Unity Stamp Challenge

I've got a card today that was inspired by the current Unity Stamp Challenge. My card is loosely based on the card sketch they provided.

Here's my interpretation:

I started with a piece of watercolor paper, and stamped the bicycle image (Reasons to Smile by Unity Stamp) with Versafine Onyx Black. I covered the wet ink with clear embossing powder and heat set it.

Next I pulled out several color of Distress inks and rubbed some of the color on my non-stick craft sheet. Using water and a brush, I applied the inks in a watercolor style. I set it aside to dry while I worked on the card background. (After it was dry, I rounded the edges with a Corner Chomper and stitched it to piece of gray cardstock.)

I thought it would be nice to have the effect of rays of sun coming down from the top left, so I chose the Stripes stencil from Tim Holtz and rubbed Squeezed Lemonade Distress ink through the stencil using an ink blending tool. To mimic the stripes on the card sketch, I used some complementary papers from Vintage Bliss by Simple Stories.

For the sentiment (Big Summertime Bouquet by Unity Stamp), I blended Tumbled Glass Distress ink on a scrap of white paper, then stamped the image with Versafine Black and heat embossed the same way I did the bicycle. I cut the strip with notched ends, and layered it on a scrap of black cardstock. 

Everything was layered on the card base with adhesive - for the smaller pieces, I find it easier to use glue.

Happy crafting!

Immi

Distress Watercolor Card

I had some fun trying out a new stamp set from Unity . I particularly like the designs of Phyllis Harris - they are sweet and whimsical. They are also great for coloring techniques. I am such a beginner at coloring of any type; some artists are quite skilled!

I stamped my image on some watercolor paper, using Archival Gray ink which does not bleed when wet. It also provides more softness than stark black. Using several shades of Distress Inks, I would rub the ink pad onto my Ranger craft sheet, then apply to the paper with a wet brush.When I had all the coloring done, I mounted the panel onto a blue patterned cardstock, leaving a wider margin on the right hand side. I tied some thin brown twine twice around both papers and tied it in a simple knot.

Before mounting this panel onto the striped paper, I added several strips of 3M foam tape to the back to help even things out since the twine added some bulk. Then I stamped my sentiment directly onto the striped paper with Hero Arts Black ink. Everything was mounted onto a kraft cardstock base.

Below is the inspirational image from the Unity website; I chose to try to follow this color scheme and will like this up to the current Unity challenge.

Inspiration Image

Till next time,

Immi