Spread Joy, Not Germs Blog Hop

Hello! (Insert excited squeal here!)

I am SO excited to be a part of this amazingly creative group of artists for Catherine Pooler's 
#spreadjoynotgerms Blog Hop! 
We have over 150 participants - can you believe it?! And we TOTALLY want to spread joy - that's what this is all about - so our sponsors have been incredibly generous and shared prizes galore!

More than ever - we are trying to CREATE happy and send HOPE!  I love being able to make something that puts a smile on someone's face - even for  a minute. We could all use more of that, right? Let me show you just a couple projects I designed with happy thoughts in mind! 
I created my projects for the hop with one of my favorite stamp companies - Unity Stamps!

This card is for a wonderful new bundle of joy  that arrived just this week! 

I just love this stamp set for baby cards - it is called My Little Lamb, and I have inked it up over and over for a quick card to spread a little love! 

For this card, I stamped with Versafine Ink in Nocturne, and used my Zig real brush markers to give just a touch of color (A very light touch is a must!) In fact, I used a light dab from my aqua painter on that sweet pink bow.  I tore that edge and layered it over a piece of kraft cardstock that I ran through my Bigshot, using the corrugated 3D embossing folder from SU! The sentiment was popped up and everything was layered over a pretty pink paper  from Simple Stories - called Simple Vintage Garden District. I just wanted a simple embellishment for this card, my go-to is a bit of linen thread, and some simple epoxy dots. 

Next up, a little something to spread encouragement!

This design uses Looking Up, a Layers of Life kit. This  was a subscription  that Unity had ... and I LOVED IT! The great thing is - they never retire - and you can still grab them!

I wanted to create the look of watercolor/alcohol ink sky on a vellum layer... but... I have NO alcohol ink! So I improvised. I created my own, simply by using some Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Shabby Shutters, Faded Jeans and Chipped Sapphire. I smudged them over a silicone crafting mat, and lightly misted it with a touch of water, and "smooshed" that vellum on top.
When I turned it right side up I simply added a few drops of rubbing alcohol to it - BOOM! instant background! (I heat-set it with a blast of my heat gun  just to keep the colors from getting too muddy.) 

I inked up the stamp with Versamark and black and used a clear embossing powder over it for a bit of shine!
A little more heat, and that layer was complete. I wanted it to pop, so a white layer sits behind it. I also had a scrap of watercolor paper I had  from a previous project that was a perfect match - it was put together on top of a shimmery silver cardstock base.  Just a bit of black thread and some Liquid Glass dots finished it off!




My final Unity design uses a combination of two sets - the image from Done in Love was inked up with Versafine ink and lightly watercolored, and the layer was cut out with a Penny Black die called Antique frame. 



The sentiment is from a kit called Sometimes I Wonder, and it is a perfect fit right now for a card to send a little love and joy in the mail. 

I had a little leftover vellum still on my desk - so I wanted to  use it. We can't waste anything now, can we, crafty sisters? :) 
That beautiful Perfect Plum cardstock coordinated nicely with a patterned paper from my scrap bin. I can't wait to send this to a friend!

 

 As you enjoy our Blog Hop, leave as many comments on as many blogs as you can! The prizes will be randomly drawn from all the blogs and all the comments. There are even some freebies and giveaways on our sponsor pages! So be sure to check them all out too!

I love Unity stamps and you have a chance to win some Unity goodness of your own!

Check out Unity here!

Deadline to enter is April 24 for prizes. Winners will be announced on Monday, April 27 on Catherine's blog, which you can get to HERE.

Here are just a few of the companies that  want you to spread joy :) 
For a full list of prizes AND our Hop participants, you can always check out Hedgehog Hollow 
HERE.

Next up, Josefine has something AMAZING to show you! You really need to check it out!

Go here!


I want to thank you SO much for making this a stop along your hop! :)  
Be sure to leave me some love in the comments below so I know you stopped by!



Love, Peace n' Ink