~ May 2026 - Friends of Unity Blog Hop ~ Farmhouse

Hello and welcome to the May 2026 Friends of Unity Blog Hop! Our theme this month is Farmhouse. Hope you enjoy the hop!

To be honest, I had a few ideas about this theme a few weeks before I got started, but when I sat down to create something, I was stumped! LOL I hope that I have sufficiently captured the theme of Farmhouse! :)

For those that "know" me....know that I am an avid (or should I say RABID) crocheter! I crochet A LOT!  I created the scalloped piece from some very fine yarn and attached it with some tear tape. Seemed like the most secure way to attach it! I used some Kraft cardstock and a piece of the Pastel Gingham Collection (Whit Kit 3/2024). The stamps used are from the December 2022 KOM {a new chapter}. I stamped the flower and sentiment with VersaFine Clair Nocturne, the distressed words with Antique Linen Distress Oxide. Colored the flower with Kingart Art Markers. Die cut with the smallest scallops and rectangle nesting dies and then tore the left side off....as well as tearing off the left side of the gingham panel too! Some foam tape, twine from May Arts and some enamel dots from Gina Marie Designs and she's finished! :)

I know this may be a shocker, but this next card features some scraps that were left from the Country Lovin' paper pack and a few from Barnyard Blowout. They went together perfectly! With the scraps I had in front of me, I went on the hunt for a good sketch! Tawny Owl Paperie to the rescue! I found the perfect sketch from May 2025, Sketch 33 is pictured below.

What is more "Farm"house than a sweet cow! This cutie is from ...thinking of moo (12/2024 Uniquely Unity and the sentiment is from (one of my favorites) Gotta Love Sentiments. Stamped with versafine clair nocturne, die cut with the postage stamp nesting dies and colored with KingArt Art Markers. I added a teeny bit of distressing around the edges with Walnut Stain Distress Ink. I also used the scallops and banners nesting dies. I then added some twine from May Arts and some red enamel dots from Gina Marie designs and a cute little heart paperclip.

I have one last card to share. When I heard "farmhouse" thoughts of the super strong women who ran the whole thing popped into my head! 

I pulled out the Wallpaper & Warmth paper pack from the January 2025 Whit Kit and it just reminded me of the calico dresses and aprons that you see in old photos. I also grabbed another favorite set of mine, Difficult Roads. I absolutely love the detail in the mason jar vase with the cotton flowers. I found a picture on Pinterest that is not on the website, created by Karen Maldonado, and used it as inspiration! I stamped the image and the sentiment onto kraft cardstock. I then used my Tombow ABT Brush Markers to color. It created a softer color gradient that I was looking for. After coloring I trimmed the panel down a bit. For the backer, I used a piece of cardboard packing and ran it through the embossing machine with a woodgrain folder! I distressed both pieces with the Tim Holtz distressing tool and added some walnut stain distress ink to the edges. Even though you cannot see it, I did add some thicker burlap twine under the image. To that I tied a piece of seam binding from My Scrap Cabin in the color sea mist. 

The sentiment was a whole other project! LOL I cut it down two or three times and ended with the round top and bottom and squared sides. I felt it needed a little something more. I die cut a tag topper and attached it to the very tippy top edge. Tied on some natural twine and added it to the front! A few flat sequins and some Nuvo Aqua Shimmer in Glitter Gloss to finish!

I thought I was finished, until I saw the newest sketch from Tawny Owl Papiere! :)

I started with the paper choices, then moved onto the stamp set. I have to say that I switched multiple times in the search process! It's not always cut and dry! Sometimes it takes some tweaking and switching things around to get the result you are looking for! Ended up with the I'd Go Anywhere set along with the sentiment from Sing the Lord's Praise. Stamped both with VersaFine Clair Nocturne. Die cut the main image with the scallops and squares nesting dies. My paper choices were Rustic Farmhouse (11/2020 Whit Kit) and Simply Spring (5/2021 Whit Kit). I liked how Crystal tore the paper to make the diagonal....so that's what I did as well.

Lastly I colored with my Tombow ABT markers for better control of the color again. Added some natural bakers twine and enamel dots from Gina Marie Designs! While it was unexpected, I'm glad I took the time to create it! :)

If you would like to start over at the beginning, Crystal's blog is the place to start! If you are ready to move on....Rachel is your next stop! Enjoy the rest of the hop!

I would love to hear your thoughts! Please leave me some love! :) <3

~ February 2025 Friends of Unity Blog Hop ~ Monochromatic

 

monochromatic [mon-uk-kroh-mat-ik] (adjective): of or having one color. relating to, or having tones of one color in addition to the ground hue.

Hello friends and welcome to February! This month, the Friends of Unity are creating in monochromatic tones!  Similar shades and tones of the same color families. 

When I started this card I was thinking yellows, but as it turned out it's more of a tan/off white shading. I tore the background papers (the scripty one is from Antique Annotations May 2024 Whit Kit). Next I stamped "Cast All Your Cares" with black versafine clair nocturne onto a piece of white cardstock. Probably should have used thicker cardstock, with all the water coloring and ink smooshing it was pretty warped! I used Tim Holtz distress watercolor pencils (mustard seed) for the yellowing on the flower. It didn't seem enough so I grabbed some Nuvo Hybrid ink (rubber duck) and ink smooshed it around. I distressed edges on all the pieces with Vintage Photo Distress Oxide. I die cut the image with the make a tag die set.  Finished with some seam binding (ivory) from My Scrap Cabin Shop, some burlap twine from May Arts and some clear flat sequins. 

After all the watercolor and ink smooshing was dry I did splatter on some gold and white inks!! 

After several more attempts for "monochromatic" they just didn't seem enough monochromatic! Too many other colors. Then it clicked! :) Don't get me wrong....I made a bunch of really nice things, but just not the RIGHT things! LOL

I grabbed two gina k designs ink cubes that coordinate...innocent pink and dusty rose. Then I needed a floral...(now retired) insightful meadows. Stamped in the dusty rose, moved the paper over, then stamped with innocent pink and repeat! Using the MISTI it was easy to just move the paper over, rather than try to get the stamp in the exact same position as before! I then went back and did the second stamping of both for some shadowing. (Second stamping means that I stamped it once, then the second time with just the ink left on the stamp...no re-inking.) The pink stripe paper is dated 2016! Somehow it was "on top" of a stack of papers and matched perfectly! Die cut the floral panel with the scallops and rectangles nesting dies. What do you do if you can't find exactly the color you need?? You make it yourself! This tag was white (and bigger). I dragged the dusty rose ink cube over it until fully covered, die cut with the make a tag die set and tied on some baby pink crinkle seam binding.

I die cut the circle (scallops and circles nesting dies) after I printed the sentiment from the computer. I used the "inking-the-inside-of-the-die" technique on this one in the innocent pink. The rose chipboard embellishment has been hanging around for ages! When it works it works!

I felt like I was on a roll, so I tried another! My daughter is a senior this year.....I'm going to be needing A LOT of graduation cards!

This one started with the blue check paper, next I created a background using the graduation cap stamp from snarky graduation. I stamped it all over in stormy sky distress oxide. It was the second generation stamping so it was a little bit lighter. Then I die cut with the scallops and rectangle nesting dies. Graduation gnome is one of my favorite graduation sets! He's just so cute! I stamped onto white cardstock with versafine clair nocturne, then watercolored using the stormy sky distress oxide, gina k innocent pink and some water based Tombow ABT markers. 

I see more of these gnome cards getting made in my future! In all the colors! :)

Give the monochromatic theme a try! It's definitely not as easy as I expected it to be at first! But once I got the hang of it, I want to keep making more! 

If you'd like to start at the beginning of the blog hop, check out Crystal's blog. If you are ready to move on, then April is next up!

Thanks for visiting! Please leave me some love! :) <3