The Friends of Unity Blog Hop~January 2024

Happy New Year everyone! I look forward to a fresh start as the new year commences. The theme for this month’s hop is all about a little humor and fun. I think my resolution in 2024 is to laugh more and make lots of cards.

Card #1 – …could be better

I love a vintage image and this woman is so stylish and chic. When I saw this Unity set I read the sentiment and found it hilarious and spot on– I had to have it!

I stamped the image on light blue cardstock in black ink and die cut it with a jagged border. Next I blended Tim Holtz peacock feathers distress ink around the edge. I mounted it on black cardstock and again on vintage paper. (My daughter saved a paper bag she received thinking I might use it for cards. I love it!) After that, I adhered it on a black card base.

Next the embellishments. I dug through a drawer of washi tape and chose pink, orange and teal patterns. I layered the tape at the top and the bottom. I threaded a button with orange twine and placed a few Ranger liquid pearls in random areas for interest. Rosy cheeks were filled in with a Prismacolor pencil. Last of all, the jewels placed on her waistline for the finishing touch!

Card #2 – A Cold One by Joslyn Nielson

I love the realistic look of this beer mug image. Paired with a sentiment telling the recipient they get a nice cold beer for their old self is just too hilarious.

On a maize yellow cardfront slightly smaller than an A2 size, I stamped the beer in Versafine black ink. Next I colored the image using Prismacolor watercolor pencils in blue, yellow and red. For the foam and reflection, I had to use Prismacolor white but it was not a watercolor pencil so I couldn’t blend the color out when it went over the lines. (I am hoping to expand my watercolor pencil assortment soon with white included!)

At first I was going to leave the background untouched, but then decided to use a fine pattern to stencil in a color slightly different than the background. I love the subtle look and the quality it gave to the image. I stamped the sentiment in heavy black cardstock with Versamark ink and heat embossed it in Ranger gold powder. I dug out worn gold brads and placed them on both sides of the sentiment for balance and interest. Finally I mounted the cardfront to a kraft base.

Card #3 – Change Is a Good Thing by Lisa Arana for Unity Stamp Co.

Yes, change is a good thing in more ways than one! Need I say more?! 

I love this “Itty Bitty” set because it is fun to stamp on pattern paper and so easy to fussy-cut. I actually used a large scrap I kept with the blue splotches. After stamping 4 images, I ink blended yellows, red tones and blues on them and spritzed water over the top. I cut them out. Next I went over the waistband with ink and a brush for definition. I also added a slight shadow on the inner part of the underwear. Then I stamped the sentiment on the same paper and mounted it on white to give it a thin white border. I arranged the pieces on a white stitched square cardfront and then on a light blue cardbase. The blue border is wider on the top and bottom for interest and it gave me more room to arrange the pieces at sharper angles.

I often have a hard time with change. I get comfortable in my life and it is easy to stay safe in familiarity. Sometimes I have to force myself, give me an extra push to try something new and just “go for it”. It’s usually a personal choice and that in itself is another reason to try. The outcome is almost always the right decision. Now when it comes to underwear… I can’t think of any scenario where change is a bad thing!!! If you have one, I would love to know, or do I? And one more question…. who would be the recipient of this card and why?!

Thank you so much for checking out our hop. Below is the list of friends to keep on hopping!

Crystal

Colleen

Tammy

Amber

April

Jane

Dawn

Gaylynn

Kim

Rachel (me)

Joyce

I hope you had a laugh or two along the way. I never get tired of creating cards with humor as I feel we all need to use humor more in our lives to get through the ups and downs of the daily grind. Now that the hustle and bustle is coming to a close, may you enjoy more crafting and stamping those images for pleasure and lots of smiles! 

Happy New Year!

Love, laughter, giggles and smiles,

Rachel

Please follow me on instagram @cardartbyrachel.