The Friends of Unity Blog Hop ~ April 2024

Hi Friends! April is here and beautiful cards are in full bloom! Our theme is “Mother’s Day” and I am sharing cards that can be used for this special day and other occasions. I hope you love them and find a few ideas to spark even more creativity!

Card #1 – Laney Girl by Angie Blom for Unity

This Angie girl reminds me of my childhood watching “Wonder Woman” with my sister! It was one of our favorite shows. How great it would be to receive a SUPER MOM card…. well that’s just awesome! I absolutely adore the little girl hiding behind her mom. I am pretty sure I was one of those shy kids! Funny that my three kids were never shy at all!

To create this card I stamped the image with Versafine Ink on watercolor paper. I painted the image with Komorebi Mozart paints. I stamped the top sentiment in black. Next I inked up the SUPER in red, stamped it and then inked up the MOM in black and stamped that! I love adding in a color to emphasize a word.

Stickles glitter glue in red and gold on the mom’s badge continue the SUPER vibe. I also added glitter to the little girl’s heart.(see below) Do you like the purse? I styled it with a white pocket on a charcoal base, I think it works!

Finally I mounted the cardfront onto red cardstock to create a thin border before adhering in to a white cardbase.

Card #2, Card #3 – Lilacs & Birthdays (Floral Collage) by Graciellie Designs for Unity

This lilac stamp set is gorgeous. When I look at it I immediately imagine an old, worn piece of tattered paper that has fallen in a puddle and the ink has run, causing the image to fade. Nevertheless, it is more beautiful with the imperfections and adds to it’s character and charm.

I assembled the stamp on my stamp positioner. Next I inked up the image using distress inks in purples and greens. Once on the paper, I lightly misted the lilacs in uneven areas. Then I stamped the script in Morning Mist Versafine ink, making sure it is overlapping the blossoms.

I found a crackled background stamp in my stash. I inked up the perimeter with a cool shade of purple, stamped it, and blended more ink to frame the image. Then I stamped the birthday sentiment and heat embossed in gold. Finally, I adhered the cardfront to a white frame and adhered it to a lavender cardbase leaving a thin border. I roughed up the border with scissors.

I created another card with the same idea. I used warmer purples, a darker cardbase, left off the crackle background and mounted it on a dark purple cardbase. Blended purples frame the image and mists of water move the color around. The sentiment is placed in the lower center area in grey and a citron twine is tied on the top.

I love this image so much, it reminds me of vintage wallpaper. Also I chose this birthday sentiment because it comes with the set. It would be easy to swap out for a mother’s day sentiment!

Card #4 – Enchanted Petals

When I saw this flower I was drawn to the beautiful stain glass window style. Always looking to add images to my ever-growing collection of Unity stamps, I had to have this one! It reminds me of the many beautiful stained glass windows found in church buildings.

I stamped this image on watercolor paper in black Versafine ink. Some of the lines were not even due to the slightly textured paper. No worries I knew I would llater go over those areas with a fine Sharpie marker. Coloring in the panes of glass was relaxing and fun. I used Komorebi Mozart watercolor paints.

I chose yellow to border the flower because to portray the glow of sunlight hitting the glass. I varied the density of paint as I remember each glass piece was not always uniform in color density.

I mounted the image on a black border and then adhered it to a light mauve cardbase. As said earlier, I went over a few lines with a fine black Sharpie to create crisp dark edges. I am excited to try painting this again with another set of colors, it will change dramatically each time!

Thank you for hopping with the Friends of Unity. Below is the list of all the creative friends sharing cards. Please continue along the way, there are so many great ideas waiting to be discovered!

Crystal

Amber

Tammy

Gaylynn

Kim

Jane

Dawn F.

Rachel (me)

Joyce

Have a wonderful April! I am grateful for my daily visits I get to have with my mom. And if you are a mom, you are a SUPER MOM…. trying our best to be an example of a life well lived! I am also a mom to three humans, a dog mom to two furry adorables and a grandmom to two bunnies!

I hope you found something here that sparks creative ideas! I look forward to seeing you next month. Take care and enjoy all of your spring activities.

Rachel

Please follow me on instagram @cardartbyrachel