Unity GIU Blog Hop

  Happy Sunday!  Today, a group of ladies and Gents that were GIU artists in September and October are hopping with more fun Unity cards!  More chances for you to enjoy some inspiration and to WIN some fun Unity stamps!

Thanks for stopping by- I have a couple of cards for today.  First, a fun and festive Christmas scene.
This darling Unity set is called Woodland Festivities.  This  scene is watercolored using Daniel Smith paints.  I added shimmer with Stickles.

Next, a card for a family member that is going to become a mom for the first time- lots of changes in the future : )  And, that will make me a Grandmother!
 I just had to paper piece the image- I used mostly SU DSP from my stash. The embellishments are generic from my stash- dew drops which I have in every color : )  The die was purchased from ebay.

                           

Here is the Hop order :

 Katy Duffy Fowlerhttps://www.facebook.com/CastlehouseCards/
Crystal Minkler https://crystalominkler.blogspot.com/
Bernia Febin https://moxiecraftie.blogspot.com/
Shelly  Schmidt https://shellymc2.blogspot.com - You are here
Brandon Leggitt https://tazersfan.wordpress.com/
Bobbie Sue McConathy https://www.two38creations.com/

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

P.S.- Comments on my blog are moderated- Spammers love me : ) 
I get an email alert there are comments and will come approve them shortly.

Thanks for stopping by!
 Shelly

GIU Day 5 more foiling

It's my last day of the Unity GIU week of posting.  It has been so fun- thanks to everyone for such wonderful and encouraging comments!!!  I have also had so much fun creating with foils- I had most of the supplies already- just spent about $13.00 for the week for the foiling supplies !

  I saw THIS tutorial by Gracie of Gracielle Designs, and was smitten!!!  I ordered the Rebekah Meier  Mixed Media tape and the Mixed Media Medium.  (You do NOT need a laminator when you use this).
  I used Distress Spray Broken China , then applied Broken China and Tumbled Glass Distress inks.  I stamped snowflakes from the Joy Girl kit in white ink, black ink and Chipped Sapphire ink.  I added drops of White Ranger paint and silver paint to the background.
  The mixed media medium dries clear, so once dry, I wrinkled up the foil (iridescent- not sure of brand, Silver and gold) and dabbed them onto the three snowflakes.
  I stamped Christine Girl with Black Nuvo Hybrid ink and colored her with Copic markers. I fussy cut it out.   I added Silver Mirror cardstock (Sweet Stamps) on the Teal cardstock, then applied the canvas Mixed Media Strips.  Oh, how I love this!!! Next, I added the fussy cut and colored image.
  I stamped the sentiment in Teal, then in Versamark. I embossed it with Stardust (shimmery) embossing powder. I added Liquid Applique for a puffy look to the edges of the shirt, skirt and hat.

 *I added Decofoil transfer adhesive by painting it onto the red snowflake she is holding and the flourish at her feet.  Once dry, I added the foil.......  * another way to use foil- paint it on just the area of the stamp where you want it.

One more card using the toner sheets.....  I had to try using these since I have 3 packages of them...lol  You cut your die using the toner sheets and run them through the laminator.  You can do it with small dies or large dies......

  I used this large die by Die-Versions. Cut the die and then foiled it- thru the laminator-so easy and stunning!

 This is so pretty IRL!  I added a sentiment from the Woodland Festivities kit.  I dabbed on Decofoil transfer gel to the stamp, stamped it, let it dry then foiled it.  I sponged over the foiled sentiment with distress inks.  I fussy cut it out and added it over the bow.

I made a Splitcoast listing of foiling techniques.  Please stop by and add any new techniques- would love to see what you have done!!!

If you leave a comment each day, you will have a chance to win one of two fabulous grab bags of 25 stamps from Unity Stamps!

(And, did I mention I have an item or two to give away as well?  )

HERE is a link for the day 1 post
HERE is the link for the day 2 post

HERE is the link for the day 3 post
HERE is the link for the day 4 post

Thanks for stopping by!
Shelly

Unity GIU Day 4-sentiments

Today, my GIU post is all about Sentiments : )

 A side view of the shimmer

 This toner sheet was purchased from Gina K, and I used a sparkly red Decofoil on it, also from Gina K.  I sponged on red ink. The shimmery red and the gold cardstocks are Paper Temptress.  The Red frame is cut from a die from MFT. I stamped the sentiment from Full of Merry

A second sentiment from that kit :

For this card, I placed strips of 1/4" double side adhesive tape every 1/4" and alternated the red and gold foils.

 The ruler is a quilting ruler- it has great markings on it for measurements.
On my card, I added a gold frame around the sentiment using a Memory Box stitched die. The leaf die is from Sweet Stamps. I added red Stickles for accent.  There is a Unity Christmas tree stamped in Versamark on the top.

Another toner sheet from Gina K used here:

I sponged on colors in strips in a rainbow theme. The Unity sentiment (from a grab bag) is stamped in purple and embossed in Sparkly EP 

Love the shimmer!

 I decided to add a tied knot instead of this bow, but I have a second bow maker I am going to throw in to the blog candy I am giving away! Plus, some ribbon......

If you leave a comment each day, you will have a chance to win one of two fabulous grab bags of 25 stamps from Unity Stamps!

(And, did I mention I have an item or two to give away as well?  )

HERE is a link for the day 1 post
HERE is the link for the day 2 post

HERE is the link for the day 3 post

Thanks for stopping by!
Shelly

Unity GIU day 3

  It's HUMP day today!!!  And, Happy Halloween!
The cards I am showing today use foil but NO laminator.  I use double sided adhesive for foiling today : )

I stamped the pumpkin twice and the sentiment once from the Unity set Faith Family Fall using Black Nuvo Hybrid ink. Next, on a fresh piece of cardstock, I stamped the Barn Wall image in Distress ink. The pumpkin image is stamped on the base cardstock, and layered with a fussy cut image that is colored with Copics.  The flower top was cut from yet another image that was fussy cut after coloring it in.
  I sponged a touch of Distress ink on the panel and around the edges and added a touch of an orange shade on it as well.
  For the foiling, I took 1/4" score tape and ripped it, added some ripped pieces to random spots on the background.  I used Gold foil that was colored with an E7 Copic marker and added the foil to the areas where there was tape.  Next, I added 1/4" score tape to the paremeter of the card, leaving a mere 1/16" on the edge.  That foil is also gold colored with E7 Copic marker.  On the edge, I colored a border with E37 Copic. I added jewels to the card. The sentiment is embossed with Ranger Queens Gold EP on Vellum, and added to the corner of the card.
 It is very shimmery IRL.....

 Next, I used foil with dies.

This old forgotten cardstock is matched with Pumpkin Pie and Saffron SU cardstock. I stamped the image Pumpkin Blossoms using Black Nuvo Hybrid ink. I used a Gina Marie Die, it was cut with 2" double sided adhesive applied to the cardstock.  The foil adheres to the tape- just burnish it with a bone folder or the edge of a ruler....  I also cut the sentiment BG and added adhesive- added the silver as above.  I used a Memory Box stitched rectangle- repositioned it and cut again to make it smaller.....
  The image was colored with Copics. I so love this sweet image!!!

And, a sampling of a die cut with double sided tape and a die (Lawn Fawn).

The image Hello Pumpkin was stamped in Black Nuvo Hybrid ink. It is colored with Copics,  I cut it out using Gina Marie dies. The Lawn Fawn Hello die was cut out with double sided adhesive on the cardstock.  The foil was burnished over the adhesive.
  Did you also notice the center strip I added under the image?  It is a strip of 1/4" sticky tape- with gold foil burnished over it. Fun accent, huh?  Nice way to add bling to your card and still let the image be center stage!

If you leave a comment each day, you will have a chance to win one of two fabulous grab bags of 25 stamps from Unity Stamps!

(And, did I mention I have an item or two to give away as well?  )

HERE is a link for the Day 1 post
HERE is the link for the day 2 post

Thanks for stopping by!
Shelly

Unity GIU Day 2

Well, since it is fall, I decided to step back a season and use some of my fall images for day 2 of the Unity GIU post : ) 

I used the Deco Foil transfer gel today to stamp my images and then foil them.

My first attempt was a FAIL!!!  The edges of the image were OK, but the center did not take too well. I think I was too skimpy on the amount of gel I used.....

  I did not throw it out though, opportunity for creativity, right???   I sponged around the image with distress ink, then restamped the image and fussy cut it out. After adding some color, I stamped Versamark over the top and embossed over the top with clear EP. I placed it over the foiled leaf, and offset it a touch so the foil peeked out. I think it turned out OK afterall......  This Unity set is called Full of Fall.
  The cardstock is SU Real Red and a metallic gold.

 So, a challenge is something I cannot resist.  I tried a second time to foil the leaf image, and this time- success!  I added some color to the center using an Arteza color brush and outlined the leaf to try to make it stand out. Much prettier IRL, so hard to photograph the shimmery foil!

 I used layers and layers of Distress Inks on the background.  I stamped a few images (from a Unity Grab bag : )  ) on the background. The sentiment is embossed with Ranger Queens Gold EP.  Love, love this card IRL!!!
  The cardstock is SU Cherry Cobbler and I used a gold metallic cardstock from the stash.

One more card using image stamping with Transfer gel

  I learned by watching a video by Gracielle Designs (for Thermoweb), you can color on foil with Copics : )  So, the image(s) from the Give Thanks set were stamped with transfer gel, and I colored Silver foil with E9 Copic marker, and I get a copper looking transfer. When you color on the foil it will look streaky (the ink does not blend on the foil), but I think it looks OK on these images.....
  Cardstock is SU Wild Wasabi and Copper.

If you leave a comment each day, you will have a chance to win one of two fabulous grab bags of 25 stamps from Unity Stamps!

(And, did I mention I have an item or two to give away as well?  )

HERE is a link for the Day 1 post if you missed it.

Thanks for stopping by!
 Shelly

Unity Stamps GIU day One

Hi!  Welcome to my blog.

  This is my first time doing a week of Growing In Unity, aka GIU with Unity Stamps.  I love to try different things and try new techniques.  So, I decided this week to create using Foils!  I have most of the supplies, just need to use them : )  Unity has just added Foils and accessories to their store HERE.

For Day One, I have used a simple toner sheet (This is from Gina K from last year- I do not see it available now).  Terribly hard to photograph the shine and beauty of the foils, but I did my best!!!

                                                              from the side view.

 The toner sheets go through a laminator with the foil and it adheres to the design.  It is a stunning effect and very addictive....lol .  Designers Gina K and Gracie Chavez both work with alot of decofoil products and have video links on their blogs.

 On the toner sheets, you can add color just like regular cardstock- right over the foil. .  I added a variety of Distress inks and Distress Oxide inks on this background.

 This image is Winter Frosty.  I colored it using Copics. I stamped the image and cut around it then glued it onto the background.

 I took the remaining  foil from the project above, and used it on a second card.

 This is Joy girl- I love this stamp!  I added double sided adhesive to cardstock and burnished the foil down, then ran it through the laminator.  The foil I used from project one had 'blank' areas where the foil was used on the 1st project in the shape of the snowflakes.  Those areas will be sticky from the adhesive on the cardstock.   So, I sprinkled snowflake glitter on those areas (Sparkle and Sprinkle). 

  The image was colored with Copics and paper piecing for her shirt and hat. I added shimmer to the ornament and the hat using Wink of Stella.

I will be posting daily this week using foiling techniques.  You do NOT need a laminator to apply the foil- stay tuned!

Thank You to Unity for giving me the opportunity to create using their images this week- I am like a kid in a candy store- so hard to choose which images to use to create with!!!

 If you leave a comment each day, you will have a chance to win one of two fabulous grab bags of 25 stamps from Unity Stamps!

And, did I mention I have an item or two to give away as well?  

In your comments, tell me- Have you tried foiling yet???

I love supporting American made companies like Unity!

Thanks for stopping by!
Shelly