Love, Paper, Etc.

Saturday, April 3, 2021

Friends of Unity Blog Hoppers, April 2021, Birds and Bees

Welcome friends! A new month, a new hop! Even though I usually do not use birds or bees in my creations, I am so excited for this hop. I am embracing this challenge. Let's go! Here is our beautiful cue:

I wanted to make two cards for this hop, but after ten takes on this one, and not totally satisfied with the results, I decided it was time to call it quits. LOL!!!

Let me preface this card by saying, I love the look of layered stamps. And when you layer stamps you really don't have to color, unless you want too.

I have a question for the bird lovers out there. Is this a hawk? I see hawks in my neighborhood from time to time. They are so beautiful. I'm going to let you in on a little secret; I am absolutely terrified of birds. LOL. I freak out if they get too close. I love to admire their beauty from a distance.

Three kits were used in the creation of this card. The background stamp which was inked with a light blue color is from the August 2020 SMAK KIT, you are my people. I stamped it twice. This is a gorgeous stamp set. Perfect for nature themed cards. I then stamped the bird in dark brown ink. The bird comes from the same set. I stamped the sentiment in the same brown ink. The sentiment comes from the September 2020 SMAK KIT, everything is up to you, another gorgeous kit. The branch stamp was then stamped in the dark brown ink as well. This stamp comes from the February 2020 Kit of the Month, timeless. I felt the card needed more, at least a little more color, so I added a couple of pieces of washi, a mini wood frame, and Nuvo drops. I love the pop of pink from the washi tape.

Make sure you keep on hopping:

Thanks so much for hopping with us! See you again next month!

Keep crafting in love & peace,

Dawn

Saturday, March 6, 2021

Friends of Unity Blog Hop, March 2021, Sketch

Hey there friends! Welcome back to our monthly hop...so glad you can join us. We have a fun sketch for you. Check it out right here:

We hope that you will play along with us using this sketch. Just post your cards on the Unity Show & Tell page. We can't wait to see all your lovely creations. I was able to create two cards for our hop. Here is the first one:

Isn't she gorgeous? I always ask myself this question, "Why haven't I used this stamp until now?" I am a work in progress when it comes to using my Unity stamps. So many stamps, so so little time! I know you can relate...the story of our lives. This lovely lady is from the February 2015 Kit of the Month, Happiness Looks Gorgeous. This kit has so many beautiful images and sentiments. The sentiment is from Happy Moments.

Now for card #2:

This sentiment though! It speaks to me. It is beautifully worded. It is 100% truth, so relatable. I love these feathers too. I'm glad I went with a soft color palette to really showcase these beautiful stamps. The feathers are from Flutter Away and the sentiment is from the February 2020 Kit of the Month, Timeless.

So remember, post your creations using this sketch on the Unity Show & Tell page. But before you do, make sure you finish hopping. I have posted the entire hop list just in case you lost your way. Robyn is up next with her beautiful creations.

Thanks for hopping! I hope you found some more Unity stamps to add to your collection! Be sure to come back next month.

Dawn

Saturday, February 6, 2021

Friends of Unity Blog Hop, February 2021, Paper Piecing

The cue this month is paper piecing; I love paper piecing. It is one of my favorite techniques to use with stamping. As you probably already know, we have two new members, Colleen and Rachel. Welcome again ladies! So excited to have you join us! I love their art as I'm sure you do as well. Please join us in welcoming them.

I have been feeling a little under the weather, so this will not be an extensive post. I was able to crank out one card. I did get tested. I am negative for the virus. RELIEF! But I need to go to the doctor to see what's going on. I hear there is a stomach bug going around, so we will see.

Here is my card:

I used two sets for this card, one older one and one newer one. The older set is called God's Sight. The girl and verse are from this set. The background was created using Polka Dance Background. I inked the background lightly so that the verse will stand out.

Here is the hop order:

Thanks for hopping with us! See you next month!

Saturday, January 2, 2021

Friends of Unity Blog Hop, January 2021, Black and White

Wow! Another year....DONE! So glad 2020 is over. Despite the pandemic, some wonderful things did happen for myself and my family. Our youngest son graduated from high school, our oldest son got a job, my husband was promoted, we both turned 50, and we celebrated 25 years of marriage. So considering, 2020 was not too bad on a personal level. But on a global level, 2020 was TRASH. So many lives lost; and for what. NOTHING! OK, let's get to the happy.

First I want to announce my winner from last month's hop. Cindy Holmes you are my winner! Woot! Woot! Come on down! Please email me your address and I will send your goodies as soon as possible. Congratulations! My email is lovepaperetc@gmail.com.

Happy New Year everyone! We're starting off 2021 with a Black and White cue. This cue is always challenging for me. Probably because I just love color. I still managed to add a little color. Tee!Hee!

For this hop I created three cards using one stamp, funky flowers. It is one of Unity's new slim line stamps. I love this stamp...so many possibilities. I might have to get the set where the flowers are separate too. Here is the first card:

The sentiment on the above card is from the July 2019 Kit of the Month, be a lot.

Here is my second card:

The sentiment on the second card is from the June 2018 Kit of the Month, we can rise.

And last but not least:

The border was created using a doodle stamp from the November 2019 Kit of the Month, Wonder. If you look closely, there is a stamp peeking out under funky flowers. I do not remember which set this stamp is from unfortunately.

Don't forget to keep hopping.

See you next month for another amazing hop.

Dawn

Saturday, December 5, 2020

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:

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

Saturday, November 7, 2020

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.

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

Saturday, October 3, 2020

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:

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