Growing In Unity late July Blog Hop!

How fun to be participating in my VERY FIRST Blog Hop!!!!!  The theme was "anything goes" with your favorite Unity Stamps.  Each and every Unity stamp is a favorite for me, the quality and variety keeps me coming back for more, over and over and over again!

This week, I've been working on holiday planning in my business, so, I decided it was way past due to start designing my 2020 Christmas cards.  I usually work a year ahead, and have my neat little pile already done by this time...but...this has NOT been a typical year, at all...so, here you go...it's July, and I'm just getting to it.

The card I chose to do, didn't even remotely come close to how I planned or pictured it.  I found myself getting more and more sidetracked as I went along...so, I let myself just run with it.  And here is the result....

So if fussy cutting is your thing....this is the card for you!  When I purchased the background "Freshly Cut", I knew these would make adorable die cut trees for future cards.  I intentionally purchase patterned paper with trees just for that very reason...and I knew I could use this stamp for other seasons beyond winter...

My original idea was to create a simple card using "Deer Cart".  In fact, I was inspired to buy this set by a card I had seen shared on the Unity Show and Tell facebook page.  I am hoping to work with this set a little more, and come up a simple design still...it just wasn't going to happen with my first go at it...as I found myself deviating from that plan early on.....

My first deviating started when I decided to use the "Freshly Cut" background stamp....I wanted to stamp on a colored cardstock, but, I wanted it to be smooth....I kept eying my unused Gel Press...and thought it might be the time to take it for a test run.  My first stab at using one, was terribly messy and unfun to clean...that I never thought to try try again (I used acrylic ink on it...that was a huge mess)...(I guess for starters, I should view a YouTube vid or 2 before taking a stab at something...I would have been using my Gel Press a ton more....PLUS...I would have added to my Distress Oxide Inks a little faster than I've been...)

This time, I used my brayer along with my Distress Oxide inks.  I actually have two brayers, one for each color.  I need to get to a place where I don't have to be obsessed with using the same brayer for both inks...I'm not sure I need to clean over and over and over again...I don't want to ruin my ink pads!!!!

I brayered up....mostly the crushed olive-green...but added a little streak of the tea dye-tan to give it an interesting color....

My after result....I finished it up with a (light pressure) canvas background stamp using tea-dye Distressed Ink.  (Odd, I just noticed, both my Distress and Distress Oxide inks are the color tea-dye.  That was not intentional...this was done nights ago, and I'm just seeing the coincidence!

I stamped 2 of these cut 4" x 5-1/4" ..... in Moss Green pigment ink.  I have a ton of inks, so I wasn't choosy, I liked the color of the moss green, and the closest pigment ink pad I had by my fingertips is the one I used.  Pigment ink dries very very slowly, thank goodness, because it gave me time to sprinkle the trees while they were still wet with a "Heat and Stick" adhesive for my glitter.  I powdered the trees up, ran a heat gun over them, and while the trees were sticky still....sprinkled the glitter all over the trees.  I ran another bit of heat over the trees to set them.  This I did twice.  Once for the card background, and the other for me to fussy cut all the trees out, that I needed or wanted to use.  I decided to use most of them...but, that was NOT my first intent.  My first intent was just to use a couple...and probably in the future, one 4" x 5-1/4" glittery trees piece would be enough trees to satisfy 3-4 cards.  I was having fun with this, so I decided our deer was going through a forest....

My deer and cart were colored with alcohol markers.  I chose to use my Copics this time, they really are the superior alcohol markers for me....BUT...I have tried others, and have to say, I like SOME of the less costly alcohol markers out there.  Copics are expensive, and I keep adding to my collection here and there .... (I'm up to about 100)... I just find that using my less pricey ones, I tend to get a little more wild and crazy with, if they dry out, I'm really only out $ .50.  (I bought a set of 72 for about $30 on Amazon. 

The deer cart wasn't having it with my cost efficient markers...so, I used Copics, and know why they are so so quality.  :)  That being said, I wouldn't hesitate to endorse the cheaper ones.  It's a huge investment to build a Copic inventory, so if you just want to play around with alcohol markers, an inexpensive set is a good starters way to go.  (I never mix brands though...I'm afraid I'll ruin my Copics if I do...)

The rest is probably pretty self explanatory.  I hope to find some little poinsettias in place of the burgundy Christmas flowers for the future.  My business makes gift baskets, and we have 34 years worth of silk flowers in our inventory, I think somewhere, I might have little Christmas poinsettias, but, that's going to be a long search...so, I settled with my Primas.  I have had those bottles on the shelf for 20 years!  I was so afraid upon the time of purchase, I'd use them up fast!  (hahaha)....I agonized over the center of the flowers...glad I found little itty bitty gold eyelets in my stash.  I RARELY use eyelets anymore, I used to use them on everything in the past!  I think they are fun, and I see that there are some fun current companies selling really cool ones...

The Unity Stamp Kits Used:

https://www.unitystampco.com/freshly-cut/
https://www.unitystampco.com/deer-cart/
https://www.unitystampco.com/more-sparkle-less-stress/

So, there you have it!  I might pop back on here in the future with a different version of this card, so I hope you check back often, if you don't see a newer version...then you will see some other creation I impulsively jumped into....  I have a desk of "finish the piles" before I really should start something new, but, when the inspiration pops in...it's important to run with it!!!!

I hope you enjoyed your visit, Alaine is the next on the hop! 


1. Dawn https://fromtwinsburgwithlove.blogspot.com/...
3.Angela https://stampingbowd.blogspot.com/.../growing-in-unity...
4. Marica https://marciacreations.wordpress.com/...
5. Doreen https://whereisyourhappyplace.blogspot.com/...
6. Trude https://parentesfantom1.blogspot.com/...
7.Trudi https://thetrudiostudio.blogspot.com/...
8. Alaine https://www.lainiebugdesigns.com/....