~ September 2026 - Friends of Unity Blog Hop ~ Anything But a Card!

 

Hello crafty friends and welcome to my stop on the Friends of Unity September 2026 Blog Hop! Our theme this month is "Anything But a Card."

This is always a fun prompt to get the creative juices flowing! At first you think "how hard could this be?" The next thing you know you are thinking...."what in the world am I going to make?!?!" Pinterest is my best friend....so is my daughter! She wanted to create an art piece for her dorm room with a jean pocket to hold sunglasses and other stuff. Since I had to cut up a pair of jeans for that project, I decided to finally create a junk journal! No idea what I'm doing! 😆

I found an old journal that I had to tear out a few pages that were one of my kids school notes but then all was good! I tore the insides out and then covered the outside with some denim! I added a few bits and baubles, likely will add more! Covered the inside cover with a scrap piece of pink gingham fabric. Lots of glue and "gravity" to get all the glue to dry it's finally ready for page production!

Again, no real direction, just remembering some of the videos I had seen come across my feeds....I ink smooshed, then added a printed dictionary page that has words like: journal and journey. I then stamped the typewriter from the June 2023 Kit of the Month {from the countryside}. The butterfly was in a Unity thank you gift. The tags, brads and button are from stash. The journaling stickers at the bottom are from a Tim Holtz metallic sticker book.

Next page is a couple pages back in the book. I started with another dictionary page with words like: love, love-bird, lovable. Torn edges, inked with salvaged patina. I then cut the word "love" out with a heart die from Unity (now appears to be discontinued). Inked that heart with spun sugar. Stamped and die cut the beautiful  Seraphim Wings. Lots of colors on this giant butterfly! Stamped the "love" stamp from that set, with seedless preserves and then second and third and fourth generation to fade it out. "Hello" and "Beautiful" are both from the September 2023 KOM {harvest hues}. I added a button and then flicked onto the page, picket fence distress stain, black soot distress stain, antiqued bronze distress mica spray. 

Well, that may be about as much as my brain can handle without a plan 🤣 onto the next project!

I went looking for an idea of what could come next, then I found the cutest little album (link is here) posted to Pinterest in 2012!

As you can see I started with the postage stamp nesting dies and just went from there.   I cut 6 "pages" out of some cardboard mailers. This made 10 pages for photos. 

Lots of dies used on these....in addition to the postage stamp dies, I used the make a tag die set, the scallops and squares, scallops and arches, scallops and rectangles,  scallops and banners, and scallops andcircles.

Stamps sets used are May 2026 Kit of the Month oh baby KOMpanion set, twinkle twinkle itty bitty (retired), fairy from 2024 Advent Calendar, sentiment from Twinkleheart, wild about you (giraffe) itty bitty (retired).  Papers from several kits too...cozy textiles (WK 10/2020), hydrangea harmony (WK 6/2024), enveloped in love (WK 3/2022), cloud hopper chronicles (WK 6/2023), pastel gingham perfection (WK 3/2024).

I managed to get two albums finished! WHEW! The boy album is not quite as elaborate, but that's how boys are anyway! LOL

I started the same way with the die cut cardboard using the postage stamp nesting dies. Next I made each page! Using similar stamps and Unity papers. Some additional sets used were "hello sweet baby" sentiment is from a retired itty bitty called sweet elle. Additional paper packs used are Fields of Summer (WK 9/2021).

I am absolutely in love with these two albums! I feel that there will be more in my future! 🤣

Thanks for visiting! Hope you are inspired by the many talented ladies sharing their blogs! To start at the beginning, you can visit my friend Crystal. Ready to move on... Rachel is next, enjoy! 

{BYSHC} Spring into Christmas 2026 Linky Party ~ Small Stuff

 Hello and welcome to the {BYSHC} Spring into Christmas 2026 Linky Party! Follow us all week....until the 17th for great inspiration! Great prizes to be had at the end! List of our awesome sponsors at the end!

If you have followed us, or mostly me, for any amount of time, you know that I love to use my scraps during the linky parties! I'm happy to say that the scrap choices for this linky party are abundant! Be prepared to see lots of scraps put together!!

My first card features some scraps from an old Fancy Pants Design paper pack called St. Nick. Says copyright 2011. The green piece has a giant circle cut from it which is covered by the triangle (which was also already cut in the shape) of a coordinating paper! The red and white polka dot was a strip that was found in another bin of scraps! The stamp, sentiment and circle die are from one of our amazing sponsors Unity Stamp Co. Stamp set is no longer available (small stuff Christmas) but has been replaced by another equally as sweet set called simple little wishes.

Stamped the image and sentiment onto white cardstock with VersaFine Clair in Nocturne, colored with King Art Alcohol Markers, die cut with the circle nesting die, distressed the edge a bit with some black soot distress ink, or whatever was left on the blending brush, and then mounted both with some foam adhesive.

As promised I have the list of sponsors! Go to the {BYSHC} Blog post for details about what each sponsor has so generously donated to our fun little party!

Tawny Owl Paperie

Unity Stamp Co.

Angie Blom Digital Designs

QT Cards with Mom

Jaded Blossom

RAM Stamps

A Colorful Life Designs

Not 2 Shabby

Digi Doodle Studios

Gina K. Designs

Club Scrap

Twiddler's Nook

Pajama Crafter Stamps

The Greeting Farm

Lawn Fawn

Creative Worship Stamps

Pink & Main

Taylored Expressions

Crafty Stamp Co.

Newton's Nook Designs

WOW! What a fantastic list of amazing people who have so generously sponsored this linky party! Let's show them some love!

I will link as many of the products that I use as best as I can. If I miss something that you would like more info on...just let me know! On with the party!

Other helpful products that I used during creation:

MISTI

CutterBee scissors

Scotch ATG

Fiskars Titanium Non-stick scissors

My Amazon Favorite Craft Essentials!

~ April 2026 - Friends of Unity Blog Hop ~ Earth Day/Recycle

 Hello and welcome to April! The Friends of Unity are hopping today with some wonderful inspiration! April is a month of rebirth. Spring should be "springing" up all around you with flowers blooming, skies clearing....in Florida that typically means *pollen* but let's not talk about *sneeze* that yet! LOL

I have been saving all kinds of stuff for a few months in anticipation of this month's theme! Typically I am a scrap hoarder anyway, but let's just say my scrap pile is bursting at the seams!

First up is a shaker card that I created with a previously created background, a stamped image that has been hanging around for "just the right color" and some plastic wrapping that I will be using to make the actual shaker part! 

I started with an amazing and super colorful background that I created some time ago....I made an entire sheet and this is one of the quarters! Packaging from an online purchase was the perfect size for this A2-ish panel. I cut the plastic bag to remove the edges, then used some tear tape to attach the plastic to the card panel, being sure to leave the top edge open to load up the shaker bits. These bits are from several sources, Unity clear flat sequins (that got a bit out of hand while going into the bag), some tiny yellow star bits and cupcake confetti both from Twiddler's Nook, as well as a few dots of scrap paper that were paper punched! I attached the completed shaker panel to a piece of black on my card base. To that I added the Happy Birthday! It's from the Unity set called Many More Birthdays along with the coordinating die. I had made this quite some time ago, but it just never coordinated with anything until now! I attached it with more tear tape, right smack in the center! It was stamped with Versafine Clair Nocturne and heat embossed with some clear embossing powder (p.s. Unity also has clear embossing powder, I just don't have it yet!)

I just love a shaker card sound!

Next up is another birthday card, but a little less "loud!" 

I saved the box that held my kitchen trash bags. I loved the color combo on it! 

Dark pink, light pink, lime green and wood grain. I maneuvered the smallest of the scallops and banners dies, as well as another banner die set that was in a Whit Kit, to get as many cuts as I could! Next I grabbed a roll of natural color burlap ribbon that I saved from a gift basket that was sent to my family. I have two different sizes of this actually from two different gifts! The green ribbon has been in my ribbon box forever! There wasn't enough lime green on the box to get one more strip, so I utilized my Unity paper stash! Rainbow Alcohol Ink Papers from the April 2023 Whit Kit to the rescue! I see now from the picture that some are not exactly straight but I can fix it later! The sentiment is from ...aging gorgeously, enamel dots (my favorite) from Gina Marie Designs.

I have so many recycled things and ideas that I just need to keep going! This is just a good reminder that there are so many items in everyday life that can be recycled for other uses! Between the two elements above that I've rescued from the landfill, I also have at the ready.....bread bag clip, used dryer sheets, plastic packaging from a container of blueberries and another box that the entire inside is pink! :) 

Ok, I digress....onto the next one!

A used dryer sheet sprayed with Plain Jane ink spray by My Tattered Angels in Tiger Lilly, glued to a piece of cardstock with elmers glue! After spraying the dryer sheet with the ink, I found some old elmer's glue (from the slime making days IYKYK) and spread it all over the cardstock and sort of "smooshed" it around to give some texture. This took forever to dry! 

In the meantime, I die cut another piece of cardstock with the deckle & stitches nesting dies to make a frame. I had the white embossed moth (Nocturnal Nature) from a previous project. I stamped a birthday wish (...aging gorgeously) and attached it to the frame. Foam tape on both the frame and the moth which both were attached directly over the dryer sheet/glue/cardstock panel.

This is likely my last one.....but its a cute one!

The box from the "scrub mommy" I just brought home had this beautiful hot pink on the inside of the box! The other elements on this one are also "recycled" in a way! The white piece cut from the frame above was used on this one.....as well as the sentiment which is so old....I don't even remember when I stamped it! 

I used the pink box for the background on this one. The yellow polka dot paper was laying on the desktop so I tore it up and added some washi tape and a staple and it looks like a Tenia card! LOL Stamped the girl from Echo of Kindness with Versafine Clair Nocturne, colored her with KingArt Alcohol Markers. I then added some foam tape to both the colored image and the sentiment along with enamel dots to finish it off! 

I do love ALL of these recycled cards! I definitely had to think outside the box on a few, but Pinterest is one of my favorite sources for ideas!

With all the goodies I have saved, I am sure there will be more cards to come!

Thank you for visiting and don't forget that April 22 is Earth Day, but you can make a difference EVERY day! To start the hop at the beginning, visit Crystal's blog. If you are ready to move on...Toni is your next stop!

{BYSHC} Sketch 68 - Merry Christmas

Hello and HAPPY APRIL!!! Wow, how quickly this year is going! The {BYSHC} Design Team are working on this month's sketch....#68!  Our sponsor this month is Jaded Blossom!

If you know anything about me....it's that I am a collector of scraps! This sketch is perfect for me! I cut the strips into 1/2"-ish sizes. Then cut the strips into 1 1/2" pieces. I arranged them according to the sketch in a brick-like pattern. These brown/tan scraps are from multiple manufacturers and paper weight....just glue them on and watch the magic happen! The stamp set I've chosen is from Unity Stamp Co., the November 2022 Whit Kit Ornamental Greetings. This particular set came with a coordinating "ornament" shaker die that I utilized just the die parts...not the shaker parts!  I masked off the dots and snowflakes on the stamp in order to add them back onto the ornament with a white gel pen. I then added some foam tape and a couple colors of bakers twine from BellaCreationz.

Don't forget to join us in the coming weeks for the {BYSHC} Spring into Christmas 2026 Linky Party! The sponsor list is amazing and the prizes are always very generous!

{BYSHC} Falling for the Holidays 2025 Linky Party - Joyful Greetings

 Hello again! I am still creating cards for {BYSHC} Falling for the Holidays 2025 Linky Party.  Are you?!?!

My card is brought to you by.....I stamped too many things and couldn't decide what to use for which card! LOL. Yes that's right, I stamped these things at the same time as the last Scandi card (yesterday) and just decided, as they lay on the desktop, that they had to go together!

Again from the now retired :( Scandi Christmas set from Newton's Nook Designs. This will go as part of their current Inky Paws Color Challenge!  I stamped the tree in gina k designs dye ink in dusty rose. I also used gina k designs dye ink grass green and red hot on the tag. Distress Archival ink in Speckled egg is there too. I tried to make a background with the designs, but it wasn't even and it wasn't the right size so I grabbed the fancy edges tag die set from Newton's Nook and just cut it out!

I splattered some of those inks on the card base, added a torn piece of green cardstock, added some washi tape and some ribbon, a staple and some foam tape to finish it off! Oh and I added some enamel dots too!

This is why I always keep everything! And also why I have too many scraps! :)

{BYSHC} Falling for the Holidays 2025 Linky Party - Merry Merry Christmas

 Hello friends! I'm creating cards for the {BYSHC} Falling for the Holidays 2025 Linky Party! To build up my stash of Christmas cards to keep December stress free! At least in the Christmas Card department! LOL

In keeping with the scrap theme, this background was created with strips of scraps. I was trying to get papers together that matched and just kept giving up. I literally sat down, grabbed a sheet of copy paper and my glue gun and just grabbed whatever was close. And in the end, it's perfect! don't have to be fancy or "matchy" just use up those scraps!!! I keep thinking I need to make a video for this, I saw a video that inspired me to try this technique, but now I can't find it. *note to self....self, make a video!*

Scraps from all different manufacturers, paper packs, thicknesses, style, etc.....but look at that, they all went together perfectly! After all the strips were glued down, I die cut it with the largest scallop and rectangle nesting die from Unity Stamp Co. The image is also from Unity. This one happens to be retired, but there is a new version called Simple Little Wishes. I stamped the image and then die cut it with one of the scallops and circles nesting dies. Colored with KingArt Alcohol Markers.

Sentiment from this same set, stamped with Versafine Clair in Nocturne (as was the image) die cut and mounted to another scrap! Glued everything down with Tombow Liquid Glue.

I followed {BYSHC} Sketch 48 for this card!

~ September 2025 Friends of Unity Blog Hop ~ Anything But A Card!

 

Hello and welcome to the Friends of Unity September 2025 Blog Hop! I am so excited to share with you what this month's theme did to my creative brain! LOL

To start with I was having a serious case of "oh my goodness what do I make?!?!?" Creative block at its finest! What does any good crafter do at that moment?!? Look for inspiration! I started perusing Pinterest and came upon this idea that I had actually wanted to do for months.....Composition Book Covering! I already had a bunch of supplies all pulled out and ready, just didn't have time! Well now I may still not actually have time, but I now have a reason!

Around here school started almost a month ago and the stores are filled with school supplies! My book however is a recycled book from when my son was in elementary school (peep the sticker that says "bell work")! Those books barely got used and I just couldn't bear to throw them away! So I grabbed some patterned paper and got started!

Patterned papers are from the Unity Paper Pack Wallpaper & Warmth (January 2025 Whit Kit). The Green paper has tiny little lemons on it! Super cute!! Measure, measure, measure! Since the papers are 6x6 and the cover of the book is NOT, I had to improvise! I taped the two sheets together. I tore the yellow sheet in half in order to use both sides of the tear. If interested in the measurements....I scored the top edges at about 1 1/8" and the side at 3/4". Next I slathered the entire front cover with mod podge (it's homemade....found recipe on pinterest) and then added the green sheet. When it was pretty well stuck down I added the yellow sheet, being sure to line up the edge with the edge of the black binding. I grabbed a large piece of green woven ribbon from my stash then used some Tombo Mono Liquid Glue to wrap it entirely around the cover....all the way to the inside. Speaking of the inside, I cut a piece of kraft cardstock to 7 1/2" x 9 1/4". Added more liquid glue to the back and glued it to the inside cover....covering up all the "raw" edges of paper and ribbon on the inside that may not be too pretty!

Now the fun part......DECORATING!!! I'm trying to ignore the joining lines in the paper....it will be mostly covered by the decorations I put on the cover!  I am using some of the "thank you" gifts that have come from Unity which are included with my orders! A large manilla tag, wood butterfly and a sheet of crafting phrases. I went through all the Angie Girls I have and decided on Bryna. The tshirt, jeans and converse are one of my staple outfits! 

I colored her with KingArt Alcohol Markers and then used the paper backing (yes I saved it) to use as a mask to ink blend around her. I used whatever ink was left on the brushes, multiple colors likely! I cut up the sheet of phrases that was sent using my cutter-bee scissors. I looked on the website and didn't see them, but I LOVE THEM!!! They were perfect for this project! I attached them here and there, the torn paper behind is from takin' em fishin' (leftover piece from another card that I just tore up). The ribbon is from My Scrap Cabin Shop, color is daylily. This must be a favorite color because my skein is getting smaller! I typed and printed the verse with the crown myself. It's always a good reminder! :) I used the scallops and banner nesting dies to die cut the shape. I adjusted it to create a rectangle rather than a banner. The butterfly was added with some therm-o-web zots! The paperclip is very old....from an accessory kit from about 20 years ago....thinking Making Memories perhaps?

I hope you got some creative inspiration out of my project! I have been using this book to keep track of craft show and individual sales. I purchased a bunch of supplies to start participating in craft shows (a wagon, tablecloths, baskets, tier tray, blanket racks) and wanted to keep track of how long it took me to "pay it off" so to speak. The fall shows are getting ready to ramp up and now I'm ready! I may still add a pocket to the inside cover....to keep any receipts or notes I need to remember!

p.s. decided to make another paperclip.....used the second wooden butterfly that Unity had sent! :)

Attempting another project since this Composition Book cover took me less time than I expected....this next one took quite a bit of thought! Decided on a tag book. I've been sort of hoarding the tags that come in the thank you gifts from Unity. The smaller ones get used more often...because of their size. The giant tags that come, the 4" x 8" tags are harder to come up with a project other than a bookmark or something like that. So I searched for some inspiration and instruction on this and came up with this cute idea! A book made from the tags!

I started with 7 of the giant tags. This will create a front and back cover and 12 inside pages for decorating. They are all different colors but all have come from Unity! I had to figure out a "hinging" option. Did you know you can find just about anything on the internet! ;) 

I started by paperclipping the pages together to determine the number of hinges I needed to make. Then to determine a theme so I knew what papers and accessories to grab! Decided on a page a month!

Started with the cover! The paper is from The Secret of Change. I covered the page with two different patterns, tore the bottom one. I created the cover title piece using one of the postage stamp nesting dies, repositioning it to make it the size I wanted. The hearts were punched from scraps (those are the butterfly wings)! Some pink ribbon and a brad from eons ago! Onto the next!

The first page is of course January.... Mamma Mia! I used two different backgrounds (tuscan tile and ...damask grunge) and some distress ink in blueprint sketch to create the background. I cut the stamped images into 3/4" squares (used my fiskars trimmer) and positioned them opposite of each other to create the tile look. I then took a blue marker and colored in the "grout" lines! The arch was cut with the scallops and arches nesting dies. 

Next is my birthday month......February! This one uses patterned paper from Pastel Party Parade and many more birthdays stamp and die! I stamped the sentiment with versafine clair nocturne a couple times but it just wasn't juicy enough so I used ink-on-3 embossing ink to make it nice and sticky! Using the MISTI was key for this process! The page didn't move at all and I was able to re-ink multiple times and not have it shift! Then sprinkled on WOW! embossing powder in neutral ultra shimmer glitter, and heated it with Wagner Heat tool, to make it sparkle! Numbers were die cut with a tim holtz die set and I added some yellow gems from Pinkfresh Studio to make candles! Here's to 57!

The rest of the months will have to be done on my own time! LOL Ran out of time to get them done for the hop, but I think you get the idea! ;)

If you would like to start from the beginning, Crystal's blog is your starting point! If you are ready to move on, you can visit my friend Amber here!

Thanks for the visit and see you in October!