Friends of Unity April 2024 Hop, Mother's Day

Hello friends! My hubby and I spent a week in Cabo and it was marvelous. We are well rested and seriously missing the warmth, sunshine, food, people, and of course the beach. One of my makes this month might just reflect a time well spent. My winner from last month's hop is Dorothy Green. Thank you for your kind comments and support. Please message me on FB with your contact information. I will be sending you a grab bag of stamps with a few extras. 

We are celebrating all mothers for the month of April.

Card #1:

I really, really love how this card turned out. I think it's the color scheme I went with that pleases my eye. The seashell/starfish border stamp is from the July 2022 Kit of the Month, fresh air and sunshine. Woman is from the July 2023 Kit of the Month, anchored by love. Sentiment is from all sunshine & happy. I used colored pencils on both images.

Card #2:

This is a beautiful background stamp. It is the February 2023 Background Stamp, assorted blooms. It was a real joy to color all the blooms with Karin markers. Sentiment stamp is from Happy Mother's Day. I added some Prima florals for more interest.

Card #3:

I have a confession to make. I do not like coffee. Please do not hate me. I do enjoy, however, creating coffee themed projects. I used the Unity heart cover plate die for the first time. I forgot I had it. This is Bailey girl and she is a huge stamp. I had to cut her down to fit on my card. The stamp of hot beverages is from the December 2017 Kit of the Month, start of something new. Sentiment is from coffee & flowers. I used the heart cover plate die on a sheet of Unity's coffee themed paper and used a couple of the hearts as embellies. Lastly, I added an enamel sticker from Hobby Lobby. I think this card is my favorite of the 3. What's your's?

Next in the hop is the talented Rachel. Make sure you leave all of us some love to be eligible to win some Unity goodness. We always enjoy reading your sweet comments. Thanks for your continued support of the Friends of Unity.

Enjoy the solar eclipse!

P.S. I am having another giveaway this month.

March 2024 Friends of Unity Hop, Found in Nature

We have been having some weird weather in northeast Ohio...rain, snow, high winds, high temps. It is forecasted to get to 69 degrees next week. I hope this doesn't mean we will be hit with snow and cold in April going into May. I have been reading other posts on social media and it appears that others are experiencing weird weather as well. I do have a winner from February's Hop. Denise Bryant, you are the winner of my giveaway. Congratulations! I will be sending you the Monster Hugs stamp set. Please message me on FB with your address, since I have been having issues receiving your emails. Thank you for your continued support.

Well, let's get to our current hop. Here is our beautiful graphic! I LOVE creating cards with a nature theme. I am really happy with how my two cards turned out. Check them out below.

Card 1:

I got a little inky on this one. All the nature images are from the May 2022 Kit of the Month, one friend. I LOVE this gorgeous kit. It is a must have for your collection. I used four images from this kit. The Biblical verse was stamped on vellum. Verse is from My Heart Trusts, another gorgeous, must have kit.

Card 2: 

I guess I got a little inky on this one, too. The images are from the September 2022 Whit Kit, vintage naturalist. I LOVE this stunning kit. It is a must have for your collection. I also used a couple pieces of ephemera from this kit. The sentiment is from another beautiful Whit Kit. It is from February 2020 and is called, let your soul wonder. I LOVE this kit, too.

Thank you for hopping. We appreciate each and everyone of you. Make sure you comment on all of our posts for a chance to win some Unity. I have a giveaway for this month. If you want to start from the beginning, here is the hop order once again.

Crystal

Jane

Amber

Tammy

April

Colleen

Rachel

Kim

Gaylynn

Joyce

See you next month!

Get inky,

Dawn

Friends of Unity, February 2024 Sketch

Well, here we are...the second month of the new year. I swear January flew by. Do you think so, too? I am always up for a card sketch and that is exactly what we have for February. Check it out right here. We hope you play along with us. Look for our album on the Unity Show & Tell page on Facebook.

Here is my take:

I LOVE these two! They are adorable...so full of life, zest, and love. Their happy vibes are contagious! I wonder what they are laughing about. They look like they always have a good time and compliment one another perfectly. Her blue hair was inspired by a card, fellow team member, Colleen, made using Nutty Ol' broads. Thanks for the inspiration Colleen. The couple and sentiment are both from the January 2024 Kit of the Month, all the love. I colored the image with Prismacolor pencils. 

I am giving away a prize this month, so make sure you leave a comment on all our posts for a chance to win some Unity. We always appreciate your support and kind words. 

Here is the hop order once again to keep you on track (smile). Don't want you to miss any inspiration.

Crystal

Tammy

Gaylynn

Colleen

April

me

Amber

Joyce

Rachel

Kim

Thanks again for joining us each and every month. 

Happy crafting,

Dawn

Inspired By Challenge XOXO

Hello there! I feel so bad. I love the Inspired By challenges, but have not played in quite some time. It's a new year and I plan on playing more often. For this challenge I was inspired by the colors. The sketch is pretty cool too! I love this flower cart. This is my first time playing with stamps from The Ton.

Here is my card:  

Thanks for stopping by! See you soon!

Dawn

Friends of Unity January 2024 Blog Hop, Laughter, Giggles, & Smiles

 Happy New Year everyone! This hop is going to be so fun! Our cue is laughter, giggles, & smiles:

I made two cards for this hop. Here's the first one:

I have had these sentiment stamps and peeps stamp FOREVER. This is the first time they have seen ink. I knew right away I was going to use these stamps for this hop. I received these stamps in a grab bag. Thus, I do not know the kit (s) they are from.  I have used the tattered chicken wire stamp before. This stamp was designed by Christy Tomlinson. I am so happy to see that her stamps are now available again at Unity Stamp Company. The mini clip was one of the free gifts with my December 2023 Kit of the Month.

Here is card #2:

I LOVE her eyes! Her eyes say that she is living her best life. They also say that she just might know some dirty little secrets. She has so many stories to tell. She has seen so much. She is always looking forward to her next adventure. I have inked this beautiful lady before. She is from the November 2018 SMAK Kit, open your eyes. She has been put in a mini kit. I do not know the name of it, however. The sentiment is from one of us is right. It reads, "it's a beautiful day, think I'll skip my meds and stir things up a bit." Hilarious, right? The mini clip, paper ephemera, and feather are also freebies from the December 2023 Kit of the Month.

Thanks for your continued support. We love reading your comments each month. We have great things in store for 2024. Stay tuned. But, for now, here is the hop order.

Crystal

Colleen

Tammy

Amber

April

Jane

me

Gaylynn

Kim

Rachel

Joyce

See you again next month!

Dawn

Friends of Unity December 2023 Blog Hop, Furry Friends

Hello there! I wasn't sure if I was going to take part in this hop because of us losing our beautiful girl, my best friend Charlee, a week ago today. She was an amazing girl. She was almost 13 1/2 years old. Boy do I miss her. It is so hard coming home from work and she's not there to greet me. I miss her companionship. I miss her wolf like appearance. I miss our adventures. But most of all, I miss her. She was my ride and die. She was also my crafting buddy. She would always try to get in my pictures as I took photos for our hops. Now, she is. I have included a picture of her in a few photos. These three cards along with her photo will be going to her doggie daycare, the veterinarian who cared for her in her last days, and the staff at the hospital who assisted in making her comfortable while we said good bye. They were so caring. We are so appreciative of their kind, supportive words during one of the most difficult times in our lives. 

Here is the graphic for this month's hop. So cute, right?

This first card is going to the staff at her doggie daycare. They loved her. They were always so good to her.

This second card is going to the hospital:

The third and final card is going to the veterinarian who cared for her during her last days. He was so kind and caring. His practice even sent us a sympathy card.

As you can see, I used the same two stamps for all three cards. The adorable cat and dog image is from the January 2019 Kit of the Month, beautiful forever & ever. The background image is peaceful grove. I stamped it on different sheets of pattern paper and inked them with various Tim Holtz Distress Oxides. 

George and I are going to bring her ashes home tomorrow. We will give the staff at the hospital their card as we are picking up her ashes. I really LOVE how each of these cards turned out. I think Charlee would approve.

Here is the hop order once again. 

Crystal

Amber

Tammy

Colleen

Kim

Gaylynn

me

Rachel

Jane

Joyce

Well that's a wrap! Thank you for your continued support. Wishing you a joyous holiday season! See you in 2024!

Dawn

Friends of Unity November 2023 Blog Hop Slimline

Hope everyone enjoyed their Halloween! It is such a fun and spooky holiday filled with adorable trick or treaters. We have a fun cue for you this month, Slimline. Here is our cool graphic:

I only have one card to share for this month's hop. My youngest son had a medical emergency this past Friday and I have caught a stupid cold. I am happy to say that my son is fine. With regard to this cold, I expect misery for the next day or two. Anywho, here is my slimline creation:

I LOVE HER! She is absolutely gorgeous! I am so happy I purchased her from a fellow card maker. Unfortunately, I was unable to find her on the Unity site, so I don't know if that means she has been retired. She is a huge stamp, 3.5" x 7". She is from a set called Eva. This set is a Donna Downey Studios and Unity Stamp Co. collab. Maybe, she is available on Donna's site, if you are interested. 

To create this card, I used water color paper. I first inked a stencil with Tim Holtz Oxide ink pads. The stencil is from a Colorful Life Designs. It is called flower overlay. I then stamped Eva over the stenciled image. I colored her with Prima water color pencils. The water color piece was cut with a Gina Marie die. I stamped a sentiment at the bottom. The sentiment and hearts are from the April 2019 Sentiment Kit, don't give up. This, too, is a beautiful set of stamps.

Well, thanks for hopping with us. We always appreciate your support. Here is the hop list once again if you need it:

Crystal

Jane

Amber

Tammy

Gaylynn

Kim

April

Colleen

me

Rachel

Joyce

Take care,

Dawn