~ Friends of Unity December 2023 Blog Hop ~

Hello there crafty friend!

It's time for our Friends of Unity Blog Hop!! 

This month's cue is super fun! I hope you'll hop along with us and enjoy some wonderful inspiration from our friends! But today is not just a regular monthly blog hop... it's our 6th Anniversary of hopping!! How amazing is that?! 6 years have just zipped on by!! The FOU has shared so many wonderful cards and projects over the last 6 years and we've added and sadly, said goodbye to some of our friends. I'm so very grateful to my friends that help make this hop amazing each month and I'm also very grateful to the friends that come and hop along with us each month. All your love and comments each month means so much to us. Thank you all so much! We appreciate each of you!

Furry Friends is our cue this month! 

I took a little liberty and included my favorite zoo animal for my inspiration today. Giraffes have fur... don't they?! LOL! I don't know. But I do know that I wanted to play with the giraffe stamp!

So for my first card, I used the adorable Spotted Snug Greetings. I just adore this giraffe!!

Here's a quick list of the Copic Markers I used to color him up:

Giraffe: YR0000, YR00, YR15, YR21, YR24, YR27, E25

Hat: R20, R14, C00, C1, C3

Background: B0000, B000

Inspiration for my card design comes from the Tawny Owl Paperie Inky Inspiration Sketch 17. 

I love the possibilities with this sketch!

I paired the sweet giraffe up with the gorgeous Old Fashioned Holiday {paper pack} from last month's Whit Kit. These are probably my new favorite holiday papers! I love the colors so much! I die cut the panel using the largest die from the Scallops & Rectangles {nesting dies}.

Finished off the card with a big red button to tie in the colors. I added some {Ivory} May Arts Burlap String to the button securing it with a few glue dots and adhering it to the card.

My second card featuring the adorable kitty from the Best of 'Em. I fussy cut the kitty omitting the pup also in the stamp. I also used a sentiment from the Spotted Snug Greetings.

Here's a quick list of the Copic Markers I used to color up the kitty:

Kitty: R00, R20, N0, N1, N3, N5

Eyes: YG11, G24, G46

Hat: C00, C1, C3, R20, R14, R46, YG11, G24

Inspiration for my second card comes from my first {BYSHC} Sketch Challenge #1. This is an old fave! I've returned to it many times for inspiration!

I considered using just plain old card stock to mat my layers but I didn't want to fuss with coordinating colors so I opted to just use pattern papers from the Farmhouse Christmas {paper pack}. Alternating light and dark papers make the layers pop.

I colored the edges of my fussy cutting with the Memento Tuxedo Black marker... avoiding the furry areas that have open white space. All the layers are adhered directly on a white A2 card base.

Now before we get to the hopping, I chose a lucky winner from the comments on last month's hop to win a fun prize and the lucky winner is...

... Karen Adams!! Congratulations Karen!!

Please email me at crystalominkler@gmail.com to claim your prize. 

Please claim the prize before January 3rd, 2024. 

Well, that's it for me this time! Please hop along and enjoy some more inspiration from the Friends of Unity! I'm so excited to hop and check out the furry friends cards that our friends have created to share with us. I will be doing another fun giveaway this month!! Be sure to hop along and comment for a chance to win. {When you comment please leave your name just in case it posts as anonymous.} I'll announce the winner next month! 

Let's get to the hopping...

Crystal <--- you're here

up next ---> Amber

Tammy

Colleen

Kim

Gaylynn

Dawn

Rachel

Jane

Joyce

Thanks so very much for supporting our little hop!

We appreciate you!!

See ya next time.

And I hope you have a wonderful holiday season with your family and friends!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to each of you!

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

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Advent Calendar Day 2 ~ Unity Stamp Co.

Hello there crafty friend!

It's time for Day 2 of the 2023 Advent Calendar from Unity!! My plan is to reveal the Advent Calendar stamp on my YouTube channel each day and also have a short blog post. 

A sweet sentiment stamp is the next Advent Calendar stamp. I stamped it using Twisted Citron Distress Oxide ink to coordinate with the papers I used.

The papers are the Rainbow Alcohol Ink Papers {paper pack} from a past Whit Kit. I thought they'd make a fun background for this CAS card design. And the white layer is die cut using the largest die from the Scallops & Rectangles {nesting dies}.

I used the Ornamental Pines Coordinating Die Set from Unity to die cut the trees. I can't seem to find these dies on the website right now. Not sure if they were discontinued or just out of stock. I finished off the card by adding a few enamel dots from my stash. No clue where they are from since they weren't in any packaging.

You can check out my video revealing the Advent Calendar Day 2 stamp and my process in making this card here... Advent Calendar Day 2 | Unity Stamp Co. 

I believe there are still some Advent Calendars available if you didn't order one yet. Always happy to enable my crafty friends! LOL! I'll be back tomorrow for Day 3 of the 2023 Advent Calendar from Unity! Have an ink-tastic day!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

 

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

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Advent Calendar Day 1 ~ {BYSHC} Sketch Challenge 40 ~ Unity Stamp Co.

Hello there crafty friend!

It's time for Day 1 of the 2023 Advent Calendar from Unity!! I just love Unity's Advent Calendar! It gets more amazing each year. My plan is to reveal the Advent Calendar stamp on my YouTube channel each day and also have a short blog post. Fingers crossed, friends, that I can keep it up!

The delicate flourish tree stamp is the first Advent Calendar stamp. I heat embossed it with my go-to white heat embossing combo of Anti-Static Powder and Sugar Cube Pigment ink from Taylored Expressions, Alabaster White Embossing Powder from Brutus Monroe and my Wagner Precision Heat Tool... all on Pinefeather card stock from Papertrey Ink. And then I die cut it with the smallest stitched circle die from the Scallops & Circles {nesting dies}.

Today's card is also my first card for {BYSHC} Sketch Challenge 40! I think this'll be another fun sketch! Head on over to Build Your Stash Holiday Cardmakers blog to see some more inspiration using this fun sketch. And if you'd like to join in the fun while also building your stash of holiday cards, join us in the Build Your Stash Holiday Cardmakers Facebook group.

I created my pretty layers using the White Winter {paper pack} also from Unity. The light stripes paper is die cut using the smallest rectangle die from the Scallops & Rectangles {nesting dies}. 

The sentiment is also heat embossed with my white heat embossing combo on Pinefeather card stock. I trimmed it and cut a fishtail on the end. I adhered the sentiment directly to the card but I added foam to the back of the circle die and popped it up on the card.

You can check out my video revealing the Advent Calendar Day 1 stamp and my process in making this card here... Advent Calendar Day 1 | Unity Stamp Co.

I believe there are still some Advent Calendars available if you didn't order one yet. Just enabling!! I'll be back tomorrow for Day 2 of the 2023 Advent Calendar from Unity!

Have an ink-tastic day!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

 

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

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Membership Wednesday ~ November 2023 Whit Kit Merry Everything Poinsettia ~ Unity Stamp Co.

 Hello there crafty friend!

I'm back with one more card featuring the gorgeous November 2023 Whit Kit called Merry Everything Poinsettia from Unity! Pretty sure I mentioned this last time but I have to repeat myself... this kit is Gorgeous!

I played a bit with the papers, stamps and the embossing folder!! All so fun! I trimmed a piece of the red snowflake paper down to 4-1/4 x 5-1/2" and then I placed it in the embossing folder and ran it through my Big Shot. I then die cut the paper using the second largest die from the Scallops & Rectangles {nesting dies}. I mat it with a slightly larger piece of gold foil paper from Stampin' Up measuring 3-3/4 x 5". I also cut a little 1/8" strip and adhered that across the paper.

I adhered the panel to a 4-1/4 x 5-1/2" piece of the plaid pattern paper from the kit. I then adhered the entire panel to a white A2 top fold card base measuring 4-1/4 x 11"; scored at 5-1/2". I set the card aside and stamped the solid poinsettia using Candied Apple Distress Oxide on white card stock. I then ink thumped the edges using the Lumberjack Plaid Distress Oxide ink. If you're not familiar with ink thumping, I shared this technique for Technique Tuesday. You can check out the video for that here... Ink Cube Thumping Technique. I used oxides this time but it's the same technique. 

I used an acetate grid to place the loopy flower just where I wanted it. I applied some anti-static powder over the dried red poinsettia and then stamped it with Wow Clear Embossing Ink. I applied some gold embossing powder from my stash. It's from Stampin' Up... I think it's called Gold Glory. I don't know. It's been in my stash for years! I melted the ep with my heat tool and fussy cut the poinsettia. The white in the background was too white so I distressed the edges of the poinsettia with Vintage Photo Distress Ink. I stamped the sentiments with the same technique except on Vintage Cream card stock from Papertrey Ink. It coordinates perfectly with the coloring I added using Vintage Photo on the poinsettia. I trimmed up the sentiments and adhered them to the card. To finish it up, I added foam tape to the back of the poinsettia and popped it up on the card.

Here's a look at the wonderful Whit Kit for November!! It's such a gorgeous kit! I've had so much fun playing with it! That's it for me today! Next week I'll be sharing a card featuring the awesome new December 2023 Whit Kit on my Instagram. You'll probably be surprised to hear that it's another beautiful kit! LOL! I'll be back here on the blog in two weeks with inspiration for one of the fab December memberships. Not quite sure at this point which one I want to play with first. {Of course, they are ALL amazing!!} Until then, have an ink-tastic day!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

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Merry Christmas Card ~ Happy Winter ~ The Greeting Farm

 Hello there crafty friend!

Today I'm wrapping up my guest designing for the month of November for the The Greeting Farm!! This month has seriously flown by! I have a fun holiday card featuring the adorable Happy Winter Digi Set! If you missed my first card as a guest designer for The Greeting Farm, you can check it out here... Fairy Anya. And if you missed seeing my second card for TGF, you can check it out here... Angel Anya.

I had so much fun building a scene for my fairy card earlier this month that I wanted to play some more with my digi stamps. I just happened to get the new Happy Winter Digi Set so I thought this was a perfect opportunity to play. I combined and resized all the digis into a Word Document. I like to play with sizing and then print off a quick draft {an option on my printer to print with less ink} on copy paper. Then I'm able to see if the sizing is right. This one took me a few tries... I had originally had a larger snowman but he just wasn't going to fit without eliminating a tree and I like the balance of the trees on either side of the house so I opted for a tiny snowman. I like to think the kids built him from some of the snowballs.

 Here's a quick list of the Copic markers I used:

Skin / Mouth: E000, E00, E11; R00, R20

Anya's Hair / Ian's Hair: E21, E23; E21, E23, E27

Anya's Clothes: BG70, BG72, BG75, R20, R14, R46, C00, C1

Ian's Clothes: BV20 BV34, BV17, C00, C1, C3

Snow: B000, B60, C00

Snowman Nose: YR15

Snowman Hat / Scarf: R20, R14

Trees: G24, G46

House: Y00, Y11, YR30, YR31, YR24, E74, E77, N0, N1, N3, N5

Sky: B0000, B000

The panel was die cut with the Large Cross-Stitched Rectangle Stackables die from Lawn Fawn. I mat it with a 3-3/8 x 4-5/8" piece of Smokey Shadow card stock from Papertrey Ink. Before I started coloring I found some cute pattern papers in my stash.... the Snowfall Collection from Authentique. I cut two of the papers and adhered them to a white A2 top fold card base. I also cut a 1/8" strip of the Smokey Shadow card stock to adhere as a border between the pattern papers. I used a scrap of the Smokey Shadow card stock to heat emboss my sentiment from the adorable Gingerbread Christmas stamp set. I like to heat emboss with a white pigment ink and white embossing powder. It gives a nice bright white that really pops. Especially on darker card stock. I used the Sugar Cube pigment ink from Taylored Expressions with Alabaster White Embossing powder from Brutus Monroe and I melted the ep with a Wagner Precision Heat tool.

I adhered the sentiment at the bottom of the panel, added a bunch of foam tape to the back of the panel and the sentiment, and then I popped it up on the card. I hope I've inspired you to get inky and have some fun with your digi stamps and papers!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

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Happiness Starts with a Wet Nose ~ Unity Stamp Co.

Hello there crafty friend! 

The amazing sale over at Unity Stamp Co. continues with another fun release for the Cyber Week Sale! Lots of fun and adorable new goodies! Including a super cute new background stamp filled with adorable puppies called Doodled Dog Delight.

I wasn't in a mood to color... shocking, right?! Well, there's a lot of pups in this background. So I thought, let's ink smoosh and then color a few pups. I love how it turned out!

I ink smooshed the background with Vintage Photo and Black Soot Distress Oxide inks. I left some white space too so I could color up a pup here and there. Here's a quick list of the Copic markers I used: E21, E23, N0, N1, N3.

I die cut the background using the largest die from the Scallops & Rectangles {nesting dies} and adhered it to a kraft A2 top fold card base measuring 4-1/4 x 11"; scored at 5-1/2". The sentiment was stamped on white card stock with Black Amalgam ink and die cut using the smallest die from the Postage Stamp {nesting dies}. I added some foam tape to the back of the sentiment and popped it up on the card. So easy peasy and I think it turned out pretty cute. Whatcha think?!

 As a final little touch to tie in the sentiment with the background, I added touches of Glossy Accents to some of the noses. I tried to capture some in the photo above. I sure hope you can see them. That's it for me today! Go check out the awesome new releases for Cyber Week over at Unity! 

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky hugs,

Crystal

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Inky Paws Challenge #212 ~ Color Challenge

Hello there crafty friend!

It's time for a new Inky Paws Challenge... a beautiful Color Challenge! 

I sure hope that you'll join in the fun and play along with us with your Newton's Nook Designs products! You have until Friday, December 8th to get your entries in for the #212 Color Challenge and a chance to win a $20 store credit to Newton's Nook Designs!

Inky Paws Challenge #212 - Color Challenge

Absolutely gorgeous Christmas colors... Pine Bough Green, Christmas Red, Black & Kraft.

I stamped the beautiful truck from the Holiday Haul Stamp Set with Memento Tuxedo Black ink. Colored it up with some Copic markers and then die cut it using the coordinating Holiday Haul Die Set. 

Inspiration for my card came from the {BYSHC} Sketch Challenge #39 over at Build Your Stash Holiday Cardmakers Facebook Group. I've really enjoyed this sketch! Thursday, November 30th is the last day to enter this challenge. If you use the Inky Paws Challenge colors and the {BYSHC} Sketch Challenge 39 sketch you could enter both challenges! Two for the price of one!! LOL

Here's a quick list of the Copic Markers I used to color up the truck filled with holiday goodies:

Truck: E30, E31, E35, N0, N1, N3, N5, N7, R20, R14

Wreath: YG11, G24, R20, R14

Tree: YG11, G24, G46

Presents: YG11, G24, R20, R14, E30, E31, N1, N3, N5

I paired up the Holiday Haul Stamp Set with the beautiful Christmas Time 6x6 Paper Pad. I was so excited to find papers in this paper pad that worked with the current color challenge. I didn't want to cover up the pretty pattern papers so I die cut a stitched scalloped oval from vellum card stock using a die from the Oval Frames Die Set.

Now it's your turn to get your paws inky with your Newton's Nook Designs products and create a project using the color combo of Pine Bough Green, Christmas Red, Black & Kraft. Be sure to link up to the Inky Paws Challenge! Can't wait to see your projects!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

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