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Friday, August 30, 2024

GIU 8/30/2024

It's Friday already.  Do you have any exciting weekend plans?  Here in the US, many people are off work on Monday for Labor Day so it's even a long weekend!

All this week, I've been posting projects featuring Unity Stamp Company projects as I'm the Growing in Unity poster for this week.  Before I started making my projects, I decided to finally use an idea that's been brewing ever since I was first a GIU poster several years ago and that is to reuse the same kits all week. Let me share my reasons:

First of all, I have been a less-than-engaged crafter for the past 2-3 years.  Ever since I moved houses in 2022, I've found it harder to work and focus in my new space. My primary issue is that the lighting isn't quite right for evening crafting; we have on our to-do list to add a ceiling light to the room.   The room is larger than my space in my old home and I think that is a contributing factor, along with the fact that I switched out some furniture which meant nothing was in the same place as it was in the old house and less items are within arm's reach. To combat this, I decided to focus on making less decisions in my crafting so I could be more productive.  Therefore, this week I've only used these two stamp kits and papers or scraps of paper from my desk top.  This was actually a massive time saver as I have just left these kits on my desk all week and haven't been searching for "the perfect" stamp for a project.

https://www.unitystampco.com/its-going-to-be-beautiful-kom-7-17/

It's Going To Be Beautiful {kom 7/17}

https://www.unitystampco.com/blessed-happy-everything-stamp-die-set/ 

Blessed & Happy Everything {stamp & die set}

My other reason for sticking with two kits all week is to demonstrate that you can make lots of great projects from one Kit of the Month.  The Unity designers do an amazing job at mixing styles in this kit so there's something for everyone.  You can see in the kit I used from 2017 that there are some solid stamps and some that can be colored.  There are a variety of sentiments, in different styles and fonts.  I've made 5 projects this week and I've only used about half of the stamps, so there is a lot more I could do!  

So, if you're looking to up your crafting output, my lesson from this week is to choose a smaller subset of material to work with than your entire collection. You could limit your stamps, or your papers, or your coloring media- whatever would increase your efficiency and remove decision paralysis.  

With all of that said, here's my final card of the week.  I used some more partial stamping (in this case masking) to only stamp selected letters of the "to have a friend like you" sentiment.  Then I used a small circle punch to cut the individual letters and some colored circles, placing them like a friendship bracelet.  The heart stamp from the kit of the month made a simple background.  Have you ever used the individual letters in a stamp to spell a different word? 

If you've missed any posts earlier in the week, be sure to go back and leave comments on them as well as a comment below. Each comment is a chance to win a prize generously provided by Unity Stamp Co!  Thank you for your kind comments all week.

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Proud Operation Write Home Alumni
Cards shipped to OWH in 2014: 21
Cards shipped to OWH in 2013: 829 blank and 301 AnyHero
Cards shipped to OWH in 2012: 1284 blank and 218 AnyHero
Cards shipped to OWH in 2011: 1695

Thursday, August 29, 2024

GIU 8/29/2024

Happy Thursday, friends.  All this week, I've been honored to share some creations featuring products from Unity Stamp Company.  Did you know they manufacture their red rubber stamps in house at their headquarters in Minnesota?  How cool is that?

My goal this week was to show how to stretch a kit.  I have a tendency to buy a stamp kit for one stamp or sentiment and not do a great job utilizing the whole package.  So, for this week, I've been working off of one Unity Kit of the Month and a simple sentiment and die kit.  Here they are:

https://www.unitystampco.com/its-going-to-be-beautiful-kom-7-17/

It's Going To Be Beautiful {kom 7/17}

https://www.unitystampco.com/blessed-happy-everything-stamp-die-set/ 

Blessed & Happy Everything {stamp & die set}

I wanted to feature another technique today to show how I can stretch my stamps.  As I was making my card, I knew I wanted some tone-on-tone papers in the background behind my focal image.  I had such a piece of pink patterned paper and I used a sentiment stamp from the kit to add some texture to kraft paper by repeated stamping.  Normally, I would have chosen a stamp with a generic texture design for the background, but as I'm challenging myself to only use these two kits this week, I thought text would work.  What do you think, was it successful?


Do you have any smaller stamps you can use for text backgrounds?

Remember that at the end of the week, two random commenters will receive prizes from Unity, so be sure to leave a note below!  

 

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Proud Operation Write Home Alumni
Cards shipped to OWH in 2014: 21
Cards shipped to OWH in 2013: 829 blank and 301 AnyHero
Cards shipped to OWH in 2012: 1284 blank and 218 AnyHero
Cards shipped to OWH in 2011: 1695

Wednesday, August 28, 2024

GIU 8/28/2024

It's the middle of the week already!  If you are coming back for another Unity Stamp Company Growing in Unity post, you are in the right place.  

For my GIU week, I decided to challenge myself to make projects using just two kits.  I love the variety of stamps that come in each Kit of the Month.  I also tend to choose more simple sentiments, so I paired this KOTM with a kit that comes with two sentiment dies and matching sentiments. 

https://www.unitystampco.com/its-going-to-be-beautiful-kom-7-17/

It's Going To Be Beautiful {kom 7/17}

https://www.unitystampco.com/blessed-happy-everything-stamp-die-set/ 

Blessed & Happy Everything {stamp & die set}

Today's technique is partial stamping.  Can you count how many partial stamps I used on this card?


Did you count 3 or 4? I'd consider either the correct answer, depending on whether you count fussy cutting.  I used a heart stamp to make a scalloped border.  One of my favorite techniques is to make backgrounds out of things that aren't intended as backgrounds.  Then I stamped the bowl image on the card and stamped a second one on extra cardstock which I fussy cut after I colored it with Copics.  I attached the colored bowls with foam tape.  Finally, I used two partial stamps to make the sentiment flag.

Have you tried to stretch your stamps this week?  Tell me about it in the comments below and remember that each comment is a chance to win a prize from Unity!

Happy Wednesday! 

 

 

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Proud Operation Write Home Alumni
Cards shipped to OWH in 2014: 21
Cards shipped to OWH in 2013: 829 blank and 301 AnyHero
Cards shipped to OWH in 2012: 1284 blank and 218 AnyHero
Cards shipped to OWH in 2011: 1695

Tuesday, August 27, 2024

GIU 8/27/2024

Happy Tuesday! If you are coming back for another Unity Stamp Company Growing in Unity post, you are in the right place.  

For my GIU week, I decided to challenge myself to make projects using just two kits.  I love the variety of stamps that come in each Kit of the Month.  I also tend to choose more simple sentiments, so I paired this KOTM with a kit that comes with two sentiment dies and matching sentiments. 

https://www.unitystampco.com/its-going-to-be-beautiful-kom-7-17/

It's Going To Be Beautiful {kom 7/17}

https://www.unitystampco.com/blessed-happy-everything-stamp-die-set/ 

Blessed & Happy Everything {stamp & die set}

Today's technique is to use a sketch and to show off your patterned paper.  Lots of times, I will make cards with no stamped image at all and will rely on my (ridiculously large) patterned paper selection with a stamped sentiment to make a clean and simple card.  Why?  I am not a major fan of coloring, in spite of trying several media.  This sketch was one in a monthly series I designed and gave to my mom for Christmas back in 2020. During 2021, we each completed the monthly sketch challenge and sent each other the cards we made.  It was a great way to stay connected while we lived far apart.  


Do you use sketches or patterned paper in your cardmaking?

Be sure to come back each day this week and leave a comment; two lucky commenters will win a prize from Unity.  How cool is that?!?

 

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Proud Operation Write Home Alumni
Cards shipped to OWH in 2014: 21
Cards shipped to OWH in 2013: 829 blank and 301 AnyHero
Cards shipped to OWH in 2012: 1284 blank and 218 AnyHero
Cards shipped to OWH in 2011: 1695

Monday, August 26, 2024

GIU 8/26/24

Welcome to my Growing in Unity week for Unity Stamp Company!  This week, I'm featuring Unity stamps in all of my creations.  I've been stamping with Unity for well over a decade now; I think I got my first stamps from them in 2011 or 2012!

This card is for a friend of mine whose birthday is later in the week. She is a yoga instructor whose favorite color is purple. Time to pop it in the mail! 

I used two inks and a stamp (that was already dirty with blue ink, a happy accident) to create the variety of colors you see on this card.  By stamping twice, I was able to get a dark and a light version of each color; this is a great way to stretch your ink collection if you don't have a huge selection of colors.  What is your favorite ink to work with?  Of the ones I've tried, I really enjoy Ranger Archival, which is what I used on this card.

 


Image stamp: https://www.unitystampco.com/its-going-to-be-beautiful-kom-7-17/

Sentiment: https://www.unitystampco.com/blessed-happy-everything-stamp-die-set/ 

Inks: Ranger Archival Vibrant Fuchsia and Majestic Violet


Be sure to come back each day this week and leave a comment; two lucky commenters will win a prize from Unity.  How cool is that?!?

 

------
Proud Operation Write Home Alumni
Cards shipped to OWH in 2014: 21
Cards shipped to OWH in 2013: 829 blank and 301 AnyHero
Cards shipped to OWH in 2012: 1284 blank and 218 AnyHero
Cards shipped to OWH in 2011: 1695

Friday, June 23, 2023

GIU 6/23

Happy Friday!  Do you have exciting weekend plans?  I can honestly say I don't.  If it stops raining, I'll get back to gardening.  If it's rainy, we'll find an indoor house project because that's a never-ending list!  We bought our house a year ago and today's card is celebrating a friend who is buying their first house and relocating to a different state for work, all at once!  


I used the cute house from Devoted, one of my most favorite images from Unity, and a sentiment from You Can and You Will. I finished up with some Copic coloring and paper punched clouds and a tree. 

Thank you for joining me for my GIU week with Unity Stamp Co!

Thursday, June 22, 2023

GIU 6/22

Last weekend was Father's Day and I needed to make cards for my dad and my father in law.  They enjoy different hobbies, so personalized cards were in order.  

My dad has been an avid golfer for most of my life, so I grabbed some argyle-inspired pattered paper to play on the theme and stamped out the cute golf cart from FORE!!!  I went with a slimline style card so I had more area to show off the patterned paper.  To jazz up the blue cardstock layer, I stamped with one of my most-used Unity backgrounds, Love Life As Is.  It gives a subtle nod to the texture of a golf ball on this card, but it is very versatile!

I grabbed the same Cuttlebug "Harmony" die cut letters to make a card for my father-in-law, who loves bird watching.  I'm not sure if he picked up on what I tried to do with this card, but I took the cute image from the July 2017 Kit of the Month and used my Micron pen to make it look more like a cardinal by adjusting the feathers on the head.  Then I colored the birds to be the color of a male cardinal and a baby cardinal.  The background is an original Brutus Monroe and Unity collaboration, barn wall

Thank you for your kind comments this week.  When the week is through, two commenters will win store credit from Unity, so be sure to leave comments on any post that you might have missed to increase your chances!