Growing in Unity Week, Day One

Hello friends! This week I  am the Growing in Unity person. What does this mean, exactly? I'm glad you asked. Hee hee hee! Every Monday a new person is featured on the Unity FB page. You get a glimpse of the person including seeing their creations using Unity stamps all week long. Plus, people comment on your blog posts for a chance to win one of two prize packs from Unity. Each prize pack has 25 random stamps from Unity. The Growing in Unity person also gets a prize; this person gets to pick a stamp set valued up to $52 regular price. Wow! Definitely a win win win.

These past couple of weeks have been a roller coaster of emotions for me. I am referring to the senseless killings of Ahmaud Aubrey, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd. I am not going into graphic detail of these murders. But I will share with you my tribute to them via an art journal page. I needed to release these feelings, I needed to hear my voice. Unity had the perfect stamps for my page. Unity has the perfect stamps for everything.

This first photo shows my page along with some of the supplies I used.

I pulled out my gelli plate. I used various Tim Holtz Distress Inks and Oxides with a brayer, along with two stencils and bubble wrap. Yes, bubble wrap works amazingly with a gelli plate. I created the gelli plate piece first and then glued it down to my page. After I created the background with the gelli plate, I then stamped the girl, flower, the word 'enough, butterfly and the sentiment. This sentiment says it all. It reads, I do not have one word to define how I feel. The fear. The sadness. The uncertainty. The loss. The worry. I hold onto the one thing I do have a word for...Hope. I have hope it will get better.

Here is how I created the background using my gelli plate. First I inked my brayer with Distress Oxide cracked pistachio. I brayered the ink onto my gelli plate. I then placed the large circle stencil by Stencil Girl onto the gelli plate. I brayered over it. I placed my paper onto the plate and rubbed over it with my hand to pick up the design. I then inked my brayer with Distress Oxide broken china, and repeated the above steps. I then inked my brayer with Distress Oxide wilted violet. I  repeated the same steps, but this time I used bubble wrap instead of a stencil. For the last layer I inked my brayer with Distress Ink spiced marmalade using the arrow stencil from Prima.

Are  you ready for more pictures?

Now let's talk about the stamps I used on the background. The girl, butterfly and the sentiment are from the Unity Stamp Co. April 2020 Kit of the Month, hope in uncertainty. The large floral is from their April 2020 SMAK Kit, head up, my friend. The word  enough is from their January 2020  Kit of the Month,  you are enough-new beginnings.

Now for the actual journal page. I used a paint called ash. I went with a lot of paint at the top of the page and then used quick strokes without adding any more paint  to complete the page. I added purple paint splatters using a Prima ink spray. I stamped the flower around the page. The flower is from their March 2016 SMAK Kit, breathe it all in love it all out. I colored the flowers with Prismacolor Colored Pencils from their botanical set. The sentiment at the top of the page is from their December 2016 SMAK Kit, living each day. The hope sentiment is from their April 2020 Kit of the Month. The new day sentiment is from their April 2020 SMAK Kit. And the sentiment in the bottom right hand corner is from their Determined to Rise set.

I'm going to share a few more pics. Remember to leave a comment. I do love reading them, plus you will be in the running for a Unity prize pack. Take care and make sure you come back tomorrow!

I forgot to mention that I am going to finish the page before this page. I'm hoping it will be ready before my week is over. Thanks for visiting!

Peace and love my friends