Unity Blog

account

In My Thoughts Girl

- by

Die Cutting for Love

Happy Friday crafty friends!  This is Julissa of Paper Gems by Jules on the blog today sharing a pair of Valentines using a fun combination of stamps and dies.  There are two things I’m hoping you can take away from this blog:  1. You can use your dies to make stencils and 2. You can color almost any stamp to make it fit a holiday or theme.  So let’s get inky!

Let’s start with this rockin’ “Katie Girl” stamp set. She’s got a sassy stance while holding her guitar and she’s going to rock this Valentine look.  I really wanted to give her a rugged look, but still have some love, so I colored her blouse with a bright red and gave her jeans a distressed look using none other than distress ink!

  • Shirt:  R46 & R43
  • Jeans:  B41, BG70 and Vintage Photo Distress Ink to give that dirty distressed look.
  • Boots, Belt & Guitar;  E37, E35, E34, E31
  • Skin:  E53, E51, E21
  • Hair:  E59, E27, E25

For the background, that heart was made from using the Dashes & Frills Hearts dies.  I die cut the second largest stitched heart out of card stock and used it as a stencil.   Before stenciling it, I stamped Worn Music Background using a brown archival ink, die cut it using Scallops & Stitched Rectangles Nesting dies and added distress ink to the edges.  Then I laid the make-shift heart stencil over the background and used Festive Berries & Aged Mahogany Distress ink to color in the heart.  And just like that, this became a Valentine Card for a significant other, daughter or friend that loves music.   Now let’s use an Angie Guy and try this same technique.

For this next Valentine, I paired Sawyer Guy and the Love Me Always Background.  I thought about doing Sawyer’s shirt in the same red, but thought a grungy t-shirt was kind of cooler.  I hid the edge of the bottom of his stamp using a sentiment strip.

  • Shirt:  W4, W2 & W0
  • Jeans:  B41, BG70 and Vintage Photo Distress Ink to give that dirty distressed look.
  • Skin:  E53, E51, E21
  • Hair:  E59, E27, E25

This soft brown background helps make this valentine a little masculine.  And I just love the distressed type font in that background.  What do you think?

Unity Products Used:

Thank you so much for stopping by today and I hope you’ve found some inspiration.  If you are inspired, I’d love for you to tag me when you post your creations on the Unity {Show & Tell} Facebook group or on Instagram.

Until next time… Happy Crafting!

- by

Perfect to Me Ombre

This month’s theme is all about how to maximize your stamps and stencils! Happy Friday, Unies!  This is Julissa of Paper Gems by Jules on the blog today sharing three cards using the new “To Me, You are Perfect” stamp set and a simple ombre inking technique.  This new stamp set comes with 5 pieces:  three floral images, three matching solid stamps that fill in the florals and a beautifully scripted sentiment.

This first card is a simple one.  I did create masks for the floral images in order to layer them. I started with the largest flower in the middle, then masked it before stamping the other two florals using VersaFine Onyx Black.  I did heat set the ink before stamping, just in case.

Using my Misti, I line up the solid larger flower over the larger lined floral image and closed the Misti.  But instead of inking the solid stamp with one color ink (which you can do as well), I used a darker ink on the lower part of the stamp and pressed it on the paper.  Without removing the stamp, I took the next lighter ink and graded the ink a little higher to blend it.  I did this two more times with the next two shades of this pink, giving this great ombre.

For this next card, I used the same inking technique, but rather than doing it one flower, I did it with all of the solid pieces going up the left side of the card piece. For some added fun, I pulled out the amazing Unity Adhesive Transfer sentiments. In order to make it bold, I used the adhesive transfer on Black Licorice Luxury Card Stock and added hot pink transfer foil.

I liked the Hello, but kind of wanted to use more foil and these adhesive transfers because they were so cool and easy to use. I added the “BEAUTIFUL” onto the card front and used the same hot pink foil.  I’ll definitely be using more of these!!

For this last card, I stamped the flowers in the middle of the card front and used the same ombre inking technique.  For the sentiment, I used the “LOVE YOU” from the “In My Thoughts, Girl” Sentiment Kit.  For a little bling, I added some fun Flamenco flat sequins.

Love this ombre inking look and this new stamp set is a great way to highlight some of your favorite ink blends!  I used some inks I had on hand, but Unity just added the GKD Ink Cub Set of three gradients of Carnation Pink!  So while you’re shopping, you might want to add this to your cart!

Supplies used:

Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you found some inspiration for your next crafting adventure.

Until next time… Happy Crafting!

- by

So Much to Say

Happy Friday, Unies!  This is Julissa of Paper Gems by Jules on the blog today sharing how I made four very different cards using just ONE sentiment kit!  Earlier this week I posted a poll asking what you crafters wanted to see more of in the blogs.  The number one request was “multiple uses of one stamp/stencil set.”  As requested, today’s featured set is the May 2021 Sentiment Kit: …In My Thoughts, Girl.  These sentiment kits have so much to say; check it out!

This was the first card made of this series and it’s kind of a clean and simple look, but there’s lots of dimension.  I started with die cutting white card stock using the Scallops and Rectangles Nesting Dies.  Next, I created a square shape with some masking tape and used the new Unchartered Marine Oxide Ink to blend in the color to just that square, creating a focal point.

Next, I stamped the larger floral in the stamp set and the two leaves on the same white card stock and fussy cut them out.  Using foam tape of different thicknesses, I added the flower higher up than the leave, giving this clean looking card, lots of dimension.  With some VersaMark and white embossing powder, I stamped the sentiment and die cut it out with a banner die.

The second card in this series had a little more detail and a romantic feel with the colors used.  I was inspired by some scrap paper that had a pink suede look.  Using Copics, I stamped and colored two smaller florals and both leaves from the Sentiment Kit {Copics: R22, R32, E02, E01, G43, YG61}.  These images, I fussy cut up to the line.

Next, I stamped the Love Story Background stamp on white card stock and die cut it using the Scallops and Rectangles Nesting Dies. I used the same die to cut the black scalloped layer.  Layering these in the center of this card creates a bold look with soft colors.

Try using your stamps to create a background by repeat stamping.  I used a soft grey to create that subtle background.  Next, stamp the smaller floral and the two leaves and color them using Copics or use your favorite coloring medium {Copics: R27, R08, R05, R22, G43, YG61} and fussy cut them out.  I’m loving the look of white embossing on black card stock so I’m going with that again.

A little foam tape allows that one single floral pop on this card.  It’s clean and simple, but still has lots of details.  The type fonts also have a vintage vibe too.

For my last card, I did something a little different.  I made an oval mask and blended some Frayed Burlap Distress Ink into the center of the oval and then removed the stencil.  In the center of the oval, I stamped the sentiment.  For a little extra, I used some Perfect Pearls in Heirloom Gold to splatter diagonally on the card front.

No florals and it’s still looks pretty.  I stamped the two leaves over and over on green card stock using VersaMark and gold embossing powder.  And yes, I fussy cut them all out!  Using that same embossing powder, I created a border on white card stock to create a gold mat for this card front.  Using the line of the oval, I adhered all the leaves using thin foam squares.

Thank you so much for stopping by today and I hope you found some inspiration to pull out one of your favorite stamp sets, new stamp sets or one you just weren’t sure about and get inky with it!

Until next time…

Happy Crafting!