Growing in Unity July 2023, Day 5

It's Friday, the last day of my Growing in Unity week. This week has been so enjoyable. I enjoyed stepping out of my comfort zone and working on something I've had in mind for a little while. I hope I have inspired you to step out of your comfort zone and try something new. If you have been thinking of something, just do it. You never know unless you try. Today I am sharing two note cards. When it's all done, it will be a set of 4 note cards. Check out the two completed cards here:

So I had these canvas pieces awaiting to be used in some shape or form. I was thinking that if I stamped them, they would be awesome on note cards. I took these four canvas pieces and applied heavy white gesso on them. I stamped a flower on the first one; a bird on the second; a fern on the third; and a butterfly on the fourth. I am trying to keep these cards simple, natural, and organic. Each one will have a heavy weight, white card stock base. The vintage ledger stamp will also be used on each card. 

The first card features a sparrow stamp from the August 2020 SMAK Kit, you are my people. Lace was placed near the bottom of vintage ledger. The stamped canvas was glued down on vintage ledger. A Tim Holtz metal charm was placed on the canvas piece. The natural twine is also Unity. A small rectangular piece of ephemera was added last. The ephemera comes from the September 2022 Whit Kit, vintage naturalist.

The second card features a fern from the September 2022 Whit Kit. It was stamped on canvas. A tag from the same kit was placed over vintage ledger. Lace was applied near the bottom. The stamped canvas was glued down. This card was finished with a Tim Holtz metal charm and black twine from Unity.

I'll be sure to share the other 2 cards once they are done.

Well thank you for hanging with me all week! I truly appreciate you taking the time to leave comments. Thanks for an amazing week! Hugs to you all!

Don't forget to leave a comment today for a chance to win some Unity yourself.

Until next time,

Dawn

Growing in Unity July 2023, Day Four

This card happened totally by accident. I knew I was going to use the beach babe and I really wanted to incorporate the tropical scene. I thought I was going to stamp the tropical scene at the top of the card, but as I was removing ink from the tropical scene stamp by stamping it over and over at the bottom of the beach babe, I saw something that looked pretty cool. Here is the result:

So what do you think? I used two stamp sets on this card. The sentiment and woman are from, look out beaches, by Jessica Pickeral. The tropical image is from a throwback Kit of the Month, June 2010, fly free. I have always loved this scene and 13 years later, it finally sees ink. That's a totally different subject, but long story short, I shop so much faster than I create.

The card base is a heavy weight, white card stock. The images and sentiment were stamped on water color paper. The tropical scene was colored with Art Anthology sprays and some Prima water colors. She was colored with Prima water colors. Background was created using a Prima water color and an Art Anthology spray. Some jewels were added for a finishing touch.

Thanks for coming back! I am enjoying all the generous comments. I appreciate each and every one. Thanks for hanging out again. See you tomorrow for my last day of Growing in Unity.

Dawn

Growing in Unity July 2023, Day Three

 Hi friends! Thanks for coming back and leaving generous comments. I so enjoy reading them. Thanks, too, for all the lovely comments on Facebook as well. I went with a border background stamp for today. The border background stamps at Unity are perfectly perfect for a quick card. This border background is called featherly from Angie Blom. I was thinking this stamp would be stunning on kraft, so I gave it a go. I am happy with the results. Now, I'll have to try it with water color on water color paper.

I used three colored pencils and blended them with Gamsol. The card base is heavy weight white card stock. The featherly stamp was stamped on heavy weight kraft card stock via my MISTI. The stamped piece was layered onto the card base using foam adhesive. This beautiful sentiment is from the April 2021 Kit of the Month, love dwells here. This is a beautiful kit. I think you need to add it to your stamping arsenal if you have not done so already. Ha ha! I cut the sentiment piece with a Gina Marie mini slimline die. I cut off the decorative edges, but still have the stitching. This piece was placed onto the kraft with foam adhesive as well. To complete this card, I added a metal bird embellie and a few sparkly jewels.

That's it for me today. Be sure to leave a comment for a chance to win some Unity. Also, remember to follow me on IG @lovepaperetc.

Hugs,

Dawn

Growing in Unity July 2023, Day Two

Hey there crafty people! It's already Day 2 of my Growing in Unity Week. Thanks for all your love on my first day. I appreciate you all. When hello human was released, I knew I had tohave it in my life. The giraffe is so stinkin' cute and the sentiment is perfect.

Isn't she cute? This card was created on heavy weight green card stock. I took heavy weight white card stock and cut it with one of the Unity deckle and stitches dies. This is my first time using this die as well as the hello human set. Once it was cut, I sponged Tim Holtz Distress Oxide in Fossilized Amber over it. I spritz some water on it and set it aside. I stamped the giraffe on water color paper and fussy cut it. I used a Prima water color on it along with a Prismacolor colored pencil with a little Gamsol. I then grabbed the Resilience set. First time using this set as well. I stamped the fern in Stampin' Up Old Olive and the bamboo shoot in Stampin' Up Soft Suede on the white card stock. I then layered 3 acetate pieces from 49 and Market over the fern and bamboo. The giraffe was added with foam adhesive. I placed a strip of Tim Holtz fabric tape on the left side of the card base. I placed the stamped panel on the card base with foam adhesive. The sentiment, hello wonderful human, is also from the hello human kit. I stamped it on white card stock and rounded the edges. The edges and cut piece were inked with Fossilized Amber and Ground Espresso, also from Tim Holtz. A Basic Grey metal brad was added next to the sentiment. The sentiment piece was adhered at the top of the card with foam adhesive.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask. Also, make sure you leave a comment each day for your chance to win some Unity. Thank you for hanging out with me for a bit!

See you again, tomorrow!

Dawn

Growing in Unity July 2023 Day One

 I am so excited to be the Growing in Unity person this week. For my first day, I am sharing a wedding card for a very special couple. I incorporated their colors on the card. I hope they both like it.

Here is the card:

Heavy weight light blue card stock was used to create the card base. Bo Bunny pattern paper was cut down to size and placed directly on the card base. Gray pattern paper was run through my Big Shot Pro using a Gina Marie texture plate. This piece was placed on the Bo Bunny paper using foam adhesive. A Pink Fresh tag die set was used to cut three different tags from pattern paper. They were layered on each other using foam adhesive. 

The large floral is from Birthday Blooms (Sandhya Iyer). I stamped it on water color paper by way of my MISTI. The coordinating die was used to cut it out. I just received the die last week. Perfect timing! Zig Markers were used for water coloring. The flower was placed over Prima sky blue wax cord and a couple of Pink Fresh die cuts. The sentiment, two became one, was stamped on a Prima ticket. I cut the sides of the ticket, just a little, and rounded the corners. I just could not cover up this gorgeous floral, so I selected a small sentiment. It was added under the flower with foam adhesive. The sentiment is from, love is a magical thing (Lisa Arana). This set is perfect for wedding and anniversary cards. It is a November 2015 Sentiment Kit. A My Minds Eye metal brad was placed next to the sentiment.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask. 

If you are not familiar with Growing in Unity, make sure you leave a comment for a chance to win some Unity. I get to pick two winners. It may just be you!

Thanks for hanging out with me! See you again tomorrow!

Dawn

Friends of Unity Blog Hop, July 2023, Watercolor

Hello my crafty friends! Welcome to a new month and a new hop. Our cue this month is watercolor. So many stamps, so little time to watercolor.  Watercoloring is one of my favorite techniques. I Love to get those colors moving around. My winner from last month's hop is GLENNIS F. Congratulations Glennis! Please email me at lovepaperetc@gmail.com to claim your prize.

Let me just preface this paragraph by saying I have only inked one of these stamps before. See what I mean, so many stamps, not enough time to get inky. My first card features a lovely Phyllis Harris image:  

To me, this image exudes trust, faith, and innocence. Prima water colors were used. The verse is from, my heart trusts, which is another beautiful set of stamps from Unity. The card was completed by die cutting the image. The postage stamp die is also Unity. This piece was layered on another die cut. A metal floral brad, a chipboard circle, and lace were the final touches. If you don't have this image in your collection, I highly recommend it. It is a dream to color.

Next up is a plain navy blue journal cover I altered:

This stamp is huge, perfect to adorn journals. It comes from the set, Blooming Peonies. This kit is another must have in your stamping arsenal. I prepped the journal cover with a super heavy gesso, let it dry overnight and then stamped it. I used Karin markers and one Zig marker. The sentiment is from the September 2017 SMAK Kit called truest life. I really miss this membership. Maybe Unity will come out with something similar one day. A girl can wish, right? I really love how this journal cover came out. I'm in love with the color palette. It's quite soothing.

Lastly, I have another card:

This one did not turn out like I had hoped. I'm thinking I should've used a different background stamp instead of the wonky stripes. Or maybe have added some color to the embossed butterflies. But, it'll have to do for now. This pretty stamp image is from Layers of Life, embrace today, March 2018. I love everything about this stamp, the flower, honeycomb, and butterflies. I tried to play up the butterflies with a butterfly embossing folder from Stampin' Up.  A crafting goal of mine is to use embossing folders more. They add amazing texture. The image was stamped on water color paper and colored with Karin markers. The sweet sentiment is from the May 2021 Kit of the Month, summer vibes. It just so happens that this kit of the month is on sale. Hint, Hint, you need it in your life.

Thanks for hopping with us. I am having another giveaway this month, so don't forget to comment on all our blogs for your chance to win. Also, please follow me on IG @lovepaperetc. 

Here is the hop order once more. Happy 4th of July to my friends in the United States. Enjoy and please be safe!

Crystal

Tammy

Jane

Gaylynn

me

Rachel

Amber

Until next time, my friends!