The Friends of Unity Blog Hop ~July 2023

Hi Friends! It’s July and I’m here with another blog hop. The theme is “Watercolor” and Crystal challenged us to stamp out sets we’ve never used! I was ready for this because a few months back I decided to put a sticker on all the Unity stamps I had created with just to see how many stamps had not seen ink. Surprisingly enough, I had inked up a pretty good amount of my stash. For this hop, It was pretty easy picking out fun stamps that needed an inking!

Card #1 – Beet

“Beets For You” by Joslyn Nielson for Unity Stamp Company is perfect for summer, I love to flower garden but am super excited because my husband just created an “above the ground” vegetable garden. Now we can also enjoy fresh vegetables!

I stamped this image on watercolor paper and painted it using purples and cerise to recreate the true colors found on a beet! I even added a little brown for dirt, not yet washed off. Two greens for the leaves and then a beautiful blue backdrop to complement the subject. I roughed up the edges with a scissor.

I stamped the sentiment in black Versafine ink, added a wash of blue and splattered the beet-colored paint. The heart and pearl embellishments help balance the green around the card. For the background, washed watered down green over a panel. I splattered purple in large drops and blotted them with a paper towel before drying completely. This gave it a blurred effect. Small splatters on the beet and another pearl embellishment finished this card.

Card #2 – Marigold Sunshine

Every summer, I plant an assortment of yellow, orange and red-orange marigolds! They are so bright, bold and beautiful. The garden is not complete without brilliant spots of these sunny flowers. I cannot plant these on ground level as slugs find them irresistible.

I stamped “October Marigold” by Sandhya Iyer for Unity Stamp Company. It is a large image and I had a time deciding which variety to paint. I went with orange petals outlined in yellow. I loosely applied greens to the leaves allowing them to bleed over the edges. I washed yellow all over for the background and bright orange frames the card. I die cut the panel with a wonky stitched border by Gina Marie Designs. The sentiment is embossed in “Black Magic” by Ranger.

I tied a sheer yellow ribbon lined with satin around the card front before gluing it to the card.

Card #3 – Tiny Yet Lovely

Oh for the little delights in life! Here’s to the start of a day with a drink of choice and a donut and yes a cupcake, not a muffin…. a cupcake!

“Sweet, Warm, Whipped” by Angie Blom is an adorable, fun set of small goodness with the cutest personality. I stamped the mug, the mug with whipped cream and the cupcake on watercolor paper. I painted them using like colors before fussy cutting them out. Then I stamped the donut and drink with a straw directly on a cardfront of watercolor paper. I painted these two images and adhered the other pieces, allowing them to overlap. I painted shadows beneath the images for grounding.

I chose two sentiments the set came with and I stamped them vertically on the cardfront. Notice the dot of teal I added between the sentiments. I thought it helped carry the color over the card for a feeling of continuity. I trimmed the edges just enough so that a thin layer of black shows to frame the card.

These are the Unity stamp sets I used for the hop. I love them all so much!

Below is the list of friends on the hop. Please visit each stop, you will love their creations! Comment to win a “thank you” prize and one person will be randomly chosen. The winner will be announced at the next hop.

Crystal

Tammy

Jane

Gaylynn

Dawn F.

Rachel (me)

Amber

And the winner for June’s hop is….Laurie Black! Congratulations Laurie, please message me your mailing address and I will get your “thank you” prize in the mail. Thank you so much for your comments, I appreciate it!

Another look at the cards… I hope you enjoy the rest of the hop. Watercoloring is so relaxing, forgiving and satisfying. Maybe you might try to challenge yourself to use stamps that have never seen ink?!

Have a bright and sunny July!

Rachel

Please follow me on Instagram and TikTok @cardartbyrachel.