Friends of Unity Blog Hop, My Favorite Things, December 2020

 Hello crafty friends! As I write this, I'm thinking about the winter storm that blew through here yesterday; more than a foot of snow. How did this happen? It is too early to have all this snow. Snow is definitely not one of my favorite things, unless it's enough for a snow day; because who doesn't love a snow day? I know I do. Last year we did not get one snow day. I think we're in for a bad winter. Well, on a lighter note, our cue for December 2020 is My Favorite things. I have countless favorites...dogs, especially mine, books, cozy sweaters, scarves, the beach, naps, Angie girls and more. I incorporated several of my favorites in these two cards. But first, check out our cue:

This month we are also celebrating the third anniversary of Friends of Unity. Thank you everyone for all the love and support over these past three years. Your support has not gone unnoticed. We appreciate each and everyone of you. Sending hugs to all.

Oh and did I mention prizes? There are so many prizes up for grabs. This is what I'm giving away:

Remember, all you have to do is leave a comment on each of our blogs to be eligible to win a fabulous prize. I will announce my winner during our January 2021 hop.

I am so excited to share these cards with you. I kept them really simple. Sometimes less is more. Up first is this cutie. I colored her up to look like my pup, who is now 10 years old. She has this cute brown patch of fur on her butt.

I used Hailey's Puppy for this creation. This is such a sweet set, a must have. This card features two of my favorite things, my pup and naps. Oh my gosh, I am THE Nap Queen. I love naps. They always help me to refresh and recharge.

Here is card #2. I love this Angie girl:

This gorgeous girl is from the August 2019 Kit of the Month, warm and cozy. This is one of my favorite Kit of the Month's from Unity. There are so many amazing images. The sentiment is also from this kit. I think she pairs beautifully with this background stamp called Fraser Fir created by our very own Jeanie Hays. I will be using this background a lot; another must have friends. 

You are almost at the very end of the hop. Robyn Jordan is right after me, sharing her beautiful cards. 

In case you lost your way, here is the hop order:

Crystal

Eileen

Alaine

Kim

Joyce

Bobbie Sue

Amber

me

Robyn

Thanks for hopping and don't forget to leave comments for a chance to win some amazing prizes.

When we meet again, it will be a brand new year. I can't wait to see what 2021 has in store.

Stay crafty my friends,

Dawn

Friends of Unity Blog Hop, November 2020, Backgrounds

 Welcome back! I am ashamed to say that I have numerous background stamps that have not even seen ink. Maybe we, the Friends of Unity, should have this cue every month next year so I can ink them up. Ha, Ha. I'm not serious. Or am I? Seriously though, the Unity Stamp Co. has been coming out with some amazing background stamps as of late. Here is our November graphic:

my first card:

Yeah yeah I know this is not one of the new backgrounds, but I just had to use this sunflower stamp. To create this background, the sunflower was stamped randomly on a page ripped out of a vintage book. I colored the flowers with Prismacolor colored pencils and Faber Castell colored pencils. Different paints were used for the paint splatters. There's just something about paint splatters that makes me happy. I then stamped the sentiment on pattern paper and layered it with the top of a burlap tag. The sunflower is from the March 2014 Layers of Life called spring inspired. Sentiment is from Autumn Dream.

Second card:

I am not totally happy with how this card turned out, but at least I used one of the newer background stamps! Yay me! This beauty was created by our very own Jeanie Hays. Jeanie, thanks for creating amazing stamps for Unity. I have more of your designs waiting to see ink. When I first saw this stamp, I just had to have it. I colored this stamp with Prismacolor colored pencils and Faber Castell colored  pencils too. This stamp is from the set, Autumn Stoop. This one is a must have.

Don't leave yet! Go check out the rest of the hop. I promise you will be inspired. 

Crystal

Eileen

Bobbie Sue

Kim

me

Joyce

Robyn

Well that's a wrap. Thank you for your continued support. Until next time my friends, keep crafting in love and peace.

Friends of Unity Blog Hop, Birthdays, October 2020

 Welcome back friends! We have an exciting cue this month...birthdays. You can never have too many birthday cards on hand. I celebrated a huge birthday a month ago. I am happy to say that I am now part of the 50 club. I made two cards for our hop. Since I just celebrated my fiftieth, I decided to make a card featuring a beautiful middle aged woman. I made a manly card for the second one. But before I share  my two cards, check out our awesome graphic:

Here is the first card:

This card came together rather  quickly, probably because I was planning on using the woman and sentiment stamps for our last hop. I was just commissioned to make a very special card for a very special woman. For that card, I used Obsessed with Floral for the very first stamp. This is a gorgeous stamp. Since I still had this stamp out, I thought it  would amazing for this card. I  stamped Obsessed with  Floral on kraft card stock with a brown ink. I used a circle die to cut a piece out. I layered it over two strips of washi tape. I stamped the woman from Today I am Happy on white card stock. I used a stitched circle die to cut her out. I colored her dress and hat with a Prismacolor colored pencil. Prima watercolor pencils were used on her hair and skin. I layered her over the kraft circle. I stamped the sentiment from Hiya Gorgeous on  white card stock and cut it out with a stitched rectangular die. I added this piece near the top left hand corner of the card.

Here is my second card:

I forgot I even had this stamp set. It finally got some inky love this evening.  I stamped the image and sentiment from the Funny Farm set on a mixed media tag. I used brown  ink for the image and black ink for the  sentiment. I distressed the  tag by rubbing brown ink on it. This card  actually came together rather quickly too, once I decided on the paper I was using. I layered different sizes and patterns of paper on kraft card stock. The number strip was also inked and placed at an angle. I added a blue denim tag underneath the bottom of the animal tag. I pulled the twine upward and secured it in place with a dairy cap. I added a strip of man card  paper at the top of the animal tag. Lastly I added filmstrip. I really love how this card turned out.

Just in case you  got turned around  in  the hop, here is the hop order:

Crystal

Eileen

Joyce

Bobbie Sue

Kim

me

Robyn

Dawn

Alaine

Well, we hope you enjoyed our hop. We hop the first Saturday of each month, so come back again to see what we're up to.

Keep crafting in love & peace,

Dawn

 

Friends of Unity Blog Hoppers, September 2020, Friendship

Friends, I can't believe it's September and we are still knee deep in this pandemic. I'm so over it. I will continue to practice the safety protocols while hoping more people will embrace them sooner than later, so we can get back to 'normal.' I miss hugging my friends and family. I'm sure you do too. Why not send them a paper hug? Which leads to this month's cue! Check it out here:




Here is my card:

This stamp is so beautiful. It's huge too! It works perfectly on a slimline card. This set of  friends is called Cherished  Friends. The sentiment is from the June 2015 Kit of  the Month, She Found Joy. It's the perfect sentiment for a friendship card, don't you think? I stamped a flower over the sentiment to  add dimension. The flower is from another Kit of the Month. It is from September 2017 and it's called Flowers, Foliage & Fall.

Well, make sure you check out all of my friends beautiful cards. And please leave them some love.

Crystal

Eileen

Bobbie Sue

Kim

Amber

me

Robyn

Joyce

Thanks for hopping! See  you again next month!

Keep crafting in peace & love,
Dawn

Friends of Unity Blog Hoppers, August 2020, Sympathy

Welcome back! As always, I am so happy you're here! Sympathy cards...we all struggle in creating these. I hope our  hop gives you some ideas you may want to try. And of course, we love  to see what you  come up with.

Isn't this a beautiful graphic?



I made two cards for our hop. The first is shabby and chic. The second is more clean and simple. Here is the first card:

I really love how this card turned out. I hope it brings comfort to the recipient. The heart stamp is from the November 2014 SMAK, Trust your soul. I love this stamp. I use it quite a bit. The paw prints and sentiment are from Fur Baby Love. There are some really cute images in this set. I really love the look of stamped images on pattern paper. It gives your stamped images more depth.

Second card:

I really love how this card turned out too!  I hope it brings comfort and peace to the recipient. The beautiful sentiment comes from the February 2019 Sentiment Kit, My Sympathies. Image is from No Time for Guilt. I used my new Zig markers on her.

Remember to comment on all our blogs for a chance to win a prize. Here is the hop list:

Crystal

Eileen

Amber

me

Dawn B

Kim

Bobbie Sue

Robyn

Alaine

Jeanie

Thanks for hopping with us! See you next time!
Dawn

Growing in Unity Blog Hop July 26, 2020

Hello Unies! I am so excited to be a part of this Growing in Unity Blog Hop. And I can't believe I'm first, which is a first for me. Lol. There are 6 more stops, so please make sure to visit all of our blogs.



As this graphic says, there are two prize packs up for grabs, so make sure you leave a comment on all of our blogs. Today I am sharing two cards with several stamps I have never used before.

For my first card, I used Jaz. I guess I have had her for six years because I purchased her when she first arrived at Unity. This is my first time inking her up. She is absolutely gorgeous. I used my brand new Zigs for her headwrap and water color pencils for her skin, and other water colors for her make up. I love these Zigs! They are amazing! I think I'm going try using my Zigs for coloring skin next time. Why did I take so long to purchase? Probably the price, lol. I just so happened to find a great deal on Amazon for the 60 pack. I cannot tell you which set the sentiment comes from because it was in the grab bag I received a few days ago. Sorry. I channeled my inner Tenia Nelson for the first card. I just love her style.

For my second card I used Nia Girl. I've only had her for about six weeks. The image and sentiment are from the same set. The flower is from, from this day forward. I really wanted to paper piece her pants, too, but I was struggling with the fussy cutting. I think I need stronger readers, or I may need prescribed glasses at this point. It was really hard for me to see the lines on the paper I wanted to use for her pants. So I decided to forgo paper piecing and coloring her pants. It's always nice to change things up. I really like that I did not touch her pants.

Since I'm new to  Zig Land, I did watch a couple of videos by Jennifer McGuire. She made a very good point. Zigs work best on water color paper. As you can see in the above pictures, the purple was pretty heavy on the one flower. I did not use water color paper for my second card. With my Zig blender, I was able to pick up color from this one flower to color the rest of the flowers. Talk about potency! Lol. Now go check out these lovelies.


Angela https://stampingbowd.blogspot.com/2020/07/growing-in-unity-blog-hop.html?fbclid=IwAR0nu-D48kom6-aRwvEG40hl2tqE0aRM-PCf9kRP0jzfsQFWC680hwIrucc

Marcia https://marciacreations.wordpress.com/?fbclid=IwAR3RWEE1Lo45sUJZWHHSoMTIKJzZR7dEc92BPPCyexFxCz0WoyESUE4j0Tc

Doreen https://whereisyourhappyplace.blogspot.com/?fbclid=IwAR0nQ7dc_HN6yCo61gG5FF_STgycaXnjZQ2d0_RMtJN0wOhajOcVVB1U9I8

Trude https://parentesfantom1.blogspot.com/?fbclid=IwAR0JwdI48cZSQHY-yXpU--aWHcOb7F3bTYzmOWz0nlF-QWVgTlfCEa0N2E0

Trudi  https://thetrudiostudio.blogspot.com/?fbclid=IwAR3nsnaj4x9MY5e231SIa7mOKT2Bn4qy8m-wiJX-yMI8eYA9_P_y4UBiJwY

Alaine  https://www.lainiebugdesigns.com/?fbclid=IwAR2HianHb7uJBbZh-M2Uc9hBeTKYGORwaAOLKloYF1yvFHMm3wZjHXvT_Rk2.

And don't forget  to comment for a chance to win some Unity Goodness.
Until next time my friends,
Dawn

Friends of Unity Blog Hoppers, July 2020, Paper Piecing

Oh my goodness friends! I am so excited for this month's cue...paper piecing. I LOVE paper piecing. What about  you?  If  you  have  not tried this  technique,  I  hope our hop inspires you to do so. I look forward to seeing your creations.  Here is our graphic for this month:




I created two cards for this hop. Here is the first one:

I have always loved this image from the January 2019 Kit of the Month, beautiful forever & ever. This is my first time using her on a card. When I first received this kit, I immediately stamped her and knew she would look amazing on a card once I decided to use her. As you can see, I paper pieced her window seat. I love window seats. I've always wanted one. I had paper pieced her gown, too, originally, but decided there were too many prints. I decided to use Prima water soluble pastels on her gown and for the rest of the image. The sentiment is from the April 2020 Kit of the Month, hope in uncertainty. This kit has been getting a lot of use...one of my faves. The card base is grey card stock. I added a panel of the striped pattern paper I used on her window seat. I wrapped bluish gray wax cord around the left side of the stitched scalloped die cut. I then added two sparklies. I wish I hadn't. I thought the card needed something else, but I guess not these.

Here is my second card:

This image is so me! I want to see the world. Well, just a few places outside of the United States. I have visited  northern Italy. I so want to go back and see southern Italy. I also want to travel to Egypt, Morocco, Ireland, and Greece, particularly the Greek Isles. And I also want to visit Canada. A friend of mine has shared beautiful pictures of lakes and parks in Canada I would love to see. This is the first time I have used this lovely. She is from the November 2019 Kit of the Month, wonder. I had considered paper piecing her luggage, but I thought an outfit would look better. I still may paper piece the luggage one day. I used water color pencils and colored pencils on her. I have used this sentiment before. It's from the July 2017 SMAK, Wanderlust. I just received this scalloped edge die. I couldn't wait to use it. Now, I have to use the other edge dies in this set from Pink Fresh Studios. I created a kraft card stock base for this card. I added a panel of polka dot paper. I then added a strip of washi with a map design. I then layered a top of a tag onto the washi. I also added a piece of washi at the top of the card.

Make sure you visit my friends. Here are there links:

Crystal

Kim

Eileen

Robyn

me

Jeanie

Alaine

Joyce

Thanks for joining us! Hope to see you again next month...our hop begins the first Saturday of each month.
Take care my friends! STAY SAFE!

Friends of Unity Blog Hoppers, June 2020, Wings

Hello friends! Welcome back to our monthly hop! I am so excited for this hop because the cue involves wings. If anyone knows me well, they know I love butterfly stamps. I think I have enough to last a lifetime. I also love feather stamps. Anywhoo, check out this amazing cue:



So cool, right?

Here is my card:

 I fell in love with this mixed media journal page I discovered on Pinterest. I thought something  similar would also look amazing on a card. To create this card, I first stamped the hollyhocks from the Donna Downey/Unity Hollyhocks set. I  then stamped a portion of She Script right on top of the flowers. This She Script stamp is from Christy Tomlinson and Unity. I could not find it on the Unity website, so I'm guessing it has been retired or discontinued. Using my finger, I then rubbed silver metallic ink randomly over the stamped image. I then took a brush and added a blue dimensional  paint by Art Anthology. I then applied crackle paste in a couple of spots. I applied a thin layer, but you can still see the crackling somewhat in my pictures. The butterfly is from the Unity April 2017 Kit of the Month, be my bird. I stamped and then cut it out. Again using my finger, I rubbed silver and gold metallic ink on different parts of the butterfly. I then applied blue dimensional paints with a brush. I then used my finger again to add gold metallic ink randomly on the card. After everything dried I used pop dots on the butterfly and placed it over some Prima wax cord.

I really love how this card came out. I think I will use this design on a future journal page. I will share once I have it finished.

Well, that's all I have today. Please keep moving through the hop and check out all the amazing inspiration from my lovely friends. And remember, we love reading all of your comments on all of our posts.

Crystal

Eileen

Dawn

Kim

Robyn

me

Amber

Joyce

Until next time my friends,
Dawn