making magic...

Hello my wonderful friends!

It's time for another Unity hop!

(and sale!)

I can't believe we're at 40,000 FB friends… You guys are seriously AWESOME!

If you are arriving here from Kary's blog you are right on track... if not, go ahead and start at the beginning by clicking HERE.. You don't want to miss any of the fabulous inspiration (or chances to win!)

So, ya wanna know what I've been doing the past few days?

(KOM subscription freebe, 25 Days of Christmas)

This, my friends, is 60 Christmas cards! Yes, you read that right! Funny story about it… I went to a Scout fundraiser to help decorate. I stayed for it because my ride was helping with the auction. I took the cards to work on watercoloring them… might as well be productive while waiting, right? A friend of mine saw me and asked about them… The next day, he saw me again and asked if they were done yet… UMMM I've got SIXTY to hand color…nope, I'm not done yet! Ha! 

It actually did go fairly fast. I started them Saturday, and finished gluing them together Tuesday night…. Yup, I'm pretty proud of that! Now on to the 60 gifts to go with them.. then the birthday cards and gifts for next year… Sigh… I hope the kids like them!

(Chicken Wire Background, Happy Thankful, & Blessed KOM, Thanks & Giving)

I love background stamps… and the Chicken Wire Background is one of my most used Unity backgrounds! I love how subtle yet effective it is with the tone on tone stamping!  The sentiment is a fun one from the new Thanks & Giving kit (released today!!!). I love how it can be used as either an element or focal point in a card. Yay for awesomely designed stamps! And that flower from this month's KOM… yeah, be still my heart, LOVE. (actually, there are several heart-stealers in that kit!)

When I was making this card, I decided to pull out my Lindy's Stamp Gang Flat Magicals. (these are a HIGHLY pigmented powders with a built in binder, so you just need to add water or other wet medium… So much fun to work with!)

There are TONS of ways to use the Magicals powders, but here is one that I ADORE because it is super simple yet the end result looks complex, and is distinctively unique each time…

Step 1: Ink up your stamp with a clear embossing ink and stamp onto your paper. Different papers will give you different results… I like to use a mixed media or watercolor paper because I like the play it gives the water…

Step 2: Use a DRY paint brush to dust Magical colors over your image. You have all the control you want… brush colors on randomly, or carefully apply to specific areas.. your choice. They will be dull and blasé right now, but don't worry. 

(yeah, so my stamped image didn't come out completely clear… that's what I get for not cleaning my stamps real well… it still works, and ended up showing up better for the picts. LOL!)

Step 3: Here is where the "magic" part of Magicals takes place… once you are done painting on the powder, dust off the excess, then lightly mist with water… the colors will POP.. so will all the stray specs of powder that you didn't even know were still on the paper. 

One of the fun things about Magicals is how they are made… each color is NOT made up of an individual pigment… instead, it is the combination of multiple pigment particles. They blend wonderfully when stirred into water or other medium, but when you just spritz lightly with water, you get speckles of differential colors.. SO FUN! 

Be careful not to over spray.. if it gets too wet, the colors will all just run and bleed… great for backgrounds, not so great for a stamped image. 

And, as a bonus tip… if you are looking for a fun way to add just a touch of dimension and texture, try Ranger's Enamel Accents… it comes in Black and White…it's like Glossy Accents but opaque. Supper fun. If you make dots with it, the peak will sink into it, leaving you with a beautiful dome. Yup, pretty awesome!

Don't forget---
 Leave a comment on EACH blog in the hop (including the Unity blog) for your chance to win.  The winners will be announced Saturday night on the Unity blog.

Your next stop is Lisa!

Enjoy!