Hi Friends! Welcome to The Friends of Unity Blog Hop – June 2023. This month’s theme is all about “Masculine” cards. I dug around my Unity stamp stash and picked out some images I thought would be fun to ink up. They are a bit of vintage, grunge, mixed media, silly and outdoor vibes.

Card #1 – Olive You!

This card came together using three Itty Bitty stamps from Unity. I just adore the olive guy and especially the shapely mustache I gave him!

First I stamped the sentiment on a white card front. The gears, I stamped in metallic ink. I blended distress black around the edges. I stamped the olive on watercolor paper, painted him, stamped the mustache on his already cute face, and then fussy cut him out.

I stamped the olive again exactly where I wanted to place him on the card, careful not to ink up the woman olive. When the man olive is glued to the card, the hand with the heart is already there! I colored the heart. I stamped just the sentiment “olive you”. Then I die cut the card front and glued to a royal blue card base. Silver Nuvo drops smashed around for texture finishes the card.

What a handsome olive! “Olive You” by Angie Blom for Unity Stamp Co. is only half used. See below for the full set!

Card #2 – Call Me

What I love about this card is the background crumpled paper that came from a shopping bag. My daughter saved it because she knew I could reuse the paper. I am always a fan of vintage images! I never had a phone that looked like this but definitely had a dial phone with an extra long cord for those private conversations. One of my friends even had a party line! The party line was where her household shared a phone line with a neighbor.

To create this card, I found a piece of leftover watercolor paper I had made previously. These sure do come in handy! I inked up the telephone with brown ink and the “me” with red. I die cut the image using a fancy stitched circle die and again with a larger die in vellum. I crumpled up the printed paper, adhered it to red leaving a hint of color around the border. Washi tape laid down and red twine tied up with a button!

A close-up

Call me maybe…

Card #3 – A Good Man

So these boots are the coolest, most realistic image! I can actually feel how rugged, worn they are and smell the pitch from pine trees on them. I wanted this card to have a layered, mixed media feel.

This card involves two Unity Kit of the Month sets. I love combining stamps. On a white card front I stamped a background that resembles rain in a medium blue ink. Next I stamped the trees in two shades of green and brown ink at the lowest portion. Using the same darker shade of green, I stamped the sentiment at the top and continued across and down. I double stamped to get a lighter image. I left the lower third unstamped.

The boots were next. I stamped them with Versamark ink and sprinkled a navy embossing powder over the ink and heat embossed. I painted the boots loosely using green, brown and grey. To create the sign, I stamped the sentiment on white and blended distress ink unevenly oner the top. I die cut the woodgrain frame and blended brown ink over it too. I punched holes in the top corners and threaded burlap twine through. I used three copper brads to resemble nails. I adhered the sign at an angle and popped it up. Finally, a few green Nuvo drops embellishes the card.

….most of the time!

Here is the list of friends in the hop. Please comment on each friend and I will randomly choose a person who comments to win a “thank you” prize. The winner will be announced at the July hop.

Crystal

Amber

Kim

Jane

Tammy

Colleen

Bobbie Sue

April

Rachel (me)

Gaylynn

Dawn F.

And the winner from last month is……Pegasong! Congratulations Pegasong, please message me your mailing address and I will get the prize out to you. Thank you for nice comments!

These are the Unity stamps I used.

Cards for this hop at one glance.

That’s it for June. I hope you enjoyed the hop and found some fun ideas to try or techniques that you like. Summer is upon us and I am loving the long days of light and the sunny weather. May you get a chance to do all the things this time of year that brings you great joy!

Rachel

Please follow me on Instagram and TikTok @cardartbyrachel

Hello, it’s Day 5. I had such a wonderful week with you! I’m sharing my last card of a bicycle image… where a ride will be taken in a peaceful countryside, after a gentle rain with fresh air and clear blue skies.

Not only is this card a clean and simple one, but soft and subtle too. I used the lightest whisper of color, just one embellishment and a rough edge mounted on a pale neutral card base.

What I love about this image is that the stamp is only part of a bicycle and the angle of the wheel is interesting. I stamped the bicycle in light grey.

Then I chose the lightest colors of Copic markers I could find. Most were in the 000’s or 00’s. I colored the flowers and if you look closely, the frame is a pale green. Everything else is shades of grey.

“I’d go anywhere” by Angie Blom for Unity.

Stamping the sentiment in VersaFine Claire morning mist was just the right amount of intensity.A navy pearlized embellishment balances the image. Roughing up the edges defines the lines. Finally I glued the card front to a neutral background.

It’s been the best experience and opportunity as the GIU person this week. Thank you Unity Stamp Company for your beautiful images and generosity! Also thank you to You, my cardmaking friends, for allowing me to share my creations. I appreciate all your comments and support. Have a great weekend and I hope you saw something here that inspires ideas in the days ahead.

Rachel

Please follow me on Instagram @cardartbyrachel

More sunshine, more happiness please! Today is the day to have fun and be playful. So how about a card full of energy, bright color, and a touch of fancy?!

To create this card I stamped the image with Versafine ink on watercolor paper and painted the image with distress inks. Next I ink blended salty ocean onto a scrap of paper. Then I die cut it out with a Sizzix thinlit resembling a water splash. I cut the splash in two before I adhered it under the sentiment. This makes the splash appear larger. I stamped the sentiment with red Versafine ink and framed it with a thin border of black.

I love the variation of reds and browns in her hair. The flowers are die cuts from a Poppystamps floral set. I ink blended the flowers and two of the centers are cut from gold glitter paper. What a fun embellishment! Adding 3D Crystal laquer to her sunglasses would be a great addition too. Finally I added a thin black frame to the card front before adhering to a kraft card base.

Supplies I used and the stamp set is “Fashionists Sasha”by Tracey Malnofski for Unity Stamp Company.

Go out and have a blast today! I hope you create something colorful, energetic and most of all happy. Take care and thanks again for taking time out of your day to stop by. I appreciate you, your comments are encouraging and heartfelt.

Rachel

I am on instagram @cardartbyrachel.

It’s Day 3! Clean and simple is a style I have been intrigued with. The CAS card is often quick to make but not less appealing. It is also a design that a cardmaker can see and say “oh I can make that!” which is the fun part about sharing ideas.

I love this “fun size” card (A1), the smallest card that can go through the United States Postal Service. An 8.5″ x 11″ sheet of card stock makes four cards. Envelopes can be purchased. This size is often used for RSVP responses.

Without hope, I just can’t think about how to get through those times of trouble. If feeling hopeless, tell someone and ask them to hold hope… I believe it works.

For this card, I stamped the image in Versafine ink. I outlined the anchor with light grey and gave the bottom portion a wash of teal and grey. I splattered fine specks of teal over the anchor.

I love rain in small doses because it freshens the air and feeds my plants. If a rainbow appears, an unexpected bonus! I have grown to embrace the dark especially in the morning I love to get up early and watch the sun light up the day. Of course, looking at stars is something I do too and it always makes me realize how small I am in this giant universe.

I stamped the image in Versafine ink. I painted the ROYGBIV colors on this tiny rainbow and then dotted each color outside the lines. I added Stickles glitter glue, (maybe too much) which covered up most of the color, but I think it represents the twinkling stars.

Wow, this verse is so powerful and comforting. Safe and secure….

I stamped this also in Versafine ink and painted the feather in purple, red and teal. The red watered down becomes a coral pink tone. I painted outside the lines and added purple fine splatters. (the yellow color in the lower left corner is not on the card but a shadow from where I took the picture)

Going to sleep at night and waking up with a new, refreshed outlook is always a wonderful start. Mornings are the best part of the day for me and you might already know how much I love to walk around my garden at sunrise.

I stamped the image in the lower left corner. I often like things off center, it makes it more interesting. I will punch a hole in the upper right and make it a gift tag! I painted the flower with reds, oranges and yellows. The leaf is shades of green. Dots of paint outside the lines and fine splatters in red.

Just a few supplies were used!

I just love this set so much “Having Hope” by Brooke Smith for Unity Stamp Company. It is just perfect if you aren’t fond of painting but want to add a little color. These are so easy to make and so much more can be added to them too. It makes a nice gift set for a friend and just all around joy to create!

Thank you for stopping by, I look forward to seeing you tomorrow. Have a great day today!

Rachel

I enjoy the “simple little things” each day, much more than the big things. I rise early every morning, walk around my garden, checking to see which plants have grown overnight and looking for new flower buds starting their ascent into a blossom.

I was thrilled to receive this Unity set, a gift with purchase, included in an order months back. I had never seen this set!

No coloring is involved on this card. I added Stickles glitter glue on the dragonfly wings for a touch of magic.

To create this card, I used the sample card pictured on the packaging of these pierced edge square dies. I changed it up a bit but this is where I got my starting point. Next I chose the stamp set and the color palette. Then I die cut squares in cream, kraft, dark brown and patterned green paper. The pierced holes in the squares did not all pop out. I left them as is. Then I played around with the squares until I got a combination of colors and contrast that I liked. I distressed all the squares with distress ink. I stamped the garden creatures and sentiment. I glued all the pieces down and added burlap string.

Notice the last square is not in line with the card. I like elements to be positioned to build character and energy.

The sparkle on the dragonfly wings gave the card just enough sparkle

Thanks for taking the time to visit. I hope you like this card with its natural, earthy vibe. Take some time to enjoy the simple little things today. It’s a good feeling!

Bye for now, until tomorrow!

There is something so wonderful about swinging. I still love it! This image by Phyllis Harris captures the carefree energy with the girl’s pigtails in motion!

I created this card using kraft for my card front measuting 4″ x 5.25″. I stamped the image in Versafine black ink and colored her in using Prismacolor watercolor pencils.

Color pencils on kraft bring out so much vibrancy especially in the light colors. I love how the yellow and green top stands out. These pencils are also great for layering color. they blend efforlessly when water is applied. I stamped the sentiment and tied burlap string right above it. Then I glued the card front onto a bright yellow base.

Inside the card I stamped “happy birthday” on white paper adhered with a patterned washit tape at the top to finish the card. When the recipient receives the card, they can remove this piece and reuse it!

Very few supplies were used for this card. Usually my craft table is overflowing. This is nice!

Super fun angle.

Until tomorrow, have a great day and please comment for a chance to win one of two gift certificates from Unity Stamp Company. Winners will be randomly selected at the end of the week. Thanks for swinging by!

What inspires you? Welcome to our May blog hop! The cue is to create a card about something that inspires….There are so many things that fall into this category, I can’t possibly think of them all right here…. so I chose a few.

Card #1- All the Flowers

Inspired by what was once believed folklore is the Himalayan Blue Poppy. Somewhere in Tibet and Nepal these can be seen in their true habitat. Years ago, I was on a walk in my neighborhood and saw this brilliant blue flower that took my breath away. I stopped and asked where this variety came from. It was specially ordered. Only ten percent of plants have blue flowers.

I probably have mentioned many times how much I love all shades of blue. This color naturally occurring in nature paired with gardening, takes me over the top with joy and happiness! Of course cardmaking is right up there too. This beautiful image was created by Angie Blom for Unity.

If you get a chance to see a photo of this flower, the middle is a bit brighter yellow and the petals probably a shade different than my painting. I think mixing white with blue might make it a little closer to the true blue color. I added dark shades of paint for depth. A watered down version for the background. Bright green as in nature for the stems. All the colors came from a mix of Prismacolor watercolor pencils, Tim Holtz distress and oxide inks and Mozart Komorebi paints. The gold hot foil sentiment and die are by Poppystamps.

Card #2 – A Summer Breeze

Summer is my favorite time of year and a warm breeze makes it that much better. This image by Phyllis Harris is extra special to me as it was how I first discovered Unity Stamp Company. It caught my eye on Pinterest and the rest is history. I am so inspired by this image of carefree days, warm summer breezes and an image that takes me to a good place.

Creating pure sunshine on this card, I went heavy on the yellow! Fun is painting a colorful pattern on the dress. And it is also a perfect shape for paper piecing. A mix of distress and oxide inks is what I used to color it. A die cut with a fancy stitched edge adhered to a pink card base finishes the card.

I love this sentiment. It reminds me that all our potential lies within us, we just need to discover, recognize and allow it to be welcome and present!

Card #3 – In the Midst of Chaos

I am inspired by this beautiful image by Angie Blom and the sentiment is most powerful. It reminds me that…Life is not always how we envision it to be. I grew up and found there are lots of ups and downs–working through bumps and hurdles along the journey. Making the best of every situation, finding something positive, and hoping to come out a better, stronger person with a new understanding–maybe like this angel. The sentiment reminds me of one of my all-time favorite quotes. “In the midst of winter, I have found in me an invincible summer.” by Albert Camus.

I colored the angel with Prismacolor watercolor pencils. I added Stickles glitter glue on the wings. The background is a mix of Sharpie markers and rubbing alcohol on vellum. Amber, in the hop, introduced me to this technique!

So the background could represent chaos, but also looks beautiful and ever-changing to me. I see potential, adventure and many paths in which to lead or follow. I hope it looks dramatic to you and evokes emotion. I could have added embellishments but was very satisfied with the card as is.

These are the stamps I used for the hop! They are all available at http://www.unitystampco.com. There are thousands of images to choose from.

Please continue on the hop with the next creative friend on the list below. Comment at each stop for a chance to win a “thank you” gift. The winner will be randomly chosen and announced here at the June Blog Hop. And now for the winner of the May Blog Hop is …..Sharon Cherry! Congratulations Sharon, please message me your mailing address!

Crystal

Bobbie Sue

Gaylynn

Jane

Alaine

Tammy

Colleen

Rachel (me)

Kim

Joyce

Amber

Gardens, summer and beautiful quotes continue to uplift and inspire me. I hope you felt a little of what I am trying to convey. Thank you for hopping with me and I can’t wait to see you next month. Until then, take care and be inspired by everything in some kind of way!

Stay safe, creative, and curious ~

Rachel

Please follow me on Instagram and TikTok @cardartbyrachel for more cards and short videos!

Hello and welcome to a sun-shiny day! The Poppystamps “Whittle Snails and Whittle Bird” are awake and ready to start their daily activities. These critters are everywhere in my neck of the woods! Do they inhabit your home? 

This card makes me happy.  I created it to depict my love of spring and spending time out in the backyard. I watercolored the Whittle die cuts, stamped a sentiment, and created a stencil with a background die. Creating a stencil is a great way to get extra use out of a die.

Steps to create this card.
1. Die cut the large frame from the “Whittle Wood Picture Frames”, “Whittle Snails”, and the small bird from the “Whittle Birds” dies in medium white cardstock.

2. Watercolor the pieces with colors in browns, yellow and red. For the shells, dip a fan shaped brush in watered down brown and lightly apply paint from the center and stroke out.
3. Cut a piece of medium white cardstock to 4.25″ x 4.5″ and using a scissor’s edge, rough up the edges.

4. Die cut the Poppystamps “Sunbeam Frame”. This will act as a stencil.
5. Place the stencil with the sun in the upper left corner. Blend yellow ink over the stencil allowing the ink to fade out.

6. Paint a wash of teal in the lower third of where the frame will be placed. Add subtle brown tones in the background.

7. Adhere the cardfront to a creme cardbase. 
8. Adhere the frame, snails and bird to the cardfront.
9. Stamp “Hello Sunshine” from the “Whittle Sealife Sentiments” in charcoal grey.
10. Splatter watered down brown ink in random areas of the card for character and interest!

I had the best time creating this scene. I hope you enjoyed the fun! Make sure you take a look at all the Poppystamps “Whittles” dies @poppystamps.com they are the best! Thanks for stopping in and see you next time.

Hi, I am here to bring you a bright and happy seaside card for the Popppystamps April Challenge -“Cute Critters”. You can find the challenge on the website @www.poppystamps.com and click on “challenge” to link up your critter project, tag, or card. Use one Poppystamps die to be eligible to win. I hope you get a chance to create a project.
White capped waves and the “Whittle Sunshine” die makes the most perfect setting for a “Whittle Shark” and “Whittle Dolphin” playdate.

Steps to create this card.
1. Swoosh teal distress ink unevenly over the lower portion of a piece of white cardstock measuring 4.5″ x 3.25″.
2. Add very small amounts of grey or black ink to distress paste and roughly apply to tops of the teal swooshes.

3. Die cut the Poppystamps “Whittle Sunshine”, “Whittle Shark”, “Whittle Dolphin”, “Double Scalloped Stitched Frames”(largest frame) and “Birthday Wishes Moonlight Script” in white cardstock.

4. Blend orange and yellow distress ink over the sun, blue ink over the shark, and grey over the dolphin.
5. Blend varying colors of blue and grey over the sentiment.
6. Arrange the ocean scene and glue the sentiment onto the cardfront.
7. Using grey ink, stamp a sentiment of your choice from the “Whittle Sealife Sentiments”. There are so many good ones, it was hard to decide which to use!

8. Glue the cardfront on a white A2 cardbase
9. Glue the frame over the cardfront scene.
10. Glue the sun, shark and dolphin onto the card overlapping the frame.
11. Add “Clear Fairy Drops” to mimick bubbles to finish the card!

Come aboard and join the challenge with your Poppystamps cute critters creation. Don’t forget to link it up on thePoppystamps blog in the challenge section. Also, please take a look at this month’s guest designer, Traci Jenkins. Traci is a very talented cardmaker and shared an awesome critter card! I won’t give it away, but it is adorable!
Until next time, keep on crafting and “Seas” the day!

Welcome! It’s officially spring and what better theme than “Butterflies”?! I can already hear the morning birds chirping and the warm sunshine peeking out of the clouds to say that we made it through the winter. Butterflies will be here but not soon enough. In my part of the world, I see mostly beautiful creamy white small butterflies and on a special day, a yellow and black Tiger Swallowtail. There is no shortage of butterfly images to share from my Unity Stamp Company stash so let’s go!

Card #1 ~ Wish Big

Soft and subtle is this butterfly from Unity Stamp Company’s November 2020 Kit of the Month called “warm toes happy heart”. Super clean and simple, I adore the lifted wings as if it just landed on the card. As I begin to type, I realize this might not be a butterfly, but a dragonfly. I asked my better half and got a confident “yes, that is a butterfly”. In any case I learned that dragonflies (odinata) and butterflies (lepidoptera) belong to different orders yet share the same kingdom, phylum and class. I always enjoy a little extra information as I make my cards!

Steps to create this card.

1. Stamp the image twice using Encore! Ultimate Metallic “Champagne” ink on white card stock. Once on card stock measuring 4.5″ x 3.25″ and the other on scraps because the wings are the only part needed.
2. Blend Tim Holtz Ranger Distress ink “Old Paper” over the wings on the scrap image.
3. Fussy-cut colored wings.
4. Using two Bic fine point markers–color the body in “Tiki Hut Tan” and the eyes in “Cloud Nine Grey”.

5. Die cut the Poppystamps “Double Scalloped Stitched Frames” in the same white cardstock as the butterfly images.
6. Glue and center the cardfront on an A2 buttercream cardbase.
8. Glue the frame to the image.
9. Stamp the sentiment under the butterfly. This sentiment is from an old Stampin’ Up stamp but any small sentiment will work just fine.
10. Add a Hero Arts “Hero Hues” enamel sticker in clear.

Card #2 ~ You Are So Amazing

Glitter and shine belongs on this gorgeous butterfly card! It is called “Falling into Place” by Sandhya Iyer for Unity Stamp Company. I think someone would love to receive a card to tell them how amazing they are! Also, I can’t get enough of the hot foil craze that has hit the cardmaking industry. Are you into hot foiling, it is so much fun! And then to add more interest, I adhered the butterfly off the edge of the card on a textured background.

Steps to create this card.
1. Stamp the Unity Stamp Company butterfly image on white cardstock.
2. Color the image with Prismacolor Watercolor Pencils and use a waterbrush for blending.
3. Fussy-cut the image. To cover white edges, go over them with a black sharpie.
4. Using a Stampin’ Up 3D embossing folder “Painted Texture”, emboss a black card panel. Make it slightly smaller than an A2 card.
5. Hot foil the Poppystamps “Modest Banner Greetings Hot Foil Plate and Craft Die” sentiment in fuschia foil on lavender cardstock.
6. Hot foil the reverse scrap using a solid metal plate.

7. Adhere the dry embossed cardfront onto a black base.
8. Adhere the butterfly off the page and trim flush with the outside edge.
9. Adhere the two sentiment pieces askew over the butterfly.
10. Add Hero Arts lacquer glitter pen.

Card #3 ~ always have Hope

A continuous brushstroke of color washes through the image and the entire length of the card, The focal point, the butterfly, rests gently on the flower swag. Bright color gives the card energy and the fine, orange splatters softens the image. The stamp kit, created by Lisa Arana for Unity Stamp Company, is called “hope is a beautiful thing”. I had this on my wishlist for a long time. It is a kit full of phrases with “Hope” sentiments and of course, this wonderful image.

Steps to create this card.

1. Stamp the Unity Stamp Company image on off-white card stock.
2. Using Prismacolor Watercolor Pencils, yellow and lime, color in a wavy line through the butterfly. Blend with a water pen.
3. Using same colored pencils, color the butterfly adding oranges and reds.

4. Cut and stamp a 3/4″ strip of same off-white card stock.
5. Stamp sentiment on the strip.
6. On the cardfront, die cut a scalloped stitched edge at the bottom.
7. Paste the cardfront onto an off-white card base.
8. Paste the strip on the top of the card leaving 1/8” at the top. The lower empty space below the scalloped edge is about 1/4″.
9. Using a fan-shaped brush, splatter fine orange ink over the card.
10. Embellish the card with off-white burlap twine and celadon jewels.
11. Trim the card to approximately 4.5″ wide and 4 1/8″ high.

Card #4 ~ Thanks for always being there

Fantastic butterflies create a centerpiece on this card. I love how this image is the opposite of a border stamp and not quite a background stamp. The image comes from the latest Unity Stamp Company Kit of the Month ~ March 2023, “a good man and some butterflies”.

Steps to create this card.

1.Create a distressed background. Blend Tim Holtz Distress Inks in “Tea dye, Walnut Stain and Salvaged Patina”. Spritz with water.
2. Cut to 4″ x 5.25″ (slightly smaller than an A2 size card)
3. Stamp the butterflies with black Versafine ink.
4. Glue the cardfront to a black A2 cardbase.

5. Place washi tape down the left side of the card.
6. Tie burlap string is over the washi tape.
7. Stamp sentiment on the right side.
8. Black Nuvo drops finish the card!

Thank you for stopping in. I hope you have butterfly stamps that are already being imagined on a card! Please leave a comment and I will randomly choose a person to win a “thank you” prize! The winner will be announced at the May hop. And now for the winner of March….Sue D.! Congratulations Sue D., please message me your mailing address so I can get your prize out to you!

Below is a list of all the friends on the blog hop. Tons of inspiration await you!

Crystal

Kim

Tammy

Amber

Jane

Colleen

Gaylynn

Bobbie Sue

Rachel (me)

Eileen

Have a wonderful, fluttery day in the best sense of the meaning and I can’t wait to see your butterfly cards on the “Unity Show and Tell” Facebook page. Please don’t hesitate to ask me any questions. I love to talk cardmaking and more.

You can find me on Instagram and TikTok @cardartbyrachel