so many friends...

Hello my wonderful friends!

It's time for another Unity hop!

(and sale!)

Unity is almost to 60K friends on Facebook, and we are celebrating with new designs and free stamps! Yay!

Speaking of celebrating... 

(Magic of Beginnings, Numbers etc)

I needed a birthday card for my brother in law... I don't know why, but masculine cards are just kinda tricky for me. Especially if I don't want to use puns or sports. This card was an amazingly simple solution to my problem, and can easily be altered to fit ANY occasion!....

 I've had this awesome blue and purple Gelli print laying around for a while now (but any patterned or even plain card stock would work)... I added some quick strips of patterns using black Archival Ink (since I was stamping on top of acrylic paint) and some Unity stamps.. I love the contrast! The silver is a foil tape. I cut strips, and also ran it through my die cut machine... Worked like a charm. While making it harder to photograph, the foil gave it the perfect amount of spark without making it girly. I'm really loving the foil trend!

(Being Kind Strengthens Others, Magic of Beginnings)

"Some people strengthen others just by being the kind of people they are. -John M. Garner"

This adorable little girl is not mine. I have been babysitting her on Sundays during church for a while now. I love her sweet smile and loving, accepting nature. She has been a healing balm for me. She truly has strengthened me, just by sharing her sweet spirit with me.  I am going to miss her now that she is old enough to go to her own class. 

The LO was inspired by our challenge... you can still play along! Obviously I didn't stick perfectly to the sketch... but it was my starting point. I love that about sketches. Everyone's take is unique! 

I adore this lace stamp from Magic of Beginnings! A little heat embossing for texture, then layered with real lace, Angelina Fibers and some bling... Love.

Ok, so if you've been following the hop, you have probably seen this new kit....

This one uses a BRAND NEW kit that is FREE with ever $60 order placed this weekend! Isn't is SUPER adorable?

I love that little bird!

I also love background stamps... and combining stamps to make something fabulously new! This is not only a fun and easy way to stretch your stamps, it is also a quick and easy way to add color and texture to an image... without the need for any coloring skills! 

Step 1: Stamp your image onto a scrap piece of paper. Then carefully cut out the part you want "colored". Because we are essentially making a custom stencil, you want to make sure  you cut JUST barely on the OUTSIDE of the line. This will ensure you won't have the white "halo" around the entire inside of the image. *tip: you can save your stencil to use over and over... I just slip mine in with the stamp kit so it's handy for next time.

*Note: when you are making a MASK you do just the opposite. Cut just INSIDE the line to avoid the dreaded halo*

Step 2: Stamp your image on your project, then tape your stencil over top. (if you have uncovered edges sticking out from under your stencil like I did, you may want to stick a scrap paper over them just to protect them.... for my texture stamp it didn't matter because it is a small background stamp.)

Step 3: ink up your background/texture stamp, and press firmly through your stencil. I have found it works much better if you DON'T mount your stamp for this, and just use your fingers to really press the stamp through.

I used the distressed dots from the Love in Return kit for this... it worked out PERFECTLY. I used the same stamp around the edges of the card to make it all match... Try it out with any of your texture or background stamps... or even other images or sentiments... The possibilities are endless! 

That's it for me today...

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 Monday on the Unity blog.

Enjoy!