Friends of Unity Dec Blog Hop + Anniversary Giveaways

​Welcome to our December Friends of Unity Blog Hop as we celebrate our 2nd Anniversary!!! We have had so much fun blog hopping together, sharing our themed projects each month with you all, building new friendships, and supporting one another!

And to thank you for supporting our crafty adventures we are excited to GIVEAWAY (2) super HUGE craft prize packages on 12/14/19, generously donated by Unity Stamp Company (see winners link below),  and introduce you to: (3) Fabulously talented Guest Designers: Donna Baes, Shannon Edwards, and Jessica Pickeral who are joining us this month;
and a wonderful Blog Hop with even more giveaways to win along the way and tons of amazing inspiration!!!  ​Scroll down and get started...

***
But before I get started...check back to all of our November Blog Hops to see if you are one of the many Winners and claim your prizes!!!
​​Christine K. 
is our Winner here at My Kraft Kloset, for November 2019! 
Congratulations!!! 
***

​Now onto the Blog Hop! Where several amazing designer friends and myself share our love (and obsessions) of all things Unity Stamps each month with a new theme. 
And this months Blog Hop theme is... All is Calm!!!

​I start every theme with "what does that mean to me?" As it can be interpreted in so many different ways, which you'll see along our hop. I focused on the calm and the peace I find in winter. And was inspired by nature, a beautiful forest, the first snow glistening, and snowflakes, that all remind me of my winters growing up in Michigan and Colorado. And there is nothing like that first snow. Everything covered in a fresh blanket of pure white frost. So calm, peaceful, sparkly, and magical!​

I started with white cardstock and blended a few distress ink colors to create the wintry sky. Using a MISTI stamp tool to line up my scene. Rubbed with an anti-static pouch, and I inked up the trees with clear ink, stamped on the right, and sprinkled with silver embossing powder, and heat set. Then lined up the deer and stamped and embossed in silver. And stamped another row of trees on the left and embossed in silver. Then blended blue ink below the tree line to create the snow line and snow banks. In a contained box, sprayed white pearl mica sparkles over scene to create snowflakes and sparkle of the snow. Dab to dry and heat set, because all embossing will stick to distress oxide inks. Once dry, stamp sentiment with blue distress oxide ink, sprinkle with clear embossing powder, and heat set. Added glitter glue below the trees, a few snowflakes, and created a snow bank of sparkle. Once dry, adhered scene to a navy cardstock matte border ¼” larger, and a silver glitter cardstock ¼” larger, then adhered to a white card stock base (not shown) to complete.

Here is a close up of all that shimmer and shine of the silver embossing powder, the diamond stickles glitter glue, and the clear embossing on the sentiment over distress oxide ink.

My second card continued that peace with lots of glistening snowflakes on this amazing background stamp, heat embossed, and ink blended on kraft cardstock. 

I cut a piece of kraft cardstock A2 size and blended with a few distress oxide ink colors around the edges. And added white ink with some blue in the center. Using a MISTI stamp tool, lined up the snowflake border stamp, inked up with clear ink, stamped, sprinkled with white embossing powder, and heat set. TIP: heat set the distress oxide inks BEFORE you heat emboss or it will stick to everything and use an anti-static pouch. Luckily, it had dried enough that it didn’t stick everywhere, but just a few strays added to our flakey panel. Next stamped sentiment with blue distress oxide ink, sprinkled with clear embossing powder, and heat set. Trimmed off ¼” on two sides and adhered to an A2 navy cardstock base. Adhered a band of silver glitter cardstock across the front. Added sequins and a snowflake brad to complete.

And there you have it...my version of all is calm in winter!
I hope I've inspired you to mix and match your stamps, products, and techniques and try some new things and see where it takes you!
​The possibilities are endless!
​
Thank You for stopping by!
Happy Holidays & a Crafty New Year!
~Kim & family
​

​​Pssst! Are you still with me???
To enter this GIVEAWAY use the
Rafflecopter box below. 
The more boxes you check the greater your chances.
One winner will be selected randomly at each giveaway, 
contacted via email or private messaging. All other giveaways will be
​announced ​in our next Blog Hop on Jan.4, 2020. ​
Good luck!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

==> The BLOG HOP starts below <==
Be sure to go back to the beginning & hop with 
ALL of these talented 
Friends of Unity Designers 
for more Giveaways, Inspiration, & click on their names below & leave us some love in comments to win! 

Crystal O. Minkler
Eileen Mathys
Joyce Verdon
Dawn Bryson
Alaine Tanner
                            Kim Klinkovsky <= you are here
Amber Trubiak
Jeanie M. Hays
Dawn Fields
Robyn Jordan
and
Guest Designers:
Donna Baes
Shannon Edwards
Jessica Pickeral

Disclaimer: We designers on the Friends of Unity design team appreciate every single comment we get. That's why we use our own stash every month for a giveaway. We are NOT paid or sponsored by Unity Stamp Co., but they do approve of our hop, and that makes us all very happy. We started this hop because we love Unity Stamps. That's it. This hop is our way of showcasing our cards made with our favorite Unity Stamps and to inspire others along the way!

*
​Click ​the pink button below and never miss an announcement, 
Blog Hops, Challenges, Giveaways, Craft Tutorials, & so much more! 
*
​​See more inspiration on these social media networks: 
Instagram | Facebook | Pinterest | Twitter | Bloglovin

Click to Follow Blog

Supplies {affils}: 
(Card #1): Unity Stamp Company: Northwoods Peace and Cheerful Prancing; Papertrey Ink white cardstock; AC glitter cardstock; MISTI stamping tool; Ranger Ink Distress Oxide ink-Faded Jeans (sentiment), Ranger Ink Distress Inks-Weathered Wood, Stormy Sky, Shaded Lilac, Milled Lavender, & Spun Sugar; Versamark clear ink; Ranger Ink Super Fine Silver embossing powder and clear embossing powder; Ranger Ink Anti-Static Pouch; Ranger Ink Diamond Stickles glitter glue; Marvy Uchida heat tool; Picket Fence - Life Changing Blending Brush; Splat Box; Tattered Angels-Glimmer Mist white pearl spray; and 1/2" Scor-tape adhesive.  

(Card #2): 
Unity Stamp Company: Burst of Flakes (border backgrounds), sentiment from A Christmas Hello, and Cinderella Sequins; Papertrey Ink navy cardstock; Brutus Monroe lunch bag kraft cardstock; AC glitter cardstock; MISTI stamping tool; Ranger Ink Distress Oxide ink-Faded Jeans and Salty Ocean; Ranger Ink Distress Inks-Blueprint Sketch; Versamark clear ink; Gina K Designs-white pigment ink; Ranger Ink Super white seafoam embossing powder and clear embossing powder; Marvy Uchida heat tool; Ranger Ink Anti-Static Pouch; Picket Fence - Life Changing Blending Brush;  Tombow Mono Liquid adhesive; and 1/2" Scor-tape adhesive.  


Challenges:
The Holly & Ivy Christmas Challenge # 61 - Anything Christmas Goes
MLCCB #17 - December Anything Christmas Goes
All Sorts Challenge Week 549 -Snowmen and/or Snowflakes
LTSCB #128 - Christmas Bingo-(I used letter N: blue, snowflake, silver)
LTCCB #41 - December Anything Goes
KRAFTY CHICKS CHALLENGE #484, YEAR END-YOUR FAVORITE STAMP-(I love this reindeer stamp for many occasions)
WWC250 - Helen's Feminine "Anything Goes" Challenge
Simon Says Mon Challenge: Lets Sparkle (both cards sparkle and I used Brutus Monroe Lunchbag kraft cardstock on 2nd card-snowflakes base)
52cct Dec-Pick a Previous 2019 Challenge (heat embossing Jan 2019)

Dec 2019 Challenge Winner

<<<<<< UPDATE: (2) Grand Prize Winners
announced 12/14/19!!! Is it you???
Click link below to find out >>>>>>>
(2) HUGE Unity package winners will be selected randomly from the comments on each of our blogs and will be selected/notified on Dec. 14th.
Winners for the Unity Prize packages will be announced on December 14th in the Unity Show & Tell Facebook group... are you a member of the group? You can join by clicking ---> here!! 
​Or go to Crystals blog for the winners!!!