my last day because, honestly, I did not know which way I was going with it. It all came to fruition this evening. I love the Christy Tomlinson line offered by Unity. Her designs are so beautifully inspirational. 

Here is my mixed media piece:

This inspirational piece was created on a 5" x 7" canvas panel. I inked the panel with Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Tattered Rose. The edges were inked in Black Soot. I then stamped Daisy Days onto the panel to add texture. The girl is from the kit, She leaped. She was stamped and fussy cut. I used water colors to color her up. I gave her a double layered apron using the new Grunge Cuts by Unity. I will be using these a LOT! Washi tape was placed on the waist band of her apron. A Tim Holtz, metal, inspirational charm was placed under the waist band of the apron. Acetate ephemera was layered over the stamped background. An acetate butterfly was placed on the top part of her dress. I placed her on the panel using foam adhesive. I remembered that I had a mini vintage hanger, so I decided to clip it to the top of the panel.

Thanks again for making my Growing in Unity Week extra special.

Remember to keep crafting in love and peace,

Dawn

Growing in Unity November 2024 Day Four

It's Day 4 of my Growing in Unity Week. How can this be? I am having so much fun and I truly appreciate all the love and support. So if you have taken the time to leave an emoji, comment, shout out, or some other form of acknowledgement, I am beyond grateful. Today, I have a card with a sweet image of a young lady, perfect for the upcoming winter season.

Here it is:

Isn't she gorgeous? I LOVE her! She was a joy to color. She is from the October 2024 Kit of the Month, small bliss of Christmas. I paired her up with the lovely sentiment from Winter Blessings, one of my favorite kits, and of course, the new distressed tickets die. I will be using these a LOT. 

Well it's late, and I have to go to work later this morning. Please remember to leave a comment to be eligible to win $20 in Unity bucks.

See you tomorrow!

Growing in Unity November 2024 Day Three

 Hello lovelies! It is Day 3 of my Growing in Unity Week. It is going way too fast. Today, I am sharing a sympathy card. I thought I was going in one direction, then I went in a total opposite direction in the layout of this card. This card was simple to make. First, I embossed a piece of paper and inked the raised areas. I then tore the edges and inked them. I stamped images from Petals & Wings and Grow Untamed (Whit Kit August 2022) onto pattern paper and cut it out with a label die. The edges of the die cut were inked. Next, I took pattern paper, where I tore and inked the edges. The sentiment was stamped on this piece. The sentiment is from love you dearly (April 2022 Sentiment Kit). Foam adhesive was used between each layer. Lastly, twine was wrapped around the top of the card.

Here it is:

Please continue to leave comments on my blog for a chance to win $20 in Unity bucks.

See you tomorrow ❤️

Growing in Unity November 2024 Day Two

Hello there! I so appreciate you returning to my blog to see what I created for my second day of Growing in Unity. I am so thrilled you are here. I really tried to capture the essence of this card with the pictures I took. You're just going to have to trust me, when I say that it is so pretty in person. I was inspired by some videos I have seen on IG by Katie Pertiet in making this card. Here is the process: First, I applied two Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Inks, one at a time to an acrylic block, spritzed with water, and smooshed onto watercolor paper. Once it dried I stamped the text stamp from the May 2024 Whit Kit, Wings & Things, randomly. I then applied a thin layer of white acrylic paint. Using my Misti, the floral was created by using Tim Holtz water color pencils directly onto the floral stamp. I dipped the pencil into water and colored directly onto the stamp. I repeated these steps until desired image was achieved. Black and gold paint splatters were also added. The floral stamp is from the June 2020 SMAK Kit, start where you are. I cut the main piece using the largest scalloped arch die by Unity. Embossing folder is Stampin' Up. I inked the embossed panel and rounded the top corners. The sentiment is from the April 2022 Sentiment Kit, love you dearly. It was added using foam adhesive. A hole was punched into stamped panel to allow the brad to go through the lace and paper. 

Oh yeah, here is the card:

Thanks for visiting! Don't forget to leave a comment each day this week, here, for a chance to win $20 in Unity credit. Good luck!

See you tomorrow!

Growing in Unity November 2024 Day One

Hello lovelies! I am so excited to be Growing in Unity this week. Welcome to Day One. I am 100% a dog person, but I am loving the kitty stamps, Unity has been putting out there...especially this one from the set, a little not fine. The sentiments in this kit are equally amazing. I had to use one on this card. 

This kitty gives me all the feels. She is so sweet and stinking adorable. I had to have her. The torn paper stamp is from the kit, jot it down background. I stamped it on a piece of Gypsy Chick (Pink Paislee) pattern paper. I stamped the kitty on the back side of this paper and cut it with a brand new die I recently purchased at Joann's. It comes with 3 stamps. It is from Vicki Boutin and American Crafts. This kitty stamp is so detailed, it only needs a little bit of color when stamped on pattern paper. The sentiment was stamped on the side the kitty was stamped on. I distressed the edges with ink. The mini paper clip is Unity. I layered this piece on pattern paper with foam adhesive. Card base is made from white, heavy weight card stock.

I am not used to making clean and simple cards. It was hard for me not to add more, lol. But sometimes, less is more. In this case, less is more, I guess. I'm still not convinced, lol. I told myself to walk away, come back, and decide if it still needed something more. Clean and simple won.

Thanks for stopping by! Make sure you leave a comment each day for a chance to win some free Unity.

See ya tomorrow!

Friends of Unity November 2024 Hop, Gratitude

Hi there wonderful people! I missed everyone last month, but now I'm back for another amazing hop. Hope everyone had a nice Halloween. Now it's time to express our gratitude.

Aren't these images beautiful? I love fall with all its glorious colors and smells. I created two cards for this hop. Here is the first one:

I just adore this image. She seems to be in a peaceful state of mind, ready for whatever comes her way. She is from the October 2023 Kit of the Month, golden glow. I stamped her on heavy weight, white card stock, and colored her with various colored pencils. I fussy cut her and set her aside. Heavy weight green card stock was used for the card base. I took a piece of pattern paper and cut it with a deckle and stitches die by Unity. It is one of my favorite dies by them. I stamped two floral images, also from the same Kit of the Month, onto the pattern paper. Two pieces of acetate ephemera I received as a free gift, were layered over the stamped flowers. I took a piece of leftover paper from when I cut out the main panel and stamped the sentiment on it. The sweet sentiment is from the October 2022 Kit of the Month, change and direction. This peaceful lady was adhered with foam adhesive. Both kits are truly beautiful. I even stamped the floral images on the envelope which is made from mulberry paper.

Now for my second card:

Since Veterans Day is in two weeks, I thought it would be fitting to create a card expressing gratitude for a soldier's sacrifice and service. I always ship military cards for free in my ETSY shop. At the moment, I do not know the names of the two sets I used in creating this card. I will continue my search and add them later. I created a similar card for Veterans Day about 5 years ago. I really enjoy creating cards for Veterans Day, letting the recipients know how much they are appreciated.

Well, that's all for me folks. Next up in our hop is the beautiful and super talented, Jenni. 

See you back here in December for another inspirational hop.

Keep crafting in peace,

Dawn