Unity Stamp Company Spring Blog Hop

Hello!  Are you having spring weather yet?  I'm here in Maryland where we had some spring-like days in February and now that we're into March, we're back into freezing temperatures.  Go figure!  While dreaming of warmer weather and spring flowers, I wanted to share this card because it makes me feel ready for spring.  

I used the following sets of Unity Stamp Company stamps.  Unity Stamps are my favorites because they are deeply etched red rubber and always make fantastic impressions!

There is You


Hello My Friend


Best Wishes & Blooms


If you're joining from the Unity Stamp Company blog hop, be sure to visit everyone on this list to see what springtime creations they've planned to share with you.  If you comment on all 8 posts, you might win some Unity prize packs!  Awesome, right?
Annie Sterner
Shannon Allred-Sunnarborg
Pamela J. Duncan
Kathryn Belmonte (You're here!)
Beth Fiscus
Denise Wesley Beard
Jennie Davis Amaker
Stephanie Seelye

The graphic has a tiny error- you don't have to visit the Unity blog for this hop!  

Happy Spring, everyone!  If you're "celebrating" the time change today, I hope you aren't feeling the effects of an hour less sleep too much!

Growing in Unity Friday

What a quick week it's been!  I've enjoyed sharing several projects that stretch my stamps beyond cards to pop in the mail.

I'm back with another gift idea for you today.  You've probably seen all of the subscription boxes that you can buy online.  They make them for dogs, kids, meal planning, and so much more.  Heck, even Unity has several stamp kits you can receive on a monthly basis.  If I ever feel like I have enough crafting time to justify getting a kit, I'd love to be a Kit of the Month member because I think the style of those stamps most mirror my tastes.  (KOTM membership = #lifegoals)  About four years ago before various subscription boxes were all over my Facebook feed, my mom planned twelve monthly dates and gave them to my dad as a Christmas present.  It was such a hit that they now both give that gift to each other, generally each picking a new theme for the year.  So far, themes have included monthly ice cream tastings and hiking trips among others.  The dates range from things like going bowling to a weekend away.

Not being much for original ideas myself, I decided that my man needed the same treatment this Christmas.  While I've planned 12 dates, I'm not going to give away any that he hasn't opened yet, so I'll just share the first three.

On Christmas, he opened this card that explained the premise: on the first on each month, he's to open the envelope marked for that month from the small box I gave him.  Inside the envelope is a card and inside the card is an explanation of the date we'll share.  Since his favorite color is blue, you'll see a lot of that color in the cards below.

https://www.unitystampco.com/our-house-to-yours/

https://www.unitystampco.com/just-plain-christmas-greetings/

Here are the first three months of cards.  I dropped a small (or big) hint about the date in the design of the card.  See if you have a guess of what the date might be from the card.  I'll reveal the answers at the bottom. 

January:

https://www.unitystampco.com/loads-of-love/ and while I know that tiny heart is Unity, I have no idea what kit it's from!  

February:

https://www.unitystampco.com/sweets-for-my-sweet/
 
March:

https://www.unitystampco.com/lil-bunny-peeps/ and https://www.unitystampco.com/unexpected-places-kom-2-17/
 
How did you do?
January- A board game and pizza.  (We played Monopoly and ordered in pizza and it was fantastic!)
February- A movie and chocolate.  (I bought a box of truffles and we watched a Redbox movie we'd wanted to see.)
March- A fancy dinner out to celebrate the completion of a big project of his at the end of February.  


What is your favorite recurring subscription?  Or the one you have your eye on but haven't purchased?

Thanks for joining me during my GIU week for Unity Stamp Company.  I hope you'll look to expand your stamping beyond greeting cards with a project this weekend or beyond.

Remember that comments from all posts this week will be entered for a chance to win grab bags from Unity.  I'll be picking winners on Sunday and announcing shortly thereafter.   Good luck! 

Growing in Unity Thursday

I've been trying to grow beyond "just" making cards with my stamps.

Here's an item that you could easily give as a gift.  I'm going to use it as a motivational decoration for myself.  It's time to go back to school again for an additional certification as a school administrator and I'm feeling a little less than motivated to go back one more time after finishing a Master's about a year ago.  I'm hoping this girl keeps my eye on the prize of having upward career mobility when I want it! 

For this project, I used two stamp sets: Graduation Wishes and Love is in the Pages.

First, I stamped, colored, and fussy cut the graduation girl.  I used blue for the accent color because it's the color for education studies.  Then I stamped the sentiment and cut it with a die.  Next, I stamped the books with antique linen distress ink on a piece of white paper and cut it with another die.  Finally, I cut a tag shape, hand lettered "class of 2020" and inked it with some blue ink.  The frame that holds everything was a Dollar Tree find. 

When the day comes that I complete this certificate, I can replace the items in the clip with a photo!  This would be an awesome item to make for high school or college grads you might know.  Do you know anyone graduating this spring?

Comment away each day this week for a chance to win a grab bag from Unity Stamp Co!