Growing in Unity ~ Day 3 of My 5 Favorite Things

Hello there crafty friends!

I'm back for Day 3 of My 5 Favorite Things for my Growing in Unity week... now today I've decided to share one of my favorite techniques and a few fabulous Unity kits to use with this technique. One of my favorite techniques to use to make a fun background is the Baby Wipe Technique. If you're not familiar with this technique I shared steps for this technique in a blog post a couple of years ago so you can check that out here ---> Baby Wipe Technique tutorial! I have several pictures to share today, so I don't want to add the steps for the technique here too, so please check that out if you're not familiar.

For my first couple of cards, I used the beautiful Make Today kit... this is a mixed media kit created by Jolande van Oosterhout and Marleen van Meerendonk. I absolutely Love the mixed media stamps available at Unity... another one of my favorite things! * wink wink*

I used Raspberry Fizz, Summer Sunshine, and Tropical Teal ink refills on the baby wipe and then just repeatedly stamped the swirly dots stamp all over to create my background.

I was able to make two cards using this technique for the background. I stamped the sentiment from the same Make Today kit using coordinating dye ink and then quickly heat embossed it with a fine clear embossing powder. Since the sentiment was stamped on vellum card stock the ink didn't dry too quickly and I was able to add clear ep to it before it dried. I die cut the sentiments and then adhered them to the card with vellum glue tape (a sweet gift from my crafty friend, Robyn ~ thanks again!!). I mat the cards on coordinating card bases and Bam! There you have two pretty quick cards using a super fun technique!

So, once I got started on those cards I was thinking about other fabulous stamps that would be fun using this technique and I remembered the magical stamps that were released last year (I think, don't quote me on that) that I had to have but hadn't inked up yet. Yup... you know what I mean. I used the Magic Inside All of Us and Something Magical kits designed by Joslyn Nielson for these cards.

So I used Summer Sunshine and True Black inks for my first two cards... getting a Hufflepuff-esque feel for these ones. I have to admit that I don't just stamp that often anymore. I use my stamp platform ALL the time... anyone else do that? So it was super fun to just ink up these stamps and well... stamp. I layered my backgrounds on Summer Sunshine card stock and then adhered them to True Black card bases. I really love how these turned out! 

Once I got started, I couldn't stop so I also made some Griffendor-esque cards using Scarlet Jewel and Harvest Gold ink. I just HAD to use the fabulous owl from the Sending an Owl kit!! Love it!

And my last card using this fantastic and fun technique. I just love how all of these turned out!

This background is probably my most favorite. You can see how the stamps picked up both colors that I had on the baby wipe. So much fun!

Here's a quick picture with all the Harry Potter-esque cards! Such a blast to make!

Be sure to leave a comment on each of my GIU blog posts for a chance to win one of two fabulous grab bags of 25 stamps from Unity Stamp Company!!! 

You can check out my other GIU days:

Day One

Day Two

Thanks so much for checking out my blog!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

Growing in Unity ~ Day 2 of My 5 Favorite Things

Hello there crafty friends!

I am back for Day 2 of My 5 Favorite Things for my Growing in Unity week and I am so excited to share the cards I created for you today! Now, be warned... there's a lot of pictures and even a super short video for this one... so please hang in there and I'll try to keep the chatter short.

So, another one of my favorite things is interactive cards... and Unity Stamp Company has so many fabulous stamps to make interactive cards with... it's awesome! I don't make many of these because, let's be honest, they are a lot of work and take some time and most of the time I just need a quick card. But interactive cards are really so much fun! So I just had to share a few today!

Since it's July, I thought a Christmas in July card would be fun!! I just adore this door die by Lawn Fawn called Shut the Front Door... it makes for a cute interactive card and there are so many possibilities!! Think of all the cute critter stamps from Unity that would just be awesome behind that door! I created the front of my card using die cuts and I also stamped the tree from Woodland Festivities using Gina K. Designs Key Lime and Fresh Asparagus inks. 

I adhered all of my layers to a kraft card base and then stamped the Winter Boy from the Winter Boy and Girl kit and the bulldog from the Woodland Festivities kit with Gina K. Designs Black Amalgam ink and colored them with the following Copic markers:

Winter Boy ~ E000, E00, E21 (skin), E42, E43, Y21 (hair), R11, R56, R59, R89 (hat/scarf), B95, B97, B99 (jeans), G19, G29 (shirt), N1, N4, N7 (belt/shoes).

Bulldog ~ E000, E11, E97, E9, R20 (fur), R14, R27, N0, N1 (hat), N1, N2, N4, N7 (collar).

I then fussy cut them and adhered them inside the door... tucking the bulldog in just slightly under the door frame.

All that remained was finding a sentiment that would fit... and I thought the 'Happy Christmas with Love' sentiment was perfect! This sentiment is from the Classic Christmas kit. I just love how this Christmas card turned out... and another card done for my Christmas card stash!! Woohoo!

My second interactive card uses the adorable bunny from the Hoppy & Hedgie kit along with a cool interactive die from Lawn Fawn called Slide On Over Semicircle. I just love this adorable bunny!! I started by blending my galaxy cloud background using the Mini Cloud Edges stencil by My Favorite Things. I couldn't help but splatter some water even though there wouldn't be stars in the clouds...lol... but I love the effect it gives. I then stamped the sweet bunny with Gina K.'s Black Amalgam ink and colored it with the following Copic markers:

Bunny ~ W0, W2, W4, R20

Bunny's Clothes ~ BG70, BG72

Balloons ~ Y13, Y35, RV32, RV34, G05, G12

I then fussy cut the bunny and balloons very carefully and used it to decide where to die cut the Slide On Over Semicircle. Once I had that figured out... I die cut the background with the interactive slider piece as well as a large stitched rectangle die. I popped up the galaxy cloud background using foam tape... being sure to leave room for the interactive piece behind the bunny to move back and forth. I, unfortunately, didn't take a picture of this process but all I did to attach the bunny was I punched out 3 small 3/4" circles and adhered them all together. I then used a mini stampin' dimensional and attached the little circle to the bunny through the slider... that easy! I then adhered the negative die cut piece to my scalloped rectangle of Lost Lagoon card stock and then adhered the popped up galaxy cloud background. I hope this all makes sense!

Here's a look at the bunny as the 'wind' pulls him across the card. The 'pull' stamp is from the new Interactive Verbiage kit... such a fun kit!

And here he is at the end of his ride. 

To finish off the card, I stamped and fussy cut the sentiment. I mat it on True Black card stock and then adhered it to the card and then I adhered the entire panel to a True Black card base.

Here's a short little video to show you the interactive slider in action. So much fun!

And here is my last interactive card to share with you all today... a shaker card using the new and fabulous Interactive Verbiage kit along with the equally fabulous #letterforhenry kit!! Other than the shaker element for this card... since I used patterned papers for my layers... this card was relatively quick to put together. Just how I like it!!

I paper pieced the frame and adhered it to a piece of white card stock so it would be a little more sturdy. I also stamped the frame on the lined patterned paper so I could easily line up the frame and also so I could easily stamp the sentiment for the card. I just love the 'Kindness Changes Everything' sentiment... it is so true! 

Now... a little funny... so me and shaker cards have a love hate relationship... always, seriously every single time I try to make one of these something goes wrong. I was doing great with this one though... even getting excited it was going so smoothly until I realized I forgot to adhere the clear card stock. I actually forgot about the clear card stock (or acetate) completely... lol... so I had to pull off the foam tape I used. Luckily, since I had paper pieced the frame on that extra piece of white card stock, it didn't tear into the pretty paper and I was able to use it. Anyhow... I thought I'd share that funny mishap... every time, I tell you!

If you have made it this far in my post, Thank You!! I tried to keep the chatter down... but I truly thank you for sticking around and checking out my blog today! I had a blast creating these cards to share with you all! I hope you like them!

Be sure to leave a comment on each of my GIU blog posts for a chance to win one of two fabulous grab bags of 25 stamps from Unity Stamp Company!!! If you missed Day 1, you can check it out ---> Day 1 of My 5 Favorite Things!

Come back tomorrow for Day 3 of My 5 Favorite Things!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs

~ Crystal

Growing In Unity ~ Day 1 of My 5 Favorite Things

Hello there crafty friends!

I'm super excited about this week... it's my turn to be the Growing in Unity gal and I am over the moon excited!! I am a Unity addict through and through and being able to share my love of Unity for a whole 5 days... it's just an amazing opportunity!! 

I have been so excited, in fact, that I had so many ideas and then all of sudden my mind went blank on what to share. And then I got to thinking... I could share some of my favorite things about Unity, as well as my favorite products, techniques, or crafty tips... channeling the wonderful Oprah Winfrey, you may say! Lol... so I'm going to share My 5 Favorite Things!

One of my first favorite things about Unity is the gorgeous floral stamps!! There are hundreds of absolutely stunning stamps with all kinds of flowers... literally, if you do a search on the website, over 300 stamp kits come up! Something for everyone!!

One of my absolute favorite flowers is the lovely daisy and this beautiful daisy from Graciellie Design's Be Unstoppable kit is perfect! I thought it would be fun to color it blue but let the color fade out at the tips of the petals... love how it turned out. Sadly, I didn't write down the copic markers I used for this but if I had to take a guess I would say it was B0000 and B24, along with YG11 and YG23 for the leaves. For the center of the flower, I think I used Y11, Y35, and E55.

I die cut the daisy using a Pleated Lace Circle die and popped it up on my already prepared card base of Pacific Point card stock with a beautiful layer of brown patterned paper by Bo Bunny called Penelope Collection that I had adhered a wide Pacific Point ribbon from my stash (can't remember the name of it). To finish off the card I die cut the sentiment with a banner die and mat it on a die cut piece of Pacific Point card stock. I think it turned out pretty.

Now, another favorite thing of mine is to use an easy sketch when making my cards. You'll notice that my two cards today aren't identical, but they use a similar sketch or design with the patterned paper on the card base and the main image die cut with some ribbon accent. 

A great design for a quick and beautiful card!

For this card, I colored the gorgeous tulip from the same Be Unstoppable kit with BG000, BG11, BG23, YG11, G24, and G28. I then die cut it with the Pleated Lace Rectangle die and adhered it directly to a stitched rectangle die cut piece of Stampin' Up Wood Textures patterned paper. I wrapped some White Sheer Organza ribbon around the panel tying just a knot... like a faux bow... and adhered the panel to an Aqua Mist card base. And this time I just popped up the sentiment on the main panel. 

Two lovely cards using one basic design that look very different from each other. 

Love how they turned out! I hope you like them too!

Be sure to leave a comment for a chance to win one of two fabulous grab bags of 25 stamps from Unity Stamp Company!!! Love me some deeply etched red rubber stamps! Oh yeah!!

Come back tomorrow for Day 2 of My 5 Favorite Things!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs

~ Crystal

Polka Dot Orchard ~ Petals for the Pittman's ~ Happy Daisy

Hey there crafty friends!

I'm back with another card featuring the Petals for the Pittman's digi set by Polka Dot Orchard... this time, I'm sharing a card using the Daisy that I designed for the set. Daisies are my most favorite flower!! When Jessica asked if I wanted to contribute to the fundraiser, I just knew I had to draw a daisy... had to!!

I resized and combined a bunch of daisies on a Word document and printed them off, but I decided to just go with the single daisy. There's just something about white daisies... the purity and innocence of this sweet little flower. I thought it was fitting for the fundraiser, as well, because the daisy represents new beginnings and that's my hope for the Pittman's... that they will get through this ordeal and look forward to new beginnings. 

For my card design, I wanted the daisy to pop and what better background makes a white flower pop than black! I also love the combination of neutrals with the white, black, and kraft. So I started with a 5-1/2 x 4-1/4" piece of kraft card stock that I ran through my Big Shot with the Bold Borders: Flare die from Papertrey Ink. I then ran it through again with a piece of Harvest Gold card stock just grabbing the little dots and setting the other piece aside for another time. I adhered the die cuts to a True Black card base and then fussy cut my daisy that I had already colored with the following Copic markers ~ N0, N1, YG11, YG23, YG25, Y06, Y11, Y35.

I popped up my fussy cut daisy and moved on to my sentiment... I decided to just use the Happy die that's included with the Bold Borders: Flare die. I die cut it twice from scraps of Harvest Gold and white card stock. I layered the die cuts and then adhered them to the card. Done!

I hope you'll check out the fabulous Petals for the Pittman's digi set at Polka Dot Orchard... it's a huge and amazing set that is for a wonderful cause! There's also prizes up for grabs if you enter the Linky Party over at Polka Dot Orchard. Lots of prizes you can win by entering a floral card!! But it's only for a limited time so go check out the details... Polka Dot Orchard!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

Polka Dot Orchard ~ Petals for the Pittman's

Hello crafty friends!! 

Today I have a very special card to share with you.... it's created with a lovely image available in an exclusive floral digi stamp set only sold by Polka Dot Orchard!! This lovely set is part of a fundraiser to help the Pittman's during their difficult medical ordeal. 

Larissa Pittman is a crafty friend and DT sister with Polka Dot Orchard. 

You can read more about Larissa and her husband Gary here: Pittman’s Go Fund Me.

Polka Dot Orchard has collaborated with several different artists and companies to put not just this digital stamp set together.... but since there are so many images, there's two digital stamp sets available. These will only be available for a limited time, so stop by the Polka Dot Orchard Etsy shop today and purchase yours!  ALL PROCEEDS from these special sets will go directly to the Pittman's. There is also a crafty link up with sponsored prizes on the blog....you can find all the details by visiting  Polka Dot Orchard.

Before you head over to Polka Dot Orchard, let's take a quick look at my first card using the lovely Lily by Tierra Jackson... such a beautiful flower!!

I just love lilies!! Such gorgeous flowers!! So I was very excited to see one in this amazing floral digi set! I had so much fun coloring this image. I only used a few Copic markers for this one... RV19, RV91, YG11, G24, G94. I had fun adding the polka dots too... I think I went a little crazy with them, but how could you not?! I love it!

Here's a close up of the card I created. The sentiment is from the Floral Flourish Background 3 digi set. I love the font for this Happy Birthday sentiment and thought it would pair up nicely with the lovely lily!!

I was so touched when Jessica mentioned she was doing this fundraiser set for the Pittman's. Such a sweet way to help out a crafty friend! I'm even more touched by the pour out of love with donations by the crafty community... always warms my heart this fabulous community I'm a part of.

Be sure to stop by the Polka Dot Orchard blog for more information about this wonderful fundraiser. Thanks so much for stopping by my blog!
See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,
Crystal

Scrapping for Less ~ Pink & Main ~ Happy Camper with Galaxy Foil

Hey there crafty friends! 

Today I'm sharing an adorable card using the sweetest little camper set called Happy Camper from Pink & Main. I paired this sweet set with the beautiful Galaxy Foil papers also from Pink & Main... these two products were literally made for each other!!

I've been wanting to make a long card... one that will fit in a #10 envelope. I love to change things up sometimes and this size of card is fun to play with! I started with a 8-1/2 x 11" piece of kraft card stock. I trimmed it down to 8-1/2 x 8" and then on the 8" side, I scored it right in the middle at 4"... giving me a 8-1/2 x 4" card base. A #10 envelope is actually larger, measuring at 4-1/8 x 9-1/2" so you could actually make a larger card if you'd like. This was just the size I decided to go with.

I had my card base and I had picked out my Galaxy Foil paper... but then I realized my paper was only 6" so how do I make a long card with this short patterned paper. Well, I found that Gina K.'s Plum Punch card stock coordinated with the Galaxy Foil paper and that helped to fill in the rest of my background. And to finish off my scene, I die cut some Gina K. Grass Green card stock using the Grassy Border die from Lawn Fawn. I then adhered my grass layers to the plum card stock being sure to not glue down the top layer of grass blades so I could tuck in my car and camper.

Speaking of... how adorable is this car and camper!! They were so much fun to color!! I love all the scallops and swirls... so fun!! There are so many cute images in this set too! I just love that little backpack... it reminded me of a denim backpack that I had as a kid so I colored it to look like it, except mine was green. :) How cute is that sentiment 'Happy trails!'... I thought this would be a cute card to send to someone going out on an adventure maybe camping or taking an RV around the country seeing all the sights!

Oh my goodness... these adorable bears!! I love their cute faces! I had a blast coloring them too. They look ready to enjoy some camping fun. And that crown on the glamping girl bear... love!!!

I finished off the card with some kraft twine... it filled in that empty space in that top right corner... and I think it fits with the whole camping/outdoors theme. I used a bunch of Copic markers to color in the images... here they are:

Girl Bear ~ E21, E23, E25, R00, R20, R21, R43

Flashlight/Crown ~ V0000, V04, V12, Y06, Y35

Boy Bear ~ E21, E25, E27, R20, B95, B97, YG17, YG23

S'mores ~ E27, Y06, Y35, W0, W1

Lamp ~ N0, N2, N4, Y06, Y11, Y35, R27

Car/Camper ~ B0000, B000, B02, V0000, V04, V12, N0, N2, N4, N7, R14, R27, Y06, Y11

Backpack ~ R00, R21, R43, B95, B97, B99, E35, E37

I had so much fun creating this card... I sure hope you enjoy it!! 

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

~ Friends of Unity July Blog Hop ~

Hey there crafty peeps and fellow Unity addicts!!

Today is the day for the Friends of Unity July Blog Hop and I am excited to see all the creations my friends have come up with! Our cue this month is Vintage and let me tell you... vintage cards can be scary! If you've ever tried one, you might understand. 

It's really not my usual style... though I do enjoy to see them. Especially, when our very own friend, Joyce Verdon, makes one of her gorgeous vintage style cards... I'm so excited to have Joyce back and I can't wait to see what she has created to share with us all!! So let's get to it! 

My first card is a Vintage Christmas card... I know some of you may not be ready for Christmas, but I'm trying to make a serious effort to get ahead on my Christmas cards and I thought this cue would be perfect! I started by stamping the Yuletide {border backgrounds} stamp on white card stock with Gina K's Black Amalgam ink. I heat set it with my heat tool and colored the berries... oh my... so many berries! I went over each of those berries... 9 times I'm thinking with the copic markers. I was going a bit cross eyed, I swear!! Anywho, after the berries were done, I finished the rest of the pretty background. And it was really bright and beautiful... not vintage, at all! 

Copic's used for this card: R000, R14, R27, R89, G24, G94, G99

So... I pulled out the Vintage Photo Distress Oxide ink and got to work blending. I also used a touch of Antique Linen Distress Oxide ink... I think the edges got a little dark and the Antique Linen lightened it up a little bit. I fussy cut the middle of the background because I wanted my sentiment to be a separate layer to add dimension to the card. I die cut the background with a large stitched rectangle die and then I started on the sentiment layer. 

I stamped the sentiment from the Vintage Christmas Kit on white card stock using Fired Brick Distress Oxide ink and heat embossed a fine clear embossing powder. I then stamped the Worn Music background stamp using Vintage Photo Distress Oxide ink and also heat embossed it using the same clear ep. The white background was not going to work so I blended the Antique Linen Distress Oxide ink over the piece. I trimmed it down and adhered it to a 4-1/8 x 5-3/8" piece of Cherry Cobbler card stock. I then popped up the Yuletide background using foam squares... lots and lots of foam squares. I probably should have used the foam tape... :)

I wrapped the panel several times with jute twine and added the cute Christmas charm (Tim Holtz) and red jingle bell (SU!). I tied off a bow and adhered the charm to the card using Multi Medium Matte so it would stay stationary. {I'm just noticing that my second twine tail has flown the coop! LOL... totally missed that, but I assure you there is one!} I adhered the panel to a Mossy Meadow card base and called this one done!!! What do you think? I'm really liking it!

On to card two... now, I was totally stuck on this card until I saw the lovely Lisa Arana's YouTube video Vintage & Easy Farm Animal Card Design and bam!! Inspiration!! Thank you so much, Lisa!!

I had already chosen the stamps I wanted to use for this one... Grandma's Needlepoint kit by Susan Weckesser. Such an adorable kit.... I love the little girl, but honestly it was the stitching stamps that got me on this one... love love love!!! So to start my card, I went searching through my many patterned papers and decided to use the beautiful Romance Novel papers by Prima.

I stamped the little girl, the stitching and the sentiment with Gina K's Black Amalgam ink and then I die cut each of the papers using the Blueprints 5 dies by My Favorite Things (sadly, it's retired... but you could achieve the same look by trimming down the papers and using a corner rounder on each corner). I chose another paper for my very bottom layer from Love Nicole called Distressed Neutrals that worked really well with the other papers. Score!! Using my corner rounder punch I punched the bottom two corners on the Distressed Neutrals layer and then I did the same with the bottom corners on my Vintage Cream card base. All I needed to do now was adhere the layers. I used Tombow Mono Multi liquid glue to adhere all of the layers except the last one... 

...my focal image was popped up on the card with foam squares. Yup, lots and lots of foam squares. But before I placed it on the card, I wrapped the card with Very Vanilla Taffeta ribbon and tied a pretty bow.... awww, I just love how this turned out! What do you think? I sure hope you let me know in the comments.

Now, before we get to hopping... a little business. Drum roll please...

the two winners of my 25 stamp grab bag giveaway are... 

... Arianna Barbara and Dorothy Green!!! Woohoo!!!

Ladies, please email me at crystalominkler@gmail.com to claim your prize. 

Prize must be claimed within two weeks.

Thanks to you all so much for your continued support of our little hop... and for all of your lovely comments! I really, truly do appreciate each and every one of your sweet comments. A few of my friends are having giveaways on their blog so be sure to hop and comment on each of our blogs!!

Let's get to hopping... 

Crystal <--- you're here

up next ---> Kim

Eileen

Dawn

Joyce

Jeanie

Robyn

Thanks so much for checking out my blog post!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal