Friends of Unity Blog Hop: Inspired By ...

 

Hey hey, it's May! 

I cannot believe that May is already here, we have had amazing temps the last few weeks, and it finally looks like winter can be put behind us for good... we skipped spring and went straight to summer mode around here! No complaints here - but I sure have been busy!

This month the Friends of Unity have a special cue for you ... Inspired By.... and this can mean so many things! (BTW, we have our amazing Bobbie Sue to thank for this cue, and she is truly an inspiration herself!) I am the last stop on the Hop, so if you have checked it all out... you have SEEN just how inspiring each project has been! ( If you didn't hop over here from Joyce's Blog... you can check it out HERE.)

 Inspiration can come from so many things... from an image... or someone inspiring you, just to name a few.... I love looking at other cardmaker's takes on a cue. Unity has soooo many stamps and fifty of us could take exactly the same stamp... and create 50 different, unique and beautiful designs.... that's the beauty of it! We inspire each other every day! 
So what do you get inspiration from?  Here's a few cards I created and the inspo behind them! 

My first card I designed is inspired by those amazing ladies unique to Unity Stamps... Angie Girls.

Unity just turned 15 this month - and Angie Girls have been around for 10 years! 
Created by Angie Blom, I think all of us Unies can admit our love affair with them! I have lost count on how many there are - but I want them ALL! 
I inked up one of my all-time favorites, Emerson Girl, and the sentiment was a perfect fit for the cue! I created this "eclipse" card, using Unity's Dashes and Frills Heart dies. 
I colored just a portion of her, using the following:
Copics:
B00, B000 (scarf)
E000, E00, R01 (skintones)
C3, C5, C7, BV01 (hair)
Spectrum Noir:
RB3, RB2, GB9 (jacket) 

I used an embossing folder from SU called Timeworn Type to add a bit of dimension and cut this layer using a Penny Black stitched die to attach to my base.  I love how this card turned out! The Angie Girls are always on my list of go-to Unity stamps for when I have a card to make for someone special. 

Next up... two projects inspired by where I live... the land of Living Skies ;) 

I am so grateful to live in the North, and while I haven't always held a lot of gratitude (maybe its the 7 months of winter... weeks of sometimes  minus forty degree temps...the snow.. the mosquitoes that are the size of sparrows....) Ok, I could go on.... but... then... you go out and look into the night skies.... and see this... 

On any given night, our skies can put on a spectacular show...

It's one of the biggest things I missed when I moved south years ago. I moved back home and quite simply... there is nothing like it. 

Ink blending is NOT my forte... and I couldn't hold a candle to the colors of some of our night skies... but I tried to do her justice. 
Inks used: (Tim Holtz Distress) Twisted Citron, Faded Jeans, Black Soot, Uncharted Mariner (oxide)

I inked up Woodland Layers over this night sky panel , and simply added flicks of water for the starry sky. (Note - I wanted a couple of those stars to really "pop" so a couple dots of white gel pen were added)
I fussy cut a sentiment from Whit's Words  and popped it up for a wee bit of dimension. 

I had so much fun with those Northern Lights... I thought I would try again... different night/different sky, right? 

This time, I used Tim Holtz Distress inks in Chipped Sapphire, Peacock Feather, Cracked Pistachio, Seedless Preserves and Black Soot. I flicked my Aqua painter brush for those "stars". 
 Ink blending is a labor of love (I can spot a few "spots") and the more you work those layers in, the better it looks - I still need practice. I simply stamped the image from Unity's Happy and Cozy and added one of the sentiments from the Cut Apart Sentiment Strips. 

That night sky 💓 Living in the North does come with advantages. Just keep looking up ;) 

My final card for this month's Blog Hop is inspired by all of you - we all share one common denominator... and that's our love of this little stamp company. 

Bobbie Sue again was an inspiration behind this idea, she sent me an original "Bobbie Sue" creation a couple years ago, and I thought it was a great gift (I still keep hers on my desk - for inspiration!)
  I used Rebuild Your Life and watercolored it using Zig Realbrush and an Aqua Painter. It is mounted on thick adhesive foam and layered on a card base, so that you could add the calendar and keep it on your desk all year long (if you REALLY love it, you can add another calendar year after year!) 
You can still tuck a sweet note inside to give to someone that inspires you as well. 

I hope my cards this month inspire YOU to create something fun with your Unity Stamps. I look forward to  seeing all of your makes and what you come up with! 

If you want to start at the beginning of our Hop, head over to Crystal's Blog - she inspires us with her creativity on the daily! 

Thanks for stopping by!

Peace Love n' Ink 

Amber