Growing in Unity, Day 4

Happy Thursday, friends!

Welcome to my 4th day as a Growing in Unity gal for 2023!

Today's card uses the spotlight stamping technique and features a large floral image from a Unity Sentiment kit called Every Single Day

I have always loved Unity's sentiment kits, most of which feature a large focal image (Some have multiple images.) and many sentiments, usually in a particular theme. There is a new sentiment kit released every month and I own many of them (and still have many on my wish list!) 

This kit includes sentiments that are a little more general, and along with the pretty floral image, can be used for just about any occasion.

For my card I began by stamping portions of the image in various positions on two card panels, creating an all over background. Using my Misti stamp positioned insured that my two panels were identical. 

I then colored just a portion of one of the panels with Copic markers, and die cut it with a rounded square die. I matted it with black cardstock cut just slightly larger than my colored image. I the matched up the colored image with the uncolored panel and popped it up with foam.

I then added a heat embossed sentiment from the kit and mounted my card front on black cardstock before adding it my A2 card base.

You can see Unity's huge collection of sentiment kits here. I am confident that you can find something that will fit your card making style and needs!

Don't forget to comment on this post, and each post this week, for a chance to win a $20 gift credit to Unity Stamp Co!

Thanks for visiting and have a great day!

Avra

Growing in Unity, Day 3

Happy Wednesday, friends!

Welcome to my 3rd day as a Growing in Unity gal for 2023!

Here in central Ohio we've had some beautiful spring-like days in February, but we've also had some cold gray days and we know that winter is not over.

This sweet image, called Brandy & Emma Let It Snow,  portrays the feeling that winter can be beautiful and fun! 

The Brandy & Emma images, featuring this sweet little girl and her dog, are designed by artist Phyllis Harris, and they can be found here. 

I wanted to try out my new Tim Holtz Distress Watercolor Pencils, and thought they would be the perfect medium for this image. 

I added a little shine to my project by heat embossing my sentiment in silver, as well as the edges of my mat. I also added some shimmer spray to the background.

Here is my heat embossed mat which created a "frame" for my image.

I hope you enjoyed today's card. Check out Unity's selection of images and sentiments that you can use to create cards to brighten someone's day any day of the year!

Don't forget to comment on this post, and each post this week, for a chance to win a $20 gift credit to Unity Stamp Co!

Thanks for visiting and have a great day!

Avra

Growing in Unity, Day 2

 Happy Tuesday, friends!

Welcome to my 2nd day as a Growing in Unity gal for 2023!

Today's card is a stand up easel card. I love easel cards because they're simple to make, fold flat to fit in an A2 envelope, but can make a big impact when you stand them up for display.

I colored a sweet Angie Girl image called Lexi Girl with Copic markers. Angie Girls are a very popular line of stamps from Unity Stamp Co. You can check out the entire collection here.

I matted my trimmed image on black cardstock and attached it to my easel card base. 

I attached a panel of patterned paper to the inside of my card. I then stamped my sentiment and mounted it on black cardstock, and adhered it to the inside of my card using foam tape to act as a ledge for my easel card to stand up.

I embellished my card front with some pretty gold pearls from Pinkfresh Studio.

I hope you enjoyed today's card, and check out Unity's  huge collection of Angie Girls.

All of Unity's stamps are "cook to order" meaning they are manufactured and packaged as orders are placed, so you never have to worry about an "out of stock" situation! 

Don't forget to comment on this post, and each post this week, for a chance to win a $20 gift credit to Unity Stamp Co!

Thanks for visiting and have a great day!

Avra

 

Growing in Unity, Day 1

Happy Monday, friends!

I'm excited to be able to share some of the cards that I have created with Unity Stamps this week!

Be sure to visit every day, and comment on each post, to be eligible to win a $20 gift credit to Unity Stamp Co. Two of you will be randomly drawn at the end of the week for this generous prize!

Unity Stamp Co is a family owned, US based company that manufactures high quality red rubber stamps in just about any design style you can imagine. Be sure to check them out if you haven't!

Today I am sharing a flat shaker card! This type of shaker card doesn't use any foam tape and is super simple to create!

My images, which I colored with Copic markers, are from the Sammy Girl kit. The sentiment is heat embossed with gold embossing powder. 

After coloring my image I cut an oval frame into an A2 sized piece of paper that looks like alcohol ink! So pretty and zero mess! 

All you need to create a flat shaker card pouch is any clear packaging you may have; no need to purchase acetate sheets. I taped my plastic to the back of my card panel on 3 sides, leaving the top open. I used scotch tape; you can use any tape you have - no one will see the back once you mount it to a card base.

Now it is sure simple to pour your shaker elements in through the open flap before you tape it closed. 

I added my sentiment and a few extra doodads right on top of the plastic and mounted my card front to a card base.

I hope you enjoyed my card today, and are inspired to try out a flat shaker card (also called an edge to edge shaker!) I'll be back tomorrow with another Unity Stamp Co. creation!

Thanks for visiting and have a great day!

Avra

Growing in Unity Blog Hop

 Welcome back, stamping friends -

Today I am sharing another Unity Stamp Company project as part of a Growing in Unity blog hop.

This stamp,  called Funky Flowers, is big and bold, and fills up an entire slimline card front! I love that! I also love that you can use just portions of the stamp on other sizes, including mini slimline or A2. I'll be trying that soon!

I wanted to do something a little different than I did during my Growing in Unity week at the beginning of August. Most of those cards (all but one, actually), were colored with Copic markers. I wanted to try to watercolor these big bold flowers so I broke out my Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers. I still need a lot of practice coloring with the Zigs, but I had a lot of fun trying! 

I added some touches of Glaze Gel pens but it's difficult to see in the photos.

When I was finished coloring the image I die cut the panel with a slimline framelit and mounted it on a black mat. I cut the word Beautiful from the Say It Big die set three times out of black cardstock and layered them together with liquid glue. I cut the shadow die out of vellum so the word would stand out, but the shadow wouldn't completely cover the flowers. 

I also added a white embossed on black sentiment strip, popped up with foam tape. 

Be sure to visit the other Unity gals' blogs below and comment on each, for a chance to win one of two prize packs from Unity Stamp Company!

 1. Joan  https://jojosretiredpasttime.blog

2. Michelle https://michellygolzcreates.wordpress.com

3. Avra You are here!

4. Beth https://nursiebethsbeauties.blogspot.com

Thanks for visiting, and have a great day!

Avra

Growing in Unity, Day 5

Happy Friday, friends!

Welcome to my 5th and final day as a Growing in Unity gal for 2021!

Today's cards were created with one Unity kit and some fun backgrounds, in two different formats.

The images are from a whimsical kit called Birdyful. My first card is a slimline card, sized at 8 1/2" x 3 3/4".  I colored my image with Copic markers and cut it out with a banner shaped die. the stenciled background is created with a slimline stencil from Pinkfresh Studios. 

My second card was created in a mini slimline size, 6" x 3 1/4". The background  layers were cut with slim mini dies from Dare 2B Artzy.  This sentiment is from the Aging Gorgeously sentiment kit. 

I hope you enjoyed my cards today, and all this week, using a wide variety of stamps from Unity Stamp Co! 

Don't forget to comment on this post, and each post this week, for a chance to win a $20 gift credit to Unity Stamp Co. I will choose two winners on Monday.

Thanks for visiting and commenting - it means a lot to me! 

Have a great day!

Avra

Growing in Unity, Day 4

Happy Thursday, friends!

Welcome to my 4th day as a Growing in Unity gal for 2021!

Today's cards feature a product category that is fairly new to Unity Stamp Co. They are just starting to carry a few word dies, and this set is so unique and fun, and it coordinates with the sentiment kit Say it Big. The dies used on these cards are also called Say it Big. The set also contains a shadow die for each of the 4 words for lots of design possibilities!

My first card is on its way to a high school graduate in the family. In addition to the large Congrats die and and sentiment from Say it Big,  I used the image from Just Because and colored it with Copic markers. I cut an additional Congrats out of black fun foam and layered it behind my cardstock diecut for extra dimension.

I am always in need of birthday cards for friends and family so the 2nd card I created was with the Birthday word die from Say it Big along with a sentiment stamp from the sentiment kit. The cute mouse image is from Special Delivery Mouse.  I colored the image with Copic markers and cut it out with a dotted circle die, and layered it on a slightly larger diecut dotted circle. I glued together 3 layers of the Birthday diecut to give it dimension.

I hope you enjoyed my cards today! Check out Unity's selection of images and sentiments, as well as new word dies, that you can use for many occasions!

Don't forget to comment on this post, and each post this week, for a chance to win a $20 gift credit to Unity Stamp Co!

Thanks for visiting and have a great day!

Avra

Growing in Unity, Day 3

Happy Wednesday, friends!

Welcome to my 3rd day as a Growing in Unity gal for 2021!

I have two special cards to share with you today.

During the early stages of the pandemic in 2020, when businesses were shut down, including our beloved stamp companies, Unity figured out a way to continue bringing beautiful images to our homes. Because the business is family owned, a limited number of family employees were able to do some work remotely. So they created some digital images that customers could purchase, download, and print at home to color and make cards with. 

The first image is called There Will Be Sunshine, and it comes with some beautiful sentiments that were especially meaningful during a time when we couldn't be with our loved ones, but are also appropriate anytime you need to send out some encouraging words. I colored the image with Copic markers, and matted it on two die cut layers. 

For my next card I did something a little different. I recently purchased a new to me brand of white ink and I wanted to try it out. I had purchased this image as a digital stamp as well, but when Unity subsequently created it in red rubber I had to purchase the kit. It's such a beautiful timeless image. The kit is called Ginko Greetings, and it comes with 3 pretty sentiments. Since I am always in need of birthday cards to send to my friends I chose this birthday greeting, and heat embossed it in silver. I also added some clear gems to finish off my card. I love this simple line image and am anxious to try embossing it as well, on different colors of cardstock.

I hope you enjoyed today's cards. Check out Unity's selection of images and sentiments that you can use to create cards to brighten someone's day!

Don't forget to comment on this post, and each post this week, for a chance to win a $20 gift credit to Unity Stamp Co!

Thanks for visiting and have a great day!

Avra

Growing in Unity, Day 2

 Happy Tuesday, friends!

Welcome to my 2nd day as a Growing in Unity gal for 2021!

Today I have two cards to share that I created with border background stamps from Unity Stamp Co.

Border background stamps are a relatively new addition to Unity's product line and I own several of them. They are so pretty, so much fun to color, and always provide the perfect space to add a sentiment to your card.

My first card was created with the She Sells Sea Shells border background (That's almost as hard to type as it is to say!) This image was so much fun to color with Copic markers. It screams "summer" and it provided me with a little departure from the frequent floral images I gravitate towards.

The sentiment I chose is from Bunches of {Love}, which is one of my all time favorite sentiment kits, and I heat embossed it in silver. 

My next card was created with the Strawberry Fields border background stamp and it's one of my favorites. I have a "thing" for strawberries! I colored the image with Copic markers and added a sentiment that I thought paired perfectly with the image. I honestly am not sure which kit this sentiment is from, as I had received it as part of a grab bag at one time. I finished off the card by adding some clear "droplets", some of which look like drops of dew on the berries and flower petals!

I hope you enjoyed today's cards. Check out Unity's selection of border background stamps! All of Unity's stamps are "cook to order" meaning they are manufactured and packaged as orders are placed, so you never have to worry about an "out of stock" situation! 

Don't forget to comment on this post, and each post this week, for a chance to win a $20 gift credit to Unity Stamp Co!

Thanks for visiting and have a great day!

Avra

Growing in Unity, Day 1

Happy Monday, friends!

I'm excited to be able to share some of the cards that I have created with Unity Stamps this week!

Be sure to visit every day, and comment on each post, to be eligible to win a $20 gift credit to Unity Stamp Co. Two of you will be randomly drawn at the end of the week for this generous prize!

Unity Stamp Co is a family owned, US based company that manufactures high quality red rubber stamps in just about any design style you can imagine. Be sure to check them out if you haven't!

You'll notice from my posts this week that I enjoy coloring images, especially florals! I also love that Unity offers thousands of sentiments so you can always mix and match your Unity stamp sets (also referred to as "kits") to be sure your card conveys the exact sentiment that you need for any occasion. 

Today I am sharing two floral cards created with background stamps. I love when an image takes up all or most of the entire card front!

The first card was created with Obsessed With Floral, a single image background stamp. This stamp covers the entire front of an A2 sized card, and there are many ways to create a beautiful card front with it. I chose to stamp the image in black and color it with Copic markers. I added a light misting of a shimmer spray to give the whole card a little bit of shine.  I also added a word die, layered on black fun foam to give it dimension.

It was difficult to capture the shimmer in the photo but it's there! 

My second card today was created with Array of Fall. This image comes with a very pretty "thankful" sentiment but I chose to make this a birthday card with a sentiment from the Aging Gorgeously sentiment kit. Each month, Unity releases a sentiment kit. This is a kit that usually features one focal image plus several sentiments, all following a certain theme. I own many Unity sentiment kits (for birthday, sympathy, holiday, etc) and I reach for them frequently to find just the right sentiment for any occasion I need to make a card for. 

This image was also stamped in black ink and colored with Copic markers. I love how the image fits perfectly in the corner and takes up most of the card front, while leaving plenty of space to add a sentiment. 

I hope you enjoyed my cards today, and are inspired to go check out Unity's huge selection of images and sentiments. I'll be back tomorrow!

Thanks for visiting and have a great day!

Avra