Life is Sweeter

One of my favorite stamp companies, Unity Stamp Co., is celebrating its second birthday this week. I've been a Kit of the Month subscriber almost since the kits were first introduced and I always look forward to having one arrive in my mailbox. I used the last two kits for the cards in this post.

This card was made for last week’s Hip Hop sketch challenge. I love the cute gumball machine image from March’s Kit of the Month—it’s just too cute! I colored it in bright colors with Copic markers, and then paired it with some dotted Martha Stewart paper I found while cleaning out some stuff. I’ve been doing a little reorganizing and thinning out of my stash with the arrival of Chloe the cutie puppy. My system of precariously balanced stacks on the floor storage method is nowhere near as effective as it once was now that someone with super sharp teeth and an inquisitive mind is always nearby . . .

The band across the cardfront is solid red to bring in the red from the gumball machine. I added a blue scalloped strip underneath the panel and tied a piece of matching blue satin ribbon around it, too. I stamped the “life is sweeter” sentiment across the band and tied a coordinating blue ribbon underneath it. The rest of the sentiment is on the inside of the card.

Materials Used:
March Kit of the Month-Rockin' It Unity Style (Unity Stamp Co.); white cardstock (Taylored Expressions); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic); Bermuda Bay and Real Red cardstock (Stampin’ Up!); designer paper (Martha Stewart); medium scallop die (Papertrey Ink); blue satin ribbon (Michaels)

Unity’s also hosting some challenges for their birthday week. Here’s my card for the “Martini Challenge”—a sketch with a twist. The twist was to use ribbon and three buttons on your design. My April Kit of the Month, Together We Bloom, just arrived (almost in time for May. . .), so I inked it up for this sweet card.

I stamped the berry image on white cardstock and colored the image with Copic markers, then cut it out. The rest of the card is pretty simple. I used some sparkly My Mind’s Eye paper scraps for the panels on the cardfront. The tricky part was fitting three buttons into my design. One ended up on the bow on the ribbon strip along the top of the card, one is alongside the berry image, and one tiny button fit inside the “o” in the sentiment stamped at the bottom of the card in berry ink.

Materials Used:
April Kit of the Month-Together We Bloom (Unity Stamp Co.); white cardstock (Taylored Expressions); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic); Kraft cardstock (Stampin’ Up!); designer paper (My Mind’s Eye); Berry Sorbet ink, Berry Sorbet satin ribbon, Berry Sorbet buttons, twine (Papertrey Ink); circle die (Nestabilities)