~ June 2026 - Friends of Unity Blog Hop ~ Food & Drink

Hello friends! Welcome to June! The Friends of Unity are hoping this month with a super fun prompt....Food & Drink! I had a giant list of stamps at my disposal! Could only choose a few!

First card has to be a birthday cupcake....right?!?!? I started with the January 2023 Kit of the Month {bloom and evolve}, the sentiment is from Gotta Love Sentiments. I have always been inspired by Tenia's designs so this one pays homage to her style! :)

Patterned paper is from Oh Hey! It's Your Day! After I stamped the image (with Versafine Clair) using my Misti....I die cut it with one of the tags from the Make a Tag Nesting Die set. I used my KingArt Alcohol Markers to color the yummy cupcake to coordinate with the polka dots on the paper. I added a scrap from the same paper pack, some red twine, some foam tape and a heart paperclip! 

Next up a big squeeze!

I created this background a few months ago and it's been sitting here waiting for the perfect chance to shine! Today is the day! I used the Slices of Summer layering stencil but used yellow ink to create lemons! I used cookie dough lunar paste to make the seeds! Die cut with the scallops and rectangle nesting dies!

I decided to add a refreshing lemonade to this for a summer "chill" card! The itty-bitty is called chillin'.  Stamped with VersaFine Clair, fussy cut with cutter bee scissors and added using foam tape! 

I was scrolling through my photos the other day....looking for something and I came across a screen-shot I took 12 years ago! :| 12 years ago?!? Are you kidding me?!?! Realized that it was a card posted by Heather Hoffman that inspired me to find this sweet citrus set! Obviously I had to make something with the need a squeeze itty bitty, sadly now retired. Just as the newest Tawny Owl Paperie sketch was released....seemed like the perfect timing!

I started with a sunburst stencil which was in the August 2023 Whit Kit. I used twisted citron, dried marigold and scattered straw for the burst. I die cut the circle with the scallops and circles nesting dies. I used the leftover ink on the blending brushes to shade in the citrus. Next colored with KingArt Art Markers. Printed the sentiment from the computer. Added some coordinating buttons from my stash for a little extra dimension!

So many choices....I had to do at least one more! :)

This sweet itty bitty has been in my collection for sooooo long! It's called berry sweet moments, since been retired but I still love it!

Stamped with VersaFine Clair Nocturne, colored with King Art Alcohol Markers. Die cut with the make a tag nesting dies. The background paper is from Rustic Farmhouse, the red plaid is from Barnyard Blowout. The polkadot is actually Christmas paper! LOL

I added some burlap and red twine from May Arts Ribbon and some clear flat sequins. As well as some foam adhesive. 

I felt that it needed "something" but wasn't sure what to do. Since I colored with Alcohol markers, I thought I'd try to move it around some. I grabbed some isopropyl alcohol....without a plan! :/  I added a few drops to see what would happen and this is the result! :/ I sprinkled some lumberjack plaid on as well......not sure if I've ruined it or not, but this is the result. I may need to adjust it again. 

I left this on the blog post to show that you could always try something new and see what happens. I almost took this whole part off, but sometimes things work and sometimes they don't exactly, but in the end its still art and you created it! :)

Thanks for visiting and following along! I'd love to hear your feedback!!

If you'd like to start over at the beginning, Crystal's blog is the place to be! If you are ready to move on, Toni is your girl! :)

p.s.  apologies….I just now realized that the majority of my cards feature stamps that have been retired! :/

 

~ July 2025 Friends of Unity Blog Hop ~ Mixed Media/Grunge

Welcome to the July 2025 Friends of Unity Blog Hop!! Hard to believe that July is already here and the year is half over!! Mixed media and grunge is the theme this month. To be honest, I didn't really think that I could pull off this theme so I did some research! LOL 

Mixed media art refers to artwork that combines more than one artistic medium or material. It can include elements such as painting, drawing, sculpture, and non-traditional materials like cloth, paper, wood, and found objects. Artists use mixed media to create intricate, layered pieces that break the boundaries between different art forms. 

This is the definition from Google, so I went with it! Layered pieces, different design elements, more than one artistic medium or material. Literally had no idea where to even begin. I found a card on Pinterest that was beautiful so I loosely followed it!

One thing that I did discover, is that pictures are hard to take and get all the elements to show at the same time! Sorry this first one is so dark, but I wanted to see everything! The background started as a piece of white cardstock, to which I ink smooshed some distress oxides in stormy sky, cracked pistachio, faded jeans, speckled egg, peeled paint and distress ink in evergreen bough. Then I sprayed some (new to me) dylusions ink sprays in periwinkle blue and vibrant turquoise. Once those were dry I started stamping! I used multiple stamp sets to create the background including Soul Mail, Numbers, etc. (retired), Winter Shakeup, Paper Wings and Extended celebration. I also used the stencil from the 10/2023 Whit Kit and some lunar paste in midnight snack in a few spots. I just kept adding stuff!! The lace is from stash, the flowers I have had forever! The butterflies, from Paper Wings, were stamped, colored and fussy cut. Added with liquid adhesive and foam tape on the wings for lift. Brads and clear sequins to finish it off!

WHEW that was a lot of work but also fun to just keep adding and adding until I liked the outcome!! LOL Onto the next one!!

I made a few sprayed backgrounds to start and then went back and figured out which one I would use. This is one of those. Ink smooshed with distress oxides in peeled paint, stormy sky and speckled egg. Then I sprayed on dylusions spray ink in vibrant turquoise and periwinkle blue. I stamped on a bunch of different background type stamps from Small Details, Rectified Poppies, Dinged Dots (appears to be retired), then added some of the elements from Soul Mail. The flower vase and sentiment came from that set as well. 

Something I wanted to try was stamping onto tissue paper and adding that. I stamped the script writing from Soul Mail to a piece of tissue paper, tore some pieces off and then used mod podge and glued the tissue on in several places. I think one of the hardest parts of mixed media is giving time to let all the layers dry! LOL I stamped, colored and then fussy cut the flower vase. Cut the sentiment into pieces and mounted everything with foam adhesive.

This is a fun technique that I do not do very often. In fact, may be the second time that I've done mixed media to this extent. I love the outcome, definitely not in my comfort zone but I dove in and took hold of it! It's fun giving new techniques a try! That's what this is all about! Stretching your creative brain! Give it a try!

I am the second on the hop, so if you came here from Crystal, you started at the beginning, next will be Toni. Please follow along and enjoy! 

See you in August!