Polka Dot Orchard ~ Lifetime of Happiness ~ Laugh When You Can

Hi crafty friends!

Today, I have a pretty card using the beautiful Lifetime of Happiness digi set from Polka Dot Orchard! Poppies are one of my favorite flowers so when I saw this beautiful set designed by Kimberly Wiener, I knew I just had to create with it!

I also just adore this fabulous sentiment included in the digi set. I like to be pretty positive and happy so this sentiment spoke to me. I thought it worked well with a few poppies. So I resized them and added them to each side of the sentiment in my Word Document. I print my images and got to coloring! I used the following copic markers for the poppies ~ YR07, YR15, YR21, R27, E41.

I die cut the image with a large stitched rectangle die and then added some silk splatters in Cranberry Bliss and Gold, using a mask to cover the sentiment. I adhered the panel to a layer of Pure Poppy card stock that I die cut with a large scalloped rectangle die. I then adhered the entire panel onto a card front of True Black card stock and then to a white card base.

I colored a couple extra poppies that I popped up on the panel. You can see a bit of the dimension it gives to the card in this last picture.

I love this digi set so much! Kimberly made such beautiful poppies... so fun to color!

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

Stamp Ink Paper Challenge 145 ~ Ombre ~ You Are Sweet Like Honey!

Hello! Today, I'm sharing a card that I made for the Stamp Ink Paper Challenge #145 ~ Ombre! How could I not play along... an ombre background is such a fun technique! And really, it's been a long time since I've played along with a challenge at Stamp Ink Paper.

I blended Squeezed Lemonade, Fossilized Amber, Hickory Smoke, and Black Soot distress oxide inks on a piece of white card stock from Papertrey Ink. Once I had the background blended like I wanted I splattered some water on it and then splattered yellow and black acrylic paints, as well. I stamped the honeycomb stamp from Unity Stamp Company's April 2018 Kit of the Month called Eyes of the Beholder using Black Soot distress oxide ink and heat embossed it with clear embossing powder. I the stamped the bee using the same ink and embossing powder on a scrap piece of card stock. I blended some Squeezed Lemonade and Wild Honey distress oxide inks over the bee and then die cut it out. I ran the ombre background piece and a piece of True Black card stock through the big shot with dies from My Favorite Things' Blueprints 20 Die-namics. I adhered the ombre piece to the black card stock and then splattered some gold silk.

I then adhered the panel to a white card base and set it aside. I stamped the sentiment on white card stock and cut out each word. I sponged a bit of Black Soot distress ink around each word. I popped up the die cut bee and then adhered the words along the left side of the card.

Since I was having so much fun making the first card, I decided to make another one - this time with the ombre going from top to bottom. All of the other steps for this card were the very same.

I had so much fun making this card! If you want to play along with the challenge, head 

on over here ---> SIP Challenge 145.

Thanks for stopping by!

See ya next time.

~ Crystal

~ Friends of Unity March Blog Hop ~

Hello! Wow! February zipped right on by, didn't it?! I can't believe it's already time for another Friends of Unity Blog Hop! We decided to go with a New Beginnings theme for this month. So naturally I started thinking about Spring. It's a time of new beginnings.

Spring is so close... soon the trees will turn to their gorgeous greens and the flowers will soon be in bloom. I, for one, cannot wait for some warmer weather. So with the theme New Beginnings on my mind, when I saw the February 2018 Kit of the Month {Being Who You Are}, I just knew I had to use it! 

I adore C.S. Lewis' books and when I saw this quote, I just had to use it on my card. And how sweet is this clock?! It was a must, too! I have to admit, I struggled deciding on what to do with the clock. 

I have my papers all picked out. I used a paper pack that I got last month at the Hobby Lobby. This one is called Kirby Teesdale Studio by The Paper Studio. I love the blues and greens in the paper and those fabulous flowers along the edge. I decided to keep the card pretty simple and let the paper shine! I added a few layers to bring the greens and blues to the eye, but I also wanted the sentiment to pop so I added a few layers of black. 

How sweet did this clock turn out?! I decided to paper piece it with papers from the same paper pad. I actually stamped it out three times. First on a piece of white card stock because the patterned papers are thin and I didn't want to accidentally tear it while I was fussy cutting. And then once on each of the papers. I cut out the face of the clock and adhered it to the pink patterned paper. I fussy cut the pink layer and adhered it to the white card stock and then I fussy cut the whole thing out. I'll admit it was a tad bit tedious, but I love how it turned out and that extra layer of paper really made it easier handle while I cut. My final touches on the clock were to add some black to the edge of the image to help it pop. For that, I used the Memento tuxedo black marker. I used a pink copic marker to add a touch of pink to the hearts on the face of the clock and I used a grey copic marker to add some grey to the hands on the clock. I went over the whole face of the clock with Fun Stampers Journey Journey Glaze. My first application was kind of bumpy so I did a second...and then a third application, letting each layer dry before adding to it. It's not perfect, but I think in person it looks really cool. ;) 

That's it for my card for this month's hop!

Now let's go see what the other hoppers have, shall we?! Oh, but before you hop away I have a fabulous giveaway up for grabs... what is it, you say? A grab bag!!! Yes! A fantastic grab bag of Unity stamps... and I'm thinking 25 stamps is a good number! LOL! So all you have to do to enter is leave me a comment below! It's that easy! :) Now, let's go check out the fabulous creations from the other gals in the hop!

~ Let's Hop ~

Crystal O. Minkler <--- you're here

up next ---> Eileen Mathys

Amber Trubiak

Robyn Jordan

Jeanie Hays

Dawn Fields

Thanks for stopping by!

See ya next time.

~ Crystal

Snowy Hill Background with Distress Oxide

Hello! I wanted to share a Christmas card that I made and hadn't had a chance to share yet. I made a similar card for a challenge in the Unity Show & Tell facebook group, but I had made this one first.

I die cut a scrap piece of Whisper White card stock from Stampin' Up! so that I could use it for a stencil, of sorts, to make my hills using the negative side (side without the stitches) of the Lawn Fawn Stitched Hillside Border die. It's a thinner card stock so it was perfect to use as my stencil. I then grabbed a Stampers Select White card stock card base and blended distress oxide inks alternating between Worn Lipstick, Broken China, and Wilted Violet. I didn't mask anything... I was just super careful to leave some white between the layers. I started from the top of the card and worked my way down. Once I got my inks blended to my liking, I splattered some water onto the card and let the distress oxide ink do its magic. I dabbed it a bit with some paper towel. 

I then put it in my little splatter box... what's that? It's a little cardboard box that I have with some paper towels in the bottom. I use it to do my splattering and it really keeps the mess contained. Anywho, I dropped my card in the splatter box and grabbed my white acrylic paint. I put a tiny drop on my palette and spritzed it with some water to make it a bit runny. I grabbed my little paint brush and splattered away. I set it aside to dry and started die cutting snowflakes. These snowflakes are from the My Favorite Things Snowflake Splendor card kit... I just adore them!!! There are so many different combinations that you can do with these. I had a blast making mine!! 

I added some glittery goodness to some of my snowflakes using Fun Stampers Journey Sparkle Silk. I layered a bunch of different snowflakes but decided just to use one on this card. I die cut the Joy from a Wplus9 die set called Seasonal Sentiments die. I used the tiny circle die from the Layered Snowflakes Die-namics set to cut out the center of the 'O' on the Joy. Once I had those cut, I set them all aside and decided to splatter the card some more with the Sparkle silk. 

 OMG! It's so sparkly and pretty! I wish it showed up better on the picture. I adhered my Joy die cut and snowflake to the card. My final touch was a Pretty Pink Posh sequin in Ballerina Pink. In the picture, the sequin looks like a light blue color, but it's a pink sequin. Crazy, right?! Love it!

This is the other card that I made using the same background technique. I stamped the {Planner Gal} Cold Outside image directly on my white card base and then I stamped her again on a post it note and fussy cut her out. I masked the image and blended my hills using the same technique I mentioned above. I pulled off my mask and colored in the image using copic markers. I stamped the sentiment on white card stock and die cut it out using the dies from the MFT Snowflake Splendor card kit. I sponged a bit of the Wilted Violet distress oxide ink around the edges of the snowflake and then adhered it to the card. My final touch was a few sequins here and there.

This is such a fun technique and I bet you could use it for other occasions by just changing up the color combos. I may just have to try that myself!

Thanks for stopping by!

See ya next time.

~ Crystal

Fall Coffee Lovers Blog Hop ~ Pumpkin Spice

I had so much fun yesterday making my first card for the Fall Coffee Lovers blog hop that I couldn't help but make another card!! I had originally planned on using this cup from Unity's Pumpkin Spice kit on the first card, but I couldn't find it in my stash. *gasp* I decided to reorganize my stamps and happened to find it... YAY! Of course, I had to celebrate and make a card!

For this card I decided to pick out the patterned paper before I started. I chose these Fun Stampers Journey papers that were in my stash and paired them with some Papertrey Ink card stock. I stamped the image using Memento tuxedo black ink and colored it in using copic markers. I fussy cut it out and set it aside. I die cut the patterned paper and adhered it to the card base. I then die cut some Vintage Cream card stock and stamped the sentiment. I tied some twine and popped up the image using dimensionals. I really love the non-traditional fall colors in this card!!

Check out the other hoppers ---> here.

Thanks for stopping by!

See ya next time.

~ Crystal

CYCI157 - Sister of my Soul

It's time for another CYCI sketch challenge!! Yay! Here's my take on the sketch... I flipped it!

I've been playing with some new papers and loving them! For this card, I cut a layer of the type script paper and adhered it to a Vintage Cream card base. I stamped the image on white card stock using Memento tuxedo black ink and then colored it in using several Copic markers (listed below). I then die cut the pretty flower paper using my Fun Stampers Journey Snapshot Frames die. I adhered the die cut over top of the copic colored piece. I popped that up on the card base using stampin' dimensionals. I stamped the sentiment using VersaMark ink and heat embossed some fine white embossing powder. I then die cut the sentiment out using Lawn Fawn's Everyday Sentiment Banners. I adhered the banner and added a few The Paper Studio Gemstones and BAM!

 I can't wait to see what you create using this sketch as your inspiration!! Be sure to join our Facebook group so that you can enter the challenge... Can You Case It? Challenge Group and go check out all the creations by the CYCI design team on our Facebook page!

Here are the products I used for this card:

Stamps: Unity Girls (Unity)

Card Stock: Vintage Cream, White (PTI), Coastal Cabana (retired SU!)

Paper: Simple Stories Vintage Bliss 6x6 (Amazon)

Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black, VersaMark (SU!)

Copic Markers: Skin - E0000, E000, E01, E02; Clothes - BG0000, BG11, BG32, YR00, YR01, YR02, B93, B95, B97; Ring - R21; Hair - YR24, YR27, Y11, Y17, Y23, E55, E57, E77; 

Background - B0000 (Oozak)

Adhesives: Tombow Mono Multipurpose liquid glue (SSS), Stampin Dimensionals (SU!)

Tools: Snapshot Frames die (FSJ), LF Everyday Sentiment Banners (SSS)

Miscellaneous: Fine White Embossing Powder (SSS), The Paper Studio Gemstones (Hobby Lobby)

 Please leave a comment. I'd love to hear what you thought of my creation.

Thanks for stopping by!

See ya next time.

~ Crystal

CYCI147 - Poppies Make me Happy!!

Hello! I'm so glad that you've stopped by my blog! Today, I have for you a new challenge with CYCI... another fabulous color challenge ~ Pink, Red, Black, and Silver!

I have to be completely honest with you, as much as I love these colors... I was stumped on what to do. I didn't want to make another Valentine's card which had been my original thought. I did, however, really want to do something simple maybe with a bit of a wow factor. I just recently got these gorgeous poppies from Unity Stamp Company! Aren't they just stunning! I love them! 

To keep the design simple, I decided only to layer the one smaller poppy. The rest is stamped and splattered directly on the white card base.  First, I stamped the pink poppy on a scrap of white card stock using the pink ZIG Clean Color Real Brush marker. I did go back over it a bit with one of my water pens to smooth some of the color out. Now for the red poppy, I did the same - I colored the stamp directly with the red ZIG marker, but then I spritzed the stamp with a bit of water and then stamped it directly on the card base. I also went over this image a bit with the water pen just to even out some of the color. I love the effect that the water gave to the red poppy!! I then stamped the outline poppy images with Memento tuxedo black ink. Part of the fun with these stamps is that they are stunning even if you don't get the lines matched perfectly with the image. My next step was to mask the red poppy and splatter the card base with some Silver silks! I love my silks!! I went a little crazy with it and some splotches got a little too wet and leaked through the post it note which you can see in the close up picture below... 

In this close up picture you can see the shine from the silks and the added shimmer to the middle of the poppies that I added using a black Wink of Stella pen. My last step for this card was stamping and embossing the sentiment. I had recently won a prize package from Unity and this sentiment was in my prize package so I'm not sure what kit it comes from, but it was perfect for this card. I stamped it in black craft ink and heat embossed it. At this point I was done and walked away... but I couldn't take a photo until the next morning since my studio was so dark. The next morning when I came in to take the photos, I decided that the card needed a bit more silver... so I added the bit of ribbon to the top. After about five minutes of trying to tie a decent bow, I decided to just make a pretty knot and call it done! Haha! Just keeping it real! 

I can't wait to see what you create with these colors!! Be sure that you've joined our new Facebook group so that you can enter the challenge... Can You Case It? Challenge Group. Be sure to go check out all the other lovelies created by the CYCI design team!

Here are the products I used for this card:

Stamps: Donna Poppies (Unity)

Card Stock: white (PTI)

Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black (SU!), black craft (retired SU!)

Adhesives: Stampin' Dimensionals (SU!)

Tools: Heat Tool (SU!)

Miscellaneous: Silver silks (FSJ), ZIG Clean Color Real Brush markers (Amazon), 

black detailed embossing powder (retired SU!), Silver 1/8" ribbon (SU!)

Thanks for stopping by!

See ya next time.

~ Crystal

Happy Birthday Donuts!!

Have you seen the most recent CASology Cue Card? It's YOUTH!! Oh, the possibilities!! This is one idea that I had... well, my second attempt at this one idea. Hahaha!! 

This is a pretty quick and simple card and it screams YOUTH!! I know, I know... everyone loves donuts! Anywho, the details... I stamped the sentiment and donuts in Memento Tuxedo black ink. I clear embossed the sprinkles and colored in the donuts using Copics (E34, Y16, Y68). I happily discovered that the alcohol markers discolored the embossed sprinkles and when rubbed with a paper towel they became a yellow color which I think worked for these adorable donuts! To finish the donuts off I covered the icing with Journey Glaze. All that was left was adhering the offset piece on a white card base. I decided to add just a strip of True Black card stock.... BAM! I'm loving the way it turned out!

Here are the products I used for this card:

Stamps: Birthday Basics (PTI), Donut Worry (LF)

Card Stock: White, True Black (PTI)

Inks: memento tuxedo black (SU!)

Adhesives: tombow mono multi (SU!)

Miscellaneous: Journey Glaze (FSJ)

Go check out the challenge over at CASology... there's still some time to play along!!

Thanks for stopping by!

See ya next time.

~ Crystal

CYCI145 ~ A Cuppy Cake Birthday!!

It's that time again... time for another CYCI challenge!! I'm excited! I'm always excited about these challenges... if you haven't already noticed! I am loving the colors that Eva put together for this color challenge... blue, purple, silver, and white! Aren't those fabulous?!

I started off with a piece of watercolor paper and used Violet and Ultramarine Blue Color Burst to make a beautiful watercolor piece. I also added some Silver silks splatter. I then cut out the scallop circle using Pretty Pink Posh's Scallop Circles dies. I went back and forth on how white I wanted to keep the card and finally decided I wanted a nice clean white card base and background. I'm always needing birthday cards, so I inked up this beautiful cupcake from Unity's Cuppy Cakes kit in stazon jet black ink on watercolor paper. I used the same color burst colors to color the cupcake sticking with just the four colors for the challenge. I even used silver silks to color in the leaf of the flower and some other accents on the cupcake, rather than a traditional green. I wanted the icing to be mostly white with a bit of color here and there and I really love the way this one turned out! I cut out the 'birthday' from the same watercolor piece and adhered it directly to the card base. I cut out the 'happy' from a scrap of brushed silver card stock. The cupcake was popped up using stampin' dimensionals. To finish this beauty off, I painted the back of a few glossy dots that I had made with Fun Stampers Journey's Journey Glaze with some Silver silks. I let those dry and adhered a few around the circle and one in the center of the flower. 

A close-up picture of the cupcake... doesn't it look yummy!

Now I couldn't just toss the cut out pieces from the first card! I made an alternate card using them... and I used some other pieces that I had made while working on the first card.

Here's a look at the color challenge. Be sure to click on it and you'll see all the wonderful creations from the CYCI Design Team! I sure hope you'll play along.

Here are the products I used for this card:

Stamps: Cuppy Cakes (Unity)

Card Stock: white (PTI), watercolor paper (SSS)

Inks: StazOn Jet Black (SSS)

Adhesives: Tombow Mono Multi (SSS), Stampin' Dimensionals (SU!)

Tools: Hello You thinlets dies (SU!), Birthday Trio die (PTI); Summer Greetings Wafer dies (SSS), Scallop Circles die (PrettyPinkPosh)

Miscellaneous: Violet color burst, Ultramarine Blue color burst (Blitsy), Silver silks (FSJ)

Thanks for stopping by!

See ya next time.

~ Crystal

CYCI144 ~ A Color Challenge by Rose

It's time for a new CYCI challenge. This time it's a color challenge and check out these beautiful colors that Rose picked out. Aren't they gorgeous?!?!? Watermelon, Aqua, White, and Light Gray... I love it!!

I was blessed this Christmas with a set of ZIG Clean Color Real Brush markers and have had a chance to play around with them this last week. This image is my third attempt at coloring this beauty with the ZIGs. I need a lot more practice... but I sure did have fun coloring! On a side note, I didn't find a watermelon color in the ZIG assortment I have (or at least one that I liked), so I just used my Stampin' Up! Watermelon Wonder marker. I found the best way to keep the colors subtle was to scribble the ZIGs and the WW marker on an acrylic block and grab the ink with my water pen. To finish off the image I added a touch of Silver silks to her jewelry by adding a dab on my acrylic block and using a blender pen to color it in.

After coloring my main image, I wanted something with pretty flowers in the background so I pulled out a watercolor paper pad that I've been itching to use. I just love the way it turned out!! I cut that piece out with what I'm beginning to think is my favorite 'go to' die - the Scalloped Stitched Rectangle die by Gina Marie Designs. I cut out the main image and sentiment with stitched oval dies and cut the angles to fit in the rectangle. The last touch was a bit of organdy ribbon. The main image and the sentiment are popped up with stampin' dimensionals.

I hope that you will join us in this wonderful color challenge! I can't wait to see what you make. Be sure to check out the other Design Team members creations at canyoucaseit.com.

Here are the products I used for this card:

Stamps: Warm Inside (Unity)

Card Stock/Papers: White (PTI), Watercolor Paper (TH), Tales of You & Me Paintables (Prima)

Inks: Black craft (retired SU!), StazOn Jet Black (SU!), Watermelon Wonder marker (SU!)

Adhesives: Tombow Mono Multi, Stampin' Dimensionals (SU!)

Tools: heat tool (SU!), Small Stitched Oval Stackables (LF), Stitched Oval Stacklets (TE), Scalloped Stitched Nested Rectangle dies (GMD)

Miscellaneous: Black Detailed Embossing Powder, White organdy ribbon (retired SU!), 

Silver silks (FSJ), Blender pen (SU!), ZIGS (Kuretake)

Thanks for stopping by!

See ya next time.

~ Crystal

CYCI142 Color Challenge - Missing You Always

It's time for another CYCI challenge and this one screamed Christmas at me... it really did!!

Just look at these colors - Eggplant, Silver & Neutrals... CHRISTMAS!!

But I said no and decided I would make a card for my Mom who has been in the hospital for awhile. I've been making and sending her a card a week. It just so happened that her favorite color is purple so this was definitely a color combo I could use.

I was brainstorming on what stamp to use and BAM! - this beautiful flower from Unity's Keep it Simple kit was staring right at me! I stamped it in versamark ink and heat embossed some fine silver embossing powder on kraft card stock. I still had Simon Says Stamp's Big Scripty Greetings on my desk and thought the 'missing you always' sentiment would be perfect so I also heat embossed it in silver. I used a few Copics to color in the flower and also added some clear Wink of Stella to the center.

I had to have some splatter fun... first I did some flicking with the Elegant Eggplant marker to get a fine splatter. Then I wanted a bit more so I pulled out the Orchid Color Burst and put a bit in my water cup (the one I use for cleaning my watercolor brush, not my drinking cup! ;) ) and sprayed a bit of water until I got the consistency and color I was looking for. I protected the flower and sentiment with some torn post its and splattered away. I ended up adding some more water to the color burst and added some lighter splatter. But of course, I wasn't done. I grabbed the Silver silks and added just a touch more splatter. I didn't want to over do it so I stopped there. To finish up the card I added a few silver dew drops and layered the whole piece on a Scalloped Stitched Rectangle of Elegant Eggplant card stock. I attached the final piece to a Kraft card base.

Here's a close-up of the shimmery goodness!! Isn't it pretty?!

Here are the products I used for this card:

Stamps: Keep it Simple (Unity), Big Scripty Greetings (SSS)

Card Stock: Kraft (PTI), Elegant Eggplant (SU!)

Inks: Versamark, Elegant Eggplant marker (SU!)

Copics: V22, V25, V28

Adhesives: Stampin Dimensionals, Mini Glue Dots, Fast Fuse (SU!)

Tools: heat gun (SU!), Scalloped Stitched Rectangle die (GMD)

Miscellaneous: Robin's Nest Silver Dew Drops, Orchid Color Burst, Silver Silks (FSJ), Clear Wink of Stella (SSS)

Now, head on over to Can You Case It? and check out all the beautiful creations from the other design team members and then join in on the fun!!

Thanks for stopping by!

See ya next time.

~ Crystal

Happy Thanksgiving... a couple days late!

I've been playing 'catch up' the last week so unfortunately this post didn't happen as planned.

But I'm thankful that I can share anytime!

These are a few of the Thanksgiving cards that I sent out this year. I had a great time coloring these. The little owl was colored using copics and I layered him with some Fun Stampers Journey Thanksgiving Prints patterned paper. The truck and girl card were colored using distress inks and my aqua painter brush. My inspiration for the truck card was found at our local grocery store. 

I just loved this display for the pumpkins!! 

I hope that you had a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family and friends.

I can't remember all the colors that I used to color these cards so I can't list them for you, but I did use Unity stamps for these cards. I used Great Blessings, Bountiful Owl, and November Girl. The card stock used is: Kraft, White (Papertrey Ink); Coastal Cabana, Pumpkin Pie, Watercolor paper (SU!).

Thanks for stopping by!

See ya next time.

~ Crystal

PCC217 Owl Thanksgiving

A quick card to enter into the PCC217 Sketch Challenge.

I colored this cutie with copics. Used the square wonky die to cut him out and then I layered it on a square of Pumpkin Pie card stock. Added a few dots and some twine! Voila!

Here's a close-up of the coloring. I really like how the owl turned out. I need a bit more practice with the pumpkins though.

Here are the products I used for this card:

Stamps: Bountiful Owl (Unity)

Card Stock: White, Kraft (PTI), Pumpkin Pie (SU!)

Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black (SU!)

Adhesives: Stampin' Dimensionals, Fast Fuse (SU!)

Tools: Wonky Stitched die (MFT), Everyday Sentiment Banners (LF)

Miscellaneous: natural twine (FSJ), Halloween Night Enamel Dots (SU!), washi (retired SU!)

Thanks for stopping by!

See ya next time.

~ Crystal