Monday, November 25, 2019

Growing in Unity: Day One

Hello!

I haven't been blogging much lately.  Life tends to get in the way of writing blog posts,  I spend an awful lot of time in my car driving to and from various swimming pools.

But this week, I have some special stuff to share with you:  This is my Growing In Unity week! The  The Growing In Unity program, is sponsored and promoted by Unity Stamp Company.  Each year, Unity randomly selects 52 "guest" designers from the pool of applicants to share projects Monday through Friday, each during an assigned week, and this week it's me!  I have prepared lots to share with you this week, so I hope you will visit each day.

Unity Stamp Company wants to share with you as well.  They have offered a prize pack of their fabulous, deeply etched stamps for me to give away to two lucky winners.   If you have never tried one of their beautiful stamps, you could be in for a real treat.  If you are already a loyal fan like I am, you know their dedication to making quality products.  To enter this prize pack giveaway, simply add a comment on any or all of my Growing In Unity posts this week.  The winners will be announced on this blog, and on the Unity Stamp Company Growing in Unity Facebook page after December 7th.

Unity Stamp Company is a family-owned red rubber stamp company based right here in Minnesota.  They are located in New London, MN, about 75 minutes from my house, and the Magnuson family is about the sweetest family you could ever meet.  They are an absolute joy to be around, and I sincerely love to support such a generous,  hard-working, family-owned, "local" business.  Their stamps are "cooked to order", so sometimes you won't receive your order Amazon Prime fast, because they are vulcanizing your specific stamps just for you, from their assortment of literally thousands of production plates.  And they are definitely worth a few days wait! I once was able to see the process of them making their stamps, and it was fascinating to watch.  

Today, I am sharing a series of watercolored cards using a few of the many Unity Stamp Company stamps that are designed by artist Phyllis Harris.  Illustrator Phyllis Harris creates line image stamps, often featuring children, that are so simple and fun to color or paint.  These happen to be some of my favorite images to pre-stamp and bring with me to color or paint when I'm away from home traveling, while a passenger on a flight or sometimes even in the car.  The projects I'm sharing today, I actually watercolored while sitting in the bleachers at my son's all day club swim meet three weeks ago.  I apologize for not having step photos to share with you on these cards, but I didn't take any photos at all until I had finished and assembled my cards at home.  Actually that's not quite true.  I did take ONE photo that day.  It was so hazy and blurry, that I put my camera away in my bag and just painted and watched a few minutes of swimming.



My images I'm sharing today were all painted using Daniel Smith watercolors, and a simple waterbrush.  I used Inkon3's ink to stamp my images on panels of Fabriano Artistico cold press watercolor paper.  The first three used Inkon3 Fine Detail Black ink; and for the last image, I used Inkon3's Fade Out ink for a no-line look.  The Phyllis Harris images are very simple to paint, as they lend well to using light color washes, letting the layer dry, then adding another layer one at a time.  I worked on the panels, start to finish.  I was at the swim meet for 5 1/2 hours, so each of these watercolor panels took around an hour to paint, including the few minutes of drying time between each layer of paint. 

My first card used the stamps from the Brandy & Emma Goodbye stamp kit.


I added texture to the dog's fur by adding paint in a bit of a splotchy manner, and even lifting a bit of color in small areas with a paper towel.

My next card uses the stamps from a kit called We Just Need Someone.






The following uses the sweet girls image included the set, A Sky With No Limit.



This last image using the images from Simple Places took me the longest to paint.  I used the Fade Out ink for a no-line look, and the horse needed many layers to build up the levels of color I wanted.  Each layer took a few minutes to dry, but when you sit at a swim meet for 5 1/2 hours to watch your child swim a total of less than five minutes, literally waiting for paint to dry sure helps pass the time!




That's all I have to share for today.  I hope you will come back tomorrow for more of my Growing in Unity projects.  Thanks for stopping by, and for your comments!

Enjoy your day!









65 comments:

  1. Such beautiful cards! I really love the last one with the Fade Out ink. I have that on my craft wish list, but I'm not sure if I could do it justice. I like having definitive lines to keep my hand in check as I watercolor LOL!

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  2. Ok...i seriously need some watercoloring lessons from you. Jaw dropping cards!!! The horse one is my fav!!! Bc I love horses so much but they all are really wonderful.

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  3. Wow! All of these are gorgeous! My favorite is the one you used the no line technique, simple places. Phyllis Harris is my favorite artist, the images are just happy and sweet. I can’t wait to see what you have all week!

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  4. Beautiful Cards ~ I love your horse card!

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  5. I love these! I just learned to watercolor this past year and found it’s the medium I love the most. You inspire me to keep on working and practicing with them. I think you brought these stamps to life!
    Jaclyn

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  6. All are amazing! I love the no line technique. Your coloring is beautiful!

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  7. Wow! What a treat to see more than one card and technique all are wonderful❤️

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  8. Oh Chris! These are amazing! All are beautiful! I’m especially drawn to we just need someone. I can’t wait to see what for the rest of the week!

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  9. It will be no surprise that I, like everyone else, loves the "Simple P;aces" stamp, the no-line technique is something I must try. All of the cards are beautiful and I can see that my coloring skills need work. Thank you for sharing. I also agree that Unity Stamps are the best, patiently waiting for that email that says my order has been shipped. Enjoy your Thanksgiving.

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  10. You're cards are beautiful.
    Simple Places is just gorgeous!
    I love Phyllis Harris.
    And Unity Stamps.

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  11. sorry about the Unknown - this is my first time commenting - I did not realize I had to enter my name... still love Simple Places even with the typo.

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  12. wow, they are all amazing, you watercoloring is so beautiful!!

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  13. Your cards are beautiful! I love them all, and I love the Phyllis Harris images. You've inspired me to practice my water coloring.

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  14. These are beautiful, your talent is beyond perfection! I love Phyllis Harris stamps too!

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  15. Such beautiful work! You are so very talented!

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  16. I adore all of your cards so much. Your watercoloring is amazing. I love the timeless Phyllis Harris images. I am excited to see you posts this week!

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  17. Your watercoloring is AMAZING! ❤ all the cards. You make the stamps come to life.

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  18. Such wonderful cards, so well coloured

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  19. As always your cards amaze me! I love how you give texture and shadow using a fun bit finicky media. Phyllis Harris images are some of my favorite! Thanks for sharing your lovely work! Looking forward to seeing all the creations you have this week!

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  20. Wow! These all are amazing. I am looking forward to a that you share. I love your style

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  21. Wow! That last one is gorgeous!! What a great use of the time spent waiting for your son to swim. Wish I knew about Unity stamps years ago sitting at track meets...

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  22. Beautiful cards! Love Unity Stamps!

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  23. Gorgeous cards! I love the Phyllis Harris images you used and the way you colored each one!

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  24. So beautiful! Simple places is my favorite, however they are all great. Thank you for sharing.

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  26. WOW All your card are so beautiful, I can not chose just one Love them all,what else can I say but WOW WOW AND WOW

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  27. I knew we were in for a master coloring treat when I saw your promo for GIU. What a beautiful start for your week! PH has been my favorite since day 1 of finding Unity. Each one you painted is breathtaking but your no line painting is stunning! In bleachers?!? SMH I can’t even imagine...

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  28. I love them all. I would really like to learn watercoloring.

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  29. Love your cards, especially the last one! You’’re watercoloring effects really complements the stamps.

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  30. I love them all and you are great at water coloring. The no-line technique is one of my favorites, but certainly time consuming. It is nice to be able to do something while waiting to watch your children's few minutes of action. (Track meets are a lot like that too, but now that my kids are grown and away, I miss them.)

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  31. Simply gorgeous! Love your water coloring and can't wait to see what you you create this week!!

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  32. Amazing cards, and such a talented artist!

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  33. How beautiful! These make me want all the Phyllis Harris stamps. Thank you for sharing your talents. Looking forward to seeing your projects this week.

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  34. Absolutely gorgeous cards! I love Phyllis Harris stamps and have a small collection of them, but looking forward to more! Thanks for sharing your talents here!

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  35. I love your cards! I just started following you on Instagram under the same name.

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  36. I love seeing your water colored cards. Love the stamps you chose and your designs. Just beautiful cards!

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  37. Your cards are all beautiful! Love the water colored look!

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  38. These are all incredibly beautiful Chris! That no-line watercolor is amazing and so well done.

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  39. Beautiful cards. I love Phyllis Harris illustration stamps. The cards that I create with them are always bringing smiles.

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  40. Wow what beautiful coloring, I love these cards and Phyllis Harris stamps

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  41. Chris, these are amazing. Thanks for sharing!

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  42. Your coloring is incredible! I LOVE the dog images! Dog mom here!

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  43. I really like Phyllis Harris images too, and your painting is so beautiful!

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  44. I had two children that swam and that was, by far, my least favorite sport they did because of all that downtime. You sure put it to good use, though! Your cards are gorgeous. I love the watercoloring...it gives them all such soft look which is perfect for those stamps!

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  45. Gorgeous cards! PH stamps are my favorite! Your last card with the little girl and the horse is stunning!

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  46. I love your cards! Phyllis Harris Stamps are my favorite in the Unity lineup. She creates such a nostalgic feel with them!

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  47. Your water coloring is beautiful and delicate! Thank you for sharing your talent and inspiration!

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  48. your horse card is amazing. you do such a good job at no line.

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  49. I especially love the first one. The girl and her dog are so wonderful!

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  50. Your cards are beautifully done!! I love them! My favorite is the sweet girls from A Sky With No Limit.

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  51. Wow! Your watercoloring is fabulous. All these cards are adorable.

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  52. I love Phyllis Harris images and these are all beautiful cards. I love your subtle touches like the reflection of the sailboat on the water, and the last card is just magical!

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  53. You really do these Phyllis Harris images stunning justice! These are all so pretty.

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  54. Oh...you are a great watercoloist!!! Beautiful!!!

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  55. Love all of your cards. They make me want to break out my watercolors again and give it a try.

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  56. Wonderful cards. And so many...Love each of them. Water coloring is definitely a strong point for you.

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  57. Love these images, your cards came out great!

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  58. Your water coloring is spectacular. Seriously beautiful. Thank you for sharing all of these great cards.

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  59. Your cards are amazing! Phyllis Harris stamps were the start of my Unity addiction! Love your Brandy and Emma card they are finally on their way to my house I put them on my last order.

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