Unity - All Lit Up Birthday

Happy Saturday!

Today I have a fun birthday card, using Unity All Lit Up.  I used some watercolor paper and stamped the Happy Birthday image with the balloons.  I stamped the balloons on a piece of white cardstock and colored them with Copic Markers.  I fussy cut out the colored balloons and paper pieced them on the main watercolor paper image.

I looked through my patterned and found a paper pad Paper Studios The Basics which had a rainbow of bright colors with different patterns.  I chose a blue and yellow polka dot and green stripe that matched the colors of balloons. and created a stripe background. 

Copic Colors: Y19, Y21, Y35, Y38, RV11, RV15, B01, B04, YG21, YG23 

Thanks for stopping by...

Blessings,

Deb

Unity - Have Faith Birthday

 Happy Saturday!

Today I have a birthday card using Unity - Have Faith Love is All Around.

The image is cut with a Spellbinders square die with a perforated border.

I colored the image with Copic Markers.

Copic Colors: 

Butterfly - YR12, YR14, YR16, YR18

Flower -YG93, YG95, YG97; V06, V09, V12; E23, E25

Background - B000, B01

The image is matted with vellum that I torn the bottom edge.  The base card and embossed panel is PTI Amethyst Allure. 

Thanks for stopping by...
Blessings to you,
Deb

Unity - Cheesy Birthday

 

Happy Saturday!

Today, I have another birthday card using a super punny stamp set from Unity Stamps called "Cheese Chat".  I thought this would be a funny card for family and friends who live outside Wisconsin.  

I recently cleaned my craftroom and discovered cardstock on my shelf that I had forgotten was there because there were boxes in front of it.  It was the smooth Bazzill cardstock The Angel Company carried the last year or so, which means it has been on my shelf over 15 years.  Can that be possible?  

I found from yellow Bazzill Grapefruit Bliss and created a stenciled background, which looks like cheese.  The stencil was one I got in a set from Amazon several years ago.  The ink I used was PTI Summer Sunrise.  I've seen card samples with a partially stenciled background that fades out, so I thought I would give it a try.  The sentiment is stamped on Pineapple Bliss Bazzill cardstock and cut with DieNamics Circle STAX Set 1 & 2.  Matted the sentiment and the background with PTI Black cardstock.  

The Cheese and grater image was colored with Copic Markers.

Copic Colors:  Y17, Y21, Y38, E31, E33, E37, W1, W3, W4, R39

I cut the colored image with a edge die from DieNamics - Stitched Basics Edges.  I'm finding all kinds fun of things in my craftroom. 

Thanks for stopping by...

Blessing,

Deb

Stamping Bella - Grace the Graduate

Happy Saturday!

It is graduation party season and that is what I'm doing today.  This is the card I made for the graduate, using Stamping Bella - Grace the Graduate.  

It's a stamp set I had in my stash and I used it 7 years ago for one of nieces who was graduating from college.  This is the first card I made with a colored gown rather than black...Love the royal blue!  Erica had a golden yellow sash and cords.  I thought about using cross stitch floss to create the cord, but in the end I just used some ribbon to represent them both.

The image is colored with Copic markers.

Copic Colors: B12, B14, B16, B18; G12, G14, G09; Y32, Y35, Y38

E00, E11, E21, E30, E31, E33, BG000; YR21, YR23, YR24

Since my sewing machine is functional again I matted the image on golden yellow Bazzill cardstock and stitch around the border, switching from a straight single stitch to a zig-zag on 3 of the sides.

This is actually the second card I made.  The first was in purple, which I don't know where that came from.  I had a picture of Erica from graduation in blue and gold and pulled out the purple Copic markers.

Copic Markers: V09, V12, V15, V17; YG63, YG67

Patterned papers are TAC Maggie

Thanks for stopping by...

Blessings to you

Deb

 

Unity - Love Story Anniversary

 Happy Saturday!

Today I have an anniversary card to share and a craftroom organization idea.  First the card, I used Unity - Love Story background and several dies. The happy die cut is from Hero Arts Happy Stamp and cut set.  The hearts and corner accents are from a Die-namics die set Blueprint 32.

Cardstock - PaperTrey Ink White, Pure Poppy and True Black

I stamped the background script on a white panel, then cut the heart out.  The front panel is popped with a piece of red cardstock behind the cut out.  Added the Happy die cut and a fish tail flag with anniversary stamped on it (part of the Hero Arts die and stamp set).  Finished the card off with some corner details and red hearts from Blueprint 32.

I've found so many great dies I had stashed away.  In January, I attempted to better organize my craftroom. One awesome idea I saw last year was from an online card making summit.  They had stampers from all over present card techniques.  Many of them did their card presentation from their craftroom.  I love seeing other people's craft area! I saw this idea in the background and thankfully others in the online class asked about her boards in the background.  She purchased DIY magnetic car decal material from amazon and framed it, then had her dies hanging on the wall right above her die machine - Ingenious!  Here is what mine looks like...

Having my favorite dies readily available really is nice and makes it so easy to use and "put away".  I find I'm using them much more! Die-namics Blueprint 32 is on the board on the right in the upper right hand corner.  My boards are hung with Velcro command strips, so I can take the whole board off if the murphy bed needs to be used.  I purchased a 2 pack of 18x24 magnetic sheet and 18x24" poster frames, which worked perfectly.  The magnetic sheet came rolled up so I let them lay on the floor for a week or so to flatten out while I looked for frames.  I had thought of fitting the sheets in the details of the door but decided not to.  I also cleared off permanent spaces from my die cutting machine and my sewing machine.  Fingers crossed they stay clear, so I can continue to use them easily! 
      

Thanks for stopping by...

Blessings,

Deb

Unity - Peony Ledger Birthday

 Happy Saturday!

Today I have a birthday card using a stamp set from Unity called Peony Ledger.  The image is colored with Copic Markers.  The papers are from The Paper Studio - The Basics.  I chose 3 papers from the pad and made a patchwork.  

I have not done sewing on my cards in quite awhile. My sewing machine wasn't working quite right and I hadn't taken the time to troubleshoot the problem, but with some help from YouTube I got it threaded and tensioned correctly.

Added the sewed patchwork to a white base card and the stitched banner with the Happy Birthday sentiment.

Copic Colors: RV10, RV11, RV13, RV14; 

YG91, YG93, YG95, YG97; YR12, YR14; B000

Thanks for stopping by...

Blessings,

Deb

Unity - Peony Mother's Day

Happy Saturday!

With Mother's Day tomorrow, I have this years Mother's Day card to share today.  I used a Stamp and layered Stencil from Unity called Peony.  

I saw this card layout on Facebook with large flowers in the lower left and upper right corners with an embossed background.  It was the inspiration I needed to use some pieces I had sitting on my desk.   

I had the Spellbinders Tufted 3D embossed panel in my stash.  I created it when I got the folder so I could see when it was like.  

I actually bought the stencil first, there were several sample cards with a white outline so I thought they only used the stencil.  I just could not get it to look right, although I think I used watercolor paints, that could have been my problem.  So, I bought the coordinating stamp set and die when they were on sale.  When I got the Peony stamp and die, I tried it out, stamping the flower cluster on some white cardstock and colored it using the multi-layer stencil.  

The stencil is on 1 large mylar sheet but has 3 steps for the flower and 2 steps for the leaves.  I used PTI Sweet Blush (upper left), Pale Peony (upper middle) and Hibiscus Burst (upper right) ink and blending brush for the flower petals.  The leaves were colored with PTI Green Parakeet and New Leaf ink. The center of the flower was colored with markers. Then, I die cut the colored image.  And there the colored peony images sat for several months on my desk.

One colored image was used for the card, which was the clever part of the layout.  I mounted the larger bloom in the lower left hand corner of the embossed panel (3.75 x 5") with pop dots, the bud is in the corner, then trimmed it.  The medium bloom was mostly cut off and this remanent was used in the upper right corner and trimmed.

I matted the image panel on 4" x 5.25" PTI New Leaf cardstock.  The base card (4.25 x 5.5" folded) is PTI white cardstock.  The sentiment is a Spellbinders stamp set "Sentiments to you". The Happy Mother's Day was stamped on white cardstock and cut with a Spellbinders circle die and matted with a PTI New Leaf circle and added to the front of the card. 

A bright and cheery Mother's Day card.  

It would make a great birthday card too.

Thanks for stopping by...

Blessings,

Deb

 

Unity - Otterly Devoted Anniversary

Happy Saturday!

Today I have the card I made for Mark for our anniversary.  The stamp set is from Unity, "Otterly Devoted".  I stamped the image on PTI Vintage Cream cardstock.  The notebook edge was created by a die from My Favorite Things. 

The image was colored with Copic Markers.

Copic Colors: E30, E34, E35, R02, R05, R08, BG11, BG43

I inked the edges using PTI Kraft ink and blending brush and matted the image with PTI True Black cardstock.  A strip of vintage old newspaper paper finished the card.

Thanks for stopping by...

Blessings,

Deb

Unity - Reel Great Guy

Happy Saturday!

Today, I have a birthday card to share.  The image is Unity - "Reel Great Guy", which is a great set for masculine cards.  I used Unity Postage Nested die to cut the cream linen texture cardstock, then stamped the image of the fishing lures.  The lures were colored with Copic markers.

Copic Colors: E30, E34, E35, R05, R08, BG45, 

BG49, Y32, Y35, YG13, YG17

I aged the edges of the colored image with PTI Kraft ink and a blending brush and matted it with PTI True Black cardstock.  The base card is PTI Vintage Cream.  I used some scraps of barnwood papers and vintage newspaper papers to cover the base card, then added the image and some twine.

Thanks for stopping by...

Blessings,

Deb

Unity - Level Up Birthday

Happy Saturday!

Today I have a birthday card I made for our nephew who turned 40 this week.  I thought this stamp set from Unity - Level Up was perfect.  I remember getting him Gameboy games for his birthday 25-30 years ago, so this image had all the nostalgia along with a fun gaming sentiment. 

I stamped the Loading image on white cardstock then used DieNamics - Stitched Basics Edges die to create the angle cut.  Used a stitch banner die for the sentiment.  I added a stenciled chevron in Soft Stone ink to the white cardstock.  The Gameboy image was colored with Copic Markers and fussy cut out and adhered to the front panel with pop dots.  The base card is white.  I added a piece of blue Bazzill cardstock, then added the white front panel with the image and sentiment.

The second card uses the same layout and the gaming controller from the same stamp set. I fussy cut the controller out, so the plug was free and wrapped around the sentiment.  A fun detail I saw on a Unity card sample for this set.

Copic Colors:  B14, B16, Y32, Y35, R14, R46, W1, W2, W3, 0

Cardstock: Bazzill Loganberry Pie, PTI White

Ink: PTI Soft Stone

Thanks for stopping by...

Blessings,

Deb

Unity - Bot you a Present - Birthday

 Happy Saturday!

Today I have a couple more cards I made with Unity - Bot you a Present.  Similar layout to the Valentine's day card from last month, I changed the die cut to a scallop and base card to PTI Aqua Mist.  The patterned papers are Unity - Love Notes.  I added a sentiment from the stamp set to make it a birthday card.

A third card using patterned paper scraps.

The image is colored with Copic Markers.

Copic Colors: BG11, W0, W1, W2, W3, W7, 

R00, R32, R35, R37, YG05, YG06

Thanks for stopping by...

Blessings,

Deb

Electrical Birthday

 Happy Saturday!

Today I have a birthday card I made for my friend's husband who is an Electrical Engineer.  I could not resist when I saw this circuit board 3D embossing folder by Tim Holtz.  I had to get it.  I embossed a piece of PaperTrey Ink Blueberry Sky cardstock then used a dark gray Copic marker (W7) to color the surface mounted elements.  With a Artistro gold paint pen I colored the electrical traces and vias. 

I matted the circuit board with gold cardstock and added a die cut happy birthday sentiment from Memory Box. 

A pretty quick birthday card.

Thanks for stopping by...

Blessings,

Deb

Spellbinders - Scenic Drive Birthday

Happy Saturday,

Today I have a stenciled card to share.  It uses a 6 layer stencil from Spellbinders called Scenic Drive, which creates the sky, clouds, sun, trees and ground.  

I used PTI Aqua Mist and Hawaiian Shores inks for the sky, Terracotta Tile, Melon Berry and Bright Buttercup for the sun, Ripe Avocado and New Leaf for the trees and Fine Linen, Kraft and Dark Chocolate for the ground.  The inks were applied using the multi-step stencil and blending brushes to create this great retro-graphic scene.  For the puffy clouds are used Light Fluffy Paste for some texture.

I cut the stenciled image and Black mat out using DieNamics Circle STAX Set 1.  I made this card a square card 5.25" square.  I continued part of the sky pattern and ground from the image with Aqua Mist and Kraft cardstock.

The script Happy die cut is from Memory Box and the birthday stamp is from Simon Says Stamp "Happy".  I used a lot of random dies from my stash.  I attended an online cardmaking summit focused on using what you have and it seems to have reminded me I have lots of great things I just need to use them.

Thanks for stopping by...

Blessings,

Deb

Unity - Robot Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!

Today I have the card I made for Mark.  It uses a stamps and papers from Unity, called "Bot you a present" and "Love Notes".

I stamped the robot image on white cardstock with Memento ink and colored it with Copic markers.  Then cut it out the shape using Unity Postage nesting dies.

The base card is PTI Pure Poppy.  

Copic Colors: BG11, YG05, YG06, R00, R02, R32, R35, R37, R39

W2, W3, W4, W7, 0

Thanks for stopping by...

Blessings,

Deb

Unity - Someone Left the Gate Open

 

Happy Saturday!

Today, I have a birthday card I made for my sister-in-law, who I found out over Christmas loves cows.  I saw this image from Unity - Someone Left the Gate Open and had to get it.  I think is a really fun image and was on sale.

I stamped the cow image on the PTI Vintage Cream base card and also on white cardstock.  The image stamped on white cardstock was colored with Copic markers.  I extended the neck of the cow image slightly, maybe 1/4".  

  I fussy cut the colored image cutting off the whiskers and adhered it to the base card which was stamped also to show the whiskers.  Then, added some weathered barnwood patterned paper to create a wall for the cow to look over, with sentiment sign and black cardstock trim.  

I saw a card sample on Unity's website with the cow image looking out the barn door which was the inspiration for this card.

Copic colors:

0, E50, E51, W0, W1, W2, W3, N7, YR01

This card just makes me smile.

Thanks for stopping by...

Blessings,

Deb

Unity - Nature's Escape Birthday

 

Happy Saturday!

Today, I have a birthday card using Unity "Nature's Escape" which was a stamp of the month in June 2024.  Took my quite awhile to use it, I had a subscription in 2024 and I still have a few from that year to ink up.  I stamped the image on white cardstock with Memento Ink.  The image seemed daunting to color at first.  I used Copic markers.  I was pleasantly surprised how this card turned out.

I used some PTI Kraft ink and a blending brush to age the edges of the colored image and sentiment.  To add some texture, I used a woodgrain embossing folder and Chocolate cardstock for the panel to mount the image and sentiment.

I was looking through my stash of brads, looking for something like a screw head brad and found this brad with a loop.  I forgot about these, added some twine to the loop on the brad and knotted the ends.  The perfect embellishment.

Copic Colors: YR23, YR68, R46, R59, B12, B16, B21, 

YG13, YG17, YG67, E31, E33, E35, E37 and 0 for blending. 

Cardstock: PaperTrey Ink White, Kraft, Chocolate

Embossing folder: Big Shot Pinewood Plank

Embellishment: Brad with loop and twine

Thanks for stopping by...

Blessings,

Deb

BetterPress - To my Favorite Person

Happy Saturday!

It's my first post of 2026!  I have the birthday card I made for our niece to share today.  She turned 29 a couple weeks ago.  I'm not sure where the time has gone.  Seems like yesterday we picked her up at daycare, which is a sweet memory. She was playing in the sandbox and looked up to see us, then ran to us with the biggest smile.

I used the BetterPress plate that came with the Spellbinders BetterPress system.  It did not have a name on it, but the sentiment is 'to my favorite person".  

I used a Unity scalloped nested die to cut some PaperTrey Ink white cardstock and taped it to the clear plate.  Then positioned the BetterPress image plate on the magnetic mat, applied Memento ink and ran the BetterPress through my Spellbinders Platinum Machine.  The sentiment is from PaperTrey Ink retired Fillable Frames #4.  I colored the flowers and leaves with Prismacolor colored pencils. 

I experimented with the special inks and paper the system came with; they are nice.  However, I think the even pressure you get putting the BetterPress through the Spellbinders machine is really the key to the crisp image and the beauty of this system. 

A pretty card, with some patterned paper, an ribbed embossed panel and white organza ribbon from my stash.  I'm trying really hard to use all the pretty things I've accumulated over my many years of cardmaking.

Thanks for stopping by...

Blessings,

Deb

Christmas Joy Wreath

Merry Christmas!

Today I'm sharing the last Christmas card I made this year.  It uses several dies, the Nativity Joy is from InLoveArtShop and wreath from Amazon plus a woodgrain embossing folder from Stampin' UP!

I cut 2 wreaths out of 2 shades of cardstock, PTI Ripe Avocado and Olive Twist and layered them.  The bow and Joy Nativity are cut from PTI Pure Poppy.  

The White panel was run though the BigShot using Pinewood Planks Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder.  The embossed panel is layered on a PTI Olive Twist base card.  Then I added the layered wreath.  The Red Joy was added with pop dots.  Lastly, I added a few red gems to the wreath to finish.

Thanks for stopping by...

Hope you have a blessed Christmas!

Deb

Unity Simple Little Wishes

 Happy Saturday!

Today is day 6 of my 2025 Christmas creations.

The postage stamp die cut is from Unity.  I cut PTI White cardstock with the die.  The stamp set is from Unity Stamps - Simple Little Wishes, which I stamped with Black Memento ink on the die cut and colored with Copic markers.  I gave it a vintage look using PTI Kraft ink and a blending brush, inking the edges.  I added a bit of Copic white paint to the red bulb on the tree.  I love this nostalgic image.

The patterned papers were from a Michaels 12x12 Christmas paper pad from 10-15 years ago.  One thing I have been trying to do the last couple years is to use what I have for Christmas cards.  This means creating more designs; last year I believe I had 7 designs, this year 9 card designs!

I ran the Kraft ink pad over the edges of the patterned papers and the PTI White base card too.  I added a few gems from Amazon to finish it off. 

The second version has the reversed patterned papers.

I'm not sure which version I like better.
I know the plaid was easier to line up the image.

Thanks for stopping by...

Blessings,

Deb

 

Peace on Earth

Happy Saturday!

Today is day 5 of my 2025 Christmas card creations.  This is another simple white, blue and gold card.  

I found this star die cut set on Amazon.  There were several dies in the set to create a layered star.  I cut 2 in gold and 2 in white and glued them together. 

The Peace on Earth sentiment is an old stamp from The Angel Company, which I stamped in PTI Enchanted Evening ink on PTI White cardstock.

I created an Enchanted Evening panel and matted in Gold.  Then I added the sentiment and adhered the star with pop dots.

Thanks for stopping by,

I have a nostalgic card tomorrow...

Blessing to you,

Deb