Friends of Unity August 2025 Blog Hop, Technique

Well hello there! I've missed you! I am having the best summer ever traveling and being more active. It hasn't left much time to get in my craft room. But now, things are slowing down a bit, and I am able to get crafty. I hope everyone is having an amazing summer. It truly has been a hot one, here in northeast Ohio. For this month's hop, we are diving into various techniques. I went with alcohol ink backgrounds, die cutting, fussy cutting, and using rub ons. If you have not tried rub ons, let me tell you, they are a game changer. Here is our lovely cue:

I guess I took our cue literally with alcohol ink backgrounds. Ha ha!

First up:

For this card I used the stamp sets, trust in its wings (Whit Kit Dec. 2021) and kindness unfolded for the sentiment. My little blue bird was stamped on water color paper and colored with water colors. I created an alcohol ink background. I cut a peek a boo die in the center of a scalloped edge die. This piece was placed over the inked background. I also used the coordinating dies for trust in its wings. The kindness unfolded set has so many lovely sentiments, it was hard to choose one. Rub ons were also used behind the bird.

Next up:

For this beauty, I created another alcohol ink background, but this time I added a rub on directly on it. I wasn't sure if rub ons could be used on Yupo, but per Google, you can, so I tried it. I am so impressed with the final result. Don't you just wanna give her a big bear hug and let her know that you are there for her? I know I do. She is from the in the light series. I just love this series. So many gorgeous sets. This set is called love stays no matter what. The sentiment is also from this set. I stamped her on water color paper. She was fussy cut, then I used some water colors on her. 

By the time you see this post, I will be getting ready to attend a stamping convention in Sharonville, Ohio, called StampAway. Have you ever attended this one before? Are you going? Maybe we will run into each other. Wouldn't that be awesome?

See you next month for another great hop.

Peace and hugs,

Dawn

Friends of Unity May 2025 Blog Hop, Bloom Where You are Planted

Hello there! So glad to have you here, hopping along. Here is the pretty graphic for this month's cue:

I was in a bit of a creative rut for this hop. Then I remembered the gorgeous girl from the March 2025 Kit of the Month, chapters & crossings. Then, I was like, what am I going to do with her?

As you can see, this is a tri-fold card. First, I cut water color paper with a scallop and arch die. Next, I stamped the girl onto it. She was colored with water color pencils. Then, I cut out a sheet of untamed meadow using the next size scallop and arch die. I cut a sheet of Bohemian Dream and layered it directly onto the front of the card base. The arch dies were layered onto the base, using foam adhesive. I die cut a couple of flowers from the same paper packs and layered them next to the girl. The sentiments and sprigs were stamped on pattern paper. This piece was adhered to the first fold. More Untamed Meadow was used to line the other folds. The middle was left blank for greeting. Lace ribbon was tied around the card. I think it adds a delicate touch.

Well, that's all I have. But please keep hopping. Next up is our sweet Jenni. Show her some Unity Love. See you next month.

Inky hugs,

Dawn

Friends of Unity April 2025 Hop, Use All Scraps

So glad you are here. We all have scraps, right? I know I have my fair share. Don't let them just sit there. Use them up! Here is our graphic for this month's hop. It's so springy...LOVE.

This first card was created for a friend to give to her brother, who loves books and plants.

I always keep large pieces (scraps) of card stock because they are perfect for large, stamped images. They are also perfect for layering. In this case, I stamped the beautiful book case image from Cozy Nook onto a scrap of cream colored card stock. Colored pencils and Gamsol were used. Since this is a finely detailed stamp, only a little bit of color was needed to create a stunning image. Scraps of pattern paper and card stock were used as a back drop. The sentiment stamp is from the February 2021 Sentiment Kit, not the end of your story. I cut it with a banner die.

So, I had this piece of embossed card stock, waiting to be used. I decided to use it on my second card.

I absolutely love how this card turned out. I did a little ink smooshing on the embossed piece. Next, I added a couple of rub ons to it. The gorgeous butterfly is from Seraphim Wings. It was colored with Tim Holtz water color pencils. The sentiment stamp is from Guided by Grace. The butterfly was cut with its coordinating die. This butterfly is huge and is absolutely gorgeous. It is a must have in your stamping arsenal. Its size makes it perfect as the focal point on a hand made card and even on mixed media creations.

Well that's all for me, lovely people. I am the last stop in the hop this month. If you want to hop again, please start with my lovely, super talented friend, Crystal.

See you next month,

Dawn

Friends of Unity March 2025 Hop, Sketch

Well hello! The Friends of Unity are playing with an amazing sketch. We are even hosting a challenge on the Unity Show and Tell Facebook page using this sketch. Unity is giving away two prizes, so be sure to get your entries in. Good luck! Here is the sketch:

 

I dug in the crates for this card:

Both the bunny and sweet sentiment stamps are from the January 2022 Kit of the Month, found in the heart.  It's been a week for me, so this post is short and sweet. Thanks for visiting. See you back here in April!

Here is the hop list, once again:

Crystal

Doreen

Jane

Kari

Toni

Jenni

me

Rachel

Friends of Unity February 2025 Blog Hop, Monochromatic

Welcome! I hope all is well! So happy you are joining us for another amazing hop. My winner from last month's hop is Carol Wortman. Congratulations, sweet lady! Please email me your address so I can get some amazing Unity to you. My email is lovepaperetc@gmail.com. 

So this month, we're rocking a monochromatic cue. I tend to struggle with this. It's hard for me to stick with one color or one color family. I think I did ok with this card. 

So how did I do? This card was so fun to create. The stamp set I used is, Flamingle into Retirement. I also used the coordinating flamingo die. I LOVE that Unity offers coordinating dies. I am not a fan of fussy cutting. I colored the flamingo with Prima water colors. Other dies are from different companies. I love this sentiment. It is so fun. 

Next up in our hop is the lovely, Doreen. I love her style. Wait until you see her cards for this hop! Amazing!

See you next month for another incredible hop.

Inky Hugs,

Dawn

Friends of Unity January 2025 Hop, Use Old Stuff from Your Stash

Happy New Year everyone! I am so excited for 2025! I wonder what it will bring. Time will tell. 

I love our cue to start the new year. You know the saying, "out with the old, in with the new." It's like we're making old stuff, new again, with this cue. I'm sure you. like many of us, have plenty of vintage crafty supplies laying around, waiting to finally be loved...be it paper, stamps, dies, stencils, embellishments, etc. We hope we inspire you to use your old stuff and make it new.

Sue D. you are my winner from last month. Please email me at lovepaperetc@gmail.com with your name and address, so I can send you a grab bag of Unity stamps. Congratulations to you!

I have three cards for our hop this month.

Card #1:

                              

Who else owns some vintage wood Unity Stamps? I am using all wood stamps by Unity for this hop. I believe I bought this one from Archiver's many, many years ago. I used it only one other time, but I don't believe I made a card with it. I probably just stamped it to see what it looked like. Unfortunately, I do not know the name of this stamp. It may have been added to a Kit of the Month, but I'm not sure. I paired it with vintage My Minds Eye paper, chipboard, and a lace doily. The trim is also vintage. The heart die is also Unity; it is called, fall-out hearts. The sentiment is from the February 2013 Kit of the Month, let love grow.

Card #2:

I purchased this stamp at Archiver's. Yikes, it is my first time using it. I had thought about selling it, but when I found out we were having this cue, I had to use it. It is called Doozie Daisy. When I stamped it on a journaling card, I was not sure what direction I was going. Then it occurred to me that it would make an adorable baby card. I also used a stencil from Unity. I received this stencil as a free gift with an order. I used Nuvo dots sparingly through the stencil.

Card #3:

This card is all over the place, but I kinda like it. This stamp is called untamed beauty. I believe I purchased this one, too, from Archiver's. I also believe it is part of an older Kit of the Month. I created an ink smooshed background and stamped untamed beauty onto it. I then used a texture die. I cut it out with the Make a Tag die, from Unity. I stamped two stamps from the Whit Kit, wings & things, in the lower left hand and right hand corner. Mulberry paper from a free gift was layered onto the card base. A piece of untamed meadows paper was layered over the mulberry paper. A mini clip, also from Unity, was attached to the stamped piece. Two more stamps from the same Whit Kit were used. One was cut with an oval punch and the other one was cut with a new Unity die. Two pieces of ephemera, also Unity, were layered in the lower left hand corner. 

I am giving away more Unity this month. Just leave a comment on each of our blogs and you are eligible to win.

Next in the hop, is my inspiring friend, April.

As always, we appreciate your support and comments.

See you next month,

Dawn

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