Friends of Unity Blog Hop - Things With Wings

 Hey hey... it's May! 

Welcome to another Friends of Unity Blog Hop!

Before we get started - last month I wanted to offer a lucky visitor a gift for stopping in and saying Hi on our Hop.... so congratulations to Linda Longfellow- I would love to give you a little something so if you are reading this.... let me know - I want to brighten your day! 

This month we have a fantastic cue for inspiration for you... Things With Wings!

  Crystal kicked things off with some beautiful inspiration - perfection, always! 

 Be sure to stop in along the Hop and admire all of the stunning cards we have created using our Unity :) 

I had a hard time choosing which Unity stamps to use for this month because we have soooo many unique and beautiful stamps featuring everything from birds to bees, and... everything in between! 

So this month I promise I didn't "go nuts" like last month ;) I have a couple projects to inspire you to dig in to your Unity stash and use our winged beauties!

First up - I created this quick, clean and simple design. Isn't it gorgeous? 

The beautiful butterfly is from KOTM from August 2016 called Open Your Soul. (Note: if you want it on its own you can grab the itty bitty called Words Fail ...enabler alert: it is ON SALE for Unity's 14th bday Bash! Yay!)

 It was stamped on the vellum with Versamark and Stazon and heat-set to be sure it didn't bleed. 

And all the bright color?  A couple months ago, I used the same technique 

to get that beautiful background - it's a "faux" alcohol ink technique that anyone can create, using my alcohol markers on vellum! Here I used some Copics and randomly laid down

 color on the vellum, then dropped rubbing alcohol gently in a few spots.

 I dried everything with just a quick zap of the heat gun, and layered my beautiful sunflower over it (BTW that die is from SU!). The birthday sentiment was from a grab bag Unity was so generously giving out ( I LOVE surprise bags... don't you?)

Next up, this slimline dragonfly card was so fun to create! 

Again, a little bit of coloring and this time I used my Spectrum Noir markers and a wink of Stella to just 

drop a bit of color using Hope and Strength from a collab from Unity and Graciellie Designs. 

That set is well loved - I have it sitting on my desk - it never seems to get put away ;) 

I layered it with leftover vellum and a piece of lovely lilac colored acetate

 I had in my scrap bin. 

Such a nice card to lift someone's spirits right now! 

My last design is based on an amazing gift I received awhile back from fellow Friends of Unity blog hopper (and Unity DT member) Bobbie Sue McConathy. 

She inspires me EVERY day with her talent - I just can't! (picture me talking with my hands when I say that. I. Just. Can't) 

I am obsessed with every card she makes and I was so lucky to receive a "Bobbie Sue" from her awhile back, and I used that design to inspire this calendar card.

This turned out so lovely  and I simply used my Zigs to color up the floral/butterfly from Feb 2021 KOTM called Start of Something New - I love that as a kit member you can go back and purchase past kits at a great price! I have some beauties!  

My old kits are all very well-loved  but from time to time Unity also releases a stamp 

or two as a stand alone image or set as well and this butterfly

 was also chosen to be featured as its own set called Allow Yourself. 

The sentiment however is from another KOTM (Feb 2021) called A Beautiful Mindset.

I layered this on the front of my card and popped it up to add some bulk with some double-sided  foam adhesive sheets (Sizzix has some great ones)

 I wanted my friend to use this calendar and keep this card on their desk all year long to

 brighten their days :) The calendar can even be replaced next year if the special someone

 REALLY loves this card.

Thank you so much for popping in - and I do hope you leave a little love down 

in the comments to let me know you stopped by! 

Next up is Eileen and I am sure she created something beautiful to share! 

Peace, Love n' Ink

Amber