Hi crafty friends! It’s November and the theme for this month’s hop is Bookmarks and Tags. It’s the perfect time as we are approaching the holiday season. Handmade gift tags are great to have on hand to tie on those packages! Bookmarks are useful gifts and make reading extra fun! I often use leftover images I have stashed that didn’t make it as a card–I love it!

These tags are light and pretty. They are wonderful for birthday presents but can also be used for Christmas. I stamped the floral image on watercolor paper and painted them with watercolors. I cut the image in half, roughed up the edges on one and glued the tags to two shades of pink cardstock to give them a border.

I punched holes at the top and attched burlap twine. White and green reinforcements were glued on. I added iridescent sequins and ephemera sentiments sent to me in one of my Unity orders!

This birthday bird is so sweet! I stamped the images on a lime die cut tag and watercolor paper. I painted the images and then added tons of glitter–I never get tired of glitter!

I punched a hole at the center top, then added twine and gold thread. I used washi tape as I haven’t used it much lately. It adds a bit of textured layers and interest. I glued a stamped sentiment on white, trimmed it up and glued it to the lime tag.. Bubble embellishments finish the tag.

For this tag and bookmark, I chose holiday paper and glued it on two rectangle pieces of cardstock. I left a fine white line on the side of the bookmark.

For the tag, I tore kraft and white paper for the ground, diecut the tree, placed it where I wanted and then glued it down. I die cut ornaments from scraps of specialty papers. I punched a hole and threaded burlap twine through it. I splattered metallic white paint onto the tag for extra shimmer. I trimmed a sentiment sent by Unity and adhered it at a vertical angle!

For the bookmark, I stmped the adorable critter on white and watercolored him. I cut a strip of gold glitter paper to the left side of the tag. I stamped the sentiment on white and separated the words. I love the sentiment “making” spirits bright, how fitting– the critter is making cards!

I glued the pieces on. And for the finishing touch, I made the nose sparkly red with Stickles glitter glue!

Just a quick reminder when making bookmarks, keep the layers few and little to no embellishments. You want the bookmark to be flat so that it doesn’t make a closed book too thick. Also use ink and suplies that will not bleed onto the pages.

This tag is so adorable and the easiet one to make. I laid this reindeer stencil over heavy white cardstock. I stenciled brown for the deer and the antlers. I stenciled black ink for the eyes and noses. I blended lime green ink at the top.

I added sparkly, red glitter on the middle reindeer. Rudolph’s nose will be bright and will guide Santa’s sleigh on Christmas!

I punched a hole at the top and added grey reinforcements. I tied red bakers twine for attaching it to the gift. This will be the perfect mass- produced tag! I made it in minutes. I didn’t stamp a sentiment but it can easily be done. I kind of like the lines a bit messy due to not securing the stencil. Also an afterthought would be to use a lighter hand when stenciling the antlers and then they would have a nice edge apart from the head!

This cat is is sneaking around seeing who is being merry! I stamped the image on watercolor paper and painted it with watercolors. After drying, I added gliter on the eyes and hat. I stamped the sentiment in black.

I glued the tagfront onto a red base to give it a nice border. I punched a hole, added a black reinforcement and tied red twine at the top. Blue and white Nuvo drops finish the tag!

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog. Please continue on the hop for more fun and creative ideas.

Crystal

Jane

Von Marie

Joyce

Jenni

Rachel (me)

Dawn

Toni

Tags are awesome to make as they don’t take as much time as cards. A gift idea is to give a package of tags for holiday gifts! Friends would find it so useful!

Until next month, happy crafting!

Rachel

Please follow me on instagram @cardartbyrachel

Hi everyone, it’s October and the theme for our blog hop is Pink October Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Come along and see our creations using lots of pink and highlighting what this month means to all of us!

Card #1 ~ My Heart Trusts by Angie Blom for Unity

My first card is a beautiful image of a woman. I stamped her on watercolor paper using Versafine black ink and die cut it with a Gina Marie stitched border. I painted the image with MozArt Komorebi watercolors.

Next I roughed up the edges of a powder pink A2 paper and adhered it onto an A2 white cardbase. I die cut a scalloped edge on a polkadot patterned paper and adhered it and the image to the pink card.

Then I stamped a beautiful verse on patterned paper and mounted it on creme cardstock. I adhered it to the upper portion of the image. I die cut a dramatic Poppystamps Satin Rainbow in two shades of pink and arranged the pieces how I thought they looked best and glued them down. A few Nuvo drops were added to fill in the lower left corner.

Card #3 ~ Whole Love Story by Angie Blom for Unity

Going after a no-line watercolor style.I stamped this image in Tim Holtz Victorian Pink Distress Oxide Ink on watercolor paper. I painted it with MozArt watercolors in shades of reds, pinks and purples.

After it dried, I added Diamond Stickles glitter glue to the floral centers. I never get tired of anything that sparkles!

Next, using the Misti stamp positioner, I stamped the sentiment with the same oxide ink as the image. Before removing the stamp, I tapped the middle portion of the stamp in black ink and restamped it so the small font could be much easier to read. A few paint splotches and glitter accents frame the sentiment.

I diecut a Gina Marie lace border die in grey cardstock, adhered to a muted green cardstock and adhered this to an A2 white cardbase. Finally, I wrapped the image with a sheer organza pink ribbon and glued it at an angle to the cardbase, then popped up the sentiment, also at an angle, and glued it over the image. So many layers!

Card #3 ~ Darkest Night Brightest Day by Jeanne Hays for Unity

To create this card, much less involved with physical layers, I used a lightweight watercolor paper and stamped the image in Versafine black ink. I painted it with the same MozArt watercolors. Did you notice the purple hair?! Next I stamped the sentiment directly on the cardfront.

Using a heart cutout as a stencil, I blended flamingo pink Distress Oxide Ink around the edges and beyond! I made sure there was a nice contrasting edge of the heart. Next I splattered paint on the wet card. On top of all the wet, I misted the whole thing to soften the edges and splatters.

I adhered the cardfront to a powder pink heavy cardbase. To keep things sort of light, I tied a fuzzy metallic bow on the card fold. Pink jewels for texture and adorable paper flower embellishments adorn the card!

I have always loved this sentiment so much. It screams bravery, courage, strength….

Please continue on the hop with all my friends who have beautiful creations to share.

Crystal

Von Marie

Jenni

Dawn

Toni

Joyce

Rachel (me)

Doreen

Thanks so much for hopping, and I will see you all next month!

Until then, lots of love to you!

Rachel

Please follow me on Instagram @cardartbyrachel

Hi Friends! It’s September and Anything But a Card is the theme this month, yay! Som. etimes I forget that I can make more papercrafts that are not only cards. This month is a great reminder that a stamp can be on so many more things. On to the projects…

MemoryDex Fall Mouse

It’s almost a card but it is a die cut for the MemoryDex by Heidi Swapp. I used heavy white cardstock and then stamped the adorable mouse from the Unity August Kit of the Month. Included in the kit are three mice images. I love this one! I colored the images using the Prismacolor watercolor pencils first and then followed it up with water on a brush.

Next I stamped the sentiment on the top tab in black Versafine ink. Then I reinked the mouse in Rustic Wilderness distress ink and stamped it many times around the perimeter of the card. I swooshed and blended more ink over the words etc.

Finally I added a few die cut sequins in red and chartreuse.

Snail Envelope

This project is a decorated envelope. The fun part is that it is an excuse for why the card was late! Oh how many times I am so very late on sending my cards.

I stamped the image and in Versafine black ink. The snail image is from Unity’s August Kit of the Month. I colored the snail with Prismacolor watercolor pencils. I blended most of the image with two colors for a different look. I applied a tiny bit of water after to allow the colors to slightly blend.

Finally I stamped the sentiment in black Versafine ink!

Santa Gift Tag

I die cut a Poppystamps gift tag die in dark green cardstock for the base. Next I die cut the top portion of the tag in heavy white cardstock. I stamped the Santa image in black Versafine Ink. The Santa stamp is from Unity’s August Kit of the Month. I watercolored the image with Komorebi MozArt watercolors. I used metallic paint on the snowflakes and surrounding areas.

I stamped the sentiment in black Versafine black ink. I added Stickles glitter glue to the beard, mustache, eyebrows and pom pom on Santa’s hat. Nuvo drops around the sentiment to fill in a few blank spaces.

Finally, a scalloped die to reinforce the hole of the tag and a burlap twine to tie at the top.

I love this and tags always come in so useful during the holidays!

Hope you enjoyed my projects. Please continue on the hop as you will find so many awesome and inspiring ideas for everything that is not a card!

Crystal

Von Marie

Jenni

Rachel (me)

Jane

Joyce

Doreen

Toni

Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful September and enjoy the changes in weather as we begin to see a new season unfold.

Rachel

Please follow me on instagram @cardartbyrachel

It’s August and Grunge is the theme! Welcome to The Friends of Unity Blog Hop, I hope summer finds you well. There is something so satisfying about a grungy creation– nothing is off the table and more is more?!

Card #1 ~ It’s Your Day! Unity Stamp Company – Kit of the Month

I have to admit I get so excited to “grunge” up my cards and then I look at it and wonder if I should have added more layers. Tons of paint layers went into it but as for physical dimension, I could have piled on more. I began with a sheet of textured watercolor paper and covered most of it with water. I added one color in various places, let it run and continued with another color and so on. I blotted with a paper towel and dried the paint in areas I did not want the colors to run. This will keep them from getting muddy.

Next I stamped the image on nontextured watercolor paper. I love this version of the Pissy Kitty, what a pampered feline! I painted her in with MozArt Komorebi watercolors and metallic highlights for the head wrap and the robe. I added laquer to the spectacles–yes the laquer, in its new consistency should be smooth but mine is not and I actually like the bumpy texture! I glued the cardfront to a turquoise cardbase and adhered the image. I blended Hero Arts layering balloons (stencils) around the image. To achieve a rough appearance, a paintbrush and water worked great! Then metallic paint on a patterned stencil for the balloons. I love the effect when light hits it!

I stamped the sentiment in Versafine black ink. To complete the card, I added a Nuvo crystal drop in antique rose!

Card #2 ~ Meet Frank! Unity Stamp Company – Kit of the Month

It’s not too early to make a few Halloween cards. The monster is just the cutest of cute and I could not resist! Unlike my previous card (mostly paint layers) this card I used multiple dimensional elements. I really got into adding lots and lots of stuff. Sometimes I feel like too much going on creates chaos and the focal point gets lost–I tried to keep that in mind and I think Frank still comes out the main event!

First I created a background using Halloween colors, green, orange, purple. I stamped Frank and painted him in with only green and black. I wanted the background to show through. Do you see the frog?!

From here it is hard to remember which step comes next but I will do my best! I tore a strip of orange cardstock and stamped the sentiment. I adhered it above Frank. I used a Poppystamps Scalloped Pinpoint Frames diecut in lime and glued it on top. I added a bit of greyish paint to add grunge to the frame. Strips of orange under the frame look great as well as a purple embossed scrap.

I wrapped thin twine around the left side and tied a bow. Just underneath, a strip of the background is folded and stapled . a square of washi tape set on top just kind of looked good there! Then I glued the monstrosity, I mean masterpiece, to a grey cardbase!

Unity adds fun ephemera freebies in the Kit of the Month stamps, so I cut out this moon and glued it onto the top right. Poppystamps Trimmed Trees add a nice breath of nature and for a final bit of interest, I splattered tiny specks of black paint. Nuvo drops as in the previous card and a gold jewel for a little bit of pizazz complete the card!

Below is the list of friends on the hop. Click on the names and it will take you to their fantastically creative grungy cards!

Crystal

Jane

Von Marie

Toni

Jenni

Joyce

Rachel (me)

Dawn

Until September, have a grungy, great time crafting and creating!

Rachel

Please follow me on Instagram @cardartbyrachel