{BYSHC} Christmas in July 2026 Linky Party ~ Small Snowflake ~ Gina Marie Designs

 Hello there crafty friend!

It's day 3 of the {BYSHC} Christmas in July 2026 Linky Party!! I'm excited to share another holiday card that I've made to add to my Christmas stash! This time I played with a couple dies from our fabulous Sponsor Gina Marie Designs. An all white card!

I get so intimidated by this style of card but this idea popped in my head and I just love it! I used the Small Snowflake Die from Gina Marie Designs. And the circles were die cut using a die from the X Stitched Circle Dies {not currently available}. I just adhered those together with iCraft UltraBond Adhesive from Sponsor Therm O Web.

I wanted something in the background. Just plain white didn't seem right to me so I used the Swirls Pierce & Cut Plate from Sponsor Taylored Expressions. I adhered it to a white A2 top fold card base using iCraft UltraBond Adhesive.

I finished off the card with a cut apart sentiment from Sponsor Unity. I believe this was a freebie in an order sometime around Christmas last year. I adhered it to the circles and then I popped up the circles and sentiment using a bunch of iCraft 3D Foam Tape Jumbo Roll (white) from Sponsor Therm O Web. I'm so happy with how this one turned out!

If you haven't already, stop by the {BYSHC} Christmas in July 2026 Linky Party to check out all the wonderful Holiday inspiration being shared!! I have so many wonderful ideas for future cards! So inspiring! I hope you have an INKredible day!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

{BYSHC} Christmas in July 2026 Linky Party ~ {BYSHC} Sketch Challenge 71 ~ Snowflake Deer ~ A Colorful Life Designs

Hello there crafty friend!

I'm back with a little inspiration for the {BYSHC} Sketch Challenge 71 hosted in the Build Your Stash Holiday Cardmakers Facebook group AND it's day 2 of the {BYSHC} Christmas in July 2026 Linky Party! Today I'm sharing an endearing Christmas card featuring two fab stencils from our amazing Sponsor A Colorful Life Designs! This month's prize for the sketch challenge is a $25 gift code to A Colorful Life Designs! Woohoo!

I love working with Kraft and White for the holidays! I used the beautiful Snowflake Deer Stencil from A Colorful Life Designs for my focal image. I did cut it down a bit using a circle die - it's more of a snow globe shape. 

Adding a touch of love to my background with the HeartFlakes Stencil. I adore these heart snowflakes!! I think they compliment the deer so nicely. I used Sugar Cube White Pigment ink from Sponsor Taylored Expressions over the two stencils on Kraft card stock from Papertrey Ink.

The sentiment is a cut apart sentiment from Sponsor Unity that I believe was a freebie with an order last Christmas. I finished off the card with a few White Glossy Card Bling confetti pieces from A Colorful Life Designs.  

Here's a look at {BYSHC} Sketch Challenge 71 for the month of July. If you're interested in seeing a bunch more inspiration for this sketch, check out the amazing inspiration from the design team over on the {BYSH} Cardmakers blog! I went a little rogue with my design using a circle in place of the square or rectangle and then I moved the sentiment. It just didn't look right on the other side of the card.

Join us for the {BYSHC} Christmas in July 2026 Linky Party!! Start building your stash of holiday cards and who knows... maybe you'll win a prize!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Inky hugs,

Crystal

{BYSHC} Christmas in July 2026 Linky Party ~ Snowman Globe ~ RAM Stamps

Hello there crafty friend!

I'm so excited to share my first card for the {BYSHC} Christmas in July 2026 Linky Party hosted by the Build Your Stash Holiday Cardmakers Facebook group! This is our seventh annual Christmas in July Linky Party! Woohoo!! This event is a great excuse to get ahead on those holiday cards to relieve some of the stress later on in the year during the holidays. I am super excited to add a few more holiday cards to my Christmas card stash and I sure hope that you'll join in the fun!

For my first card I've made a sweet holiday card using the adorable Snowman Globe Digital Stamp from our Sponsor Rachelle Anne Miller Digital Stamps AKA RAM Stamps. I combined and resized a few digital stamps on a page and printed them off with my printer. I colored up the cute snowman globe image with Copic markers. I wrapped the globe with white baker's twine and popped it up on the card with foam tape.

Copic markers I used:

Snowman / Snow: C0, C2, Colorless Blender

Nose: YR20, YR15

Arms: E57

Hat: N1, N3, N5, R20, R14, R27

Scarf: C0, C2, YR11, YG03

Stars: YG11, YG03, R20, R14, R27

Globe: YG11, YG03

I like to revisit some of our past sketches when I'm looking for inspiration. I went WAY back and chose BYSHC Sketch 19 for my card today. Such a fun and quick sketch... I just might use this one again.

I paired up the cute globe with the Knit Picky Winter 6x6 Paper Pack from Sponsor Lawn Fawn. I also used the retired Winter Otter stamp set for the sentiment from Lawn Fawn to finish off my card.

I'm also a Sponsor for the {BYSHC} Christmas in July 2026 Linky Party!! I have a wonderful prize set aside for one lucky winner. For a chance to win my fun prize make a Christmas card and link it up to the linky party blog post on the Build Your Stash Holiday Cardmakers blog. All of the winners of all the amazing prizes will be announced on the {BYSHC} blog on Tuesday, July 28th.

Be sure to stop by the {BYSHC} Christmas in July 2026 Linky Party to check out all the wonderful holiday inspiration from our Sponsors and the {BYSHC} Design Team!! I'm so excited to continue building my stash of holiday cards for 2026... I hope you'll join in the fun and play along!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

Spooky Mixed Media Halloween ~ Scaredy Cats Club ~ Unity Stamp Co.

Hello there crafty friend! 

I had some inky time with a brand new Halloween stamp from Unity's latest release. I just had to ink up the kitties with the ghosts... so cute!!

I inked up the Scaredy Cats Club stamp with Black Amalgam ink and colored it up with my Copic markers. I blended some Black Soot Distress ink around the edges of the die cut image to finish it off. I used a die from the Scallops & Squares {nesting dies} to die cut the cats and ghosts.

Copic Markers used:

Cats: N1, N3, N5, R20

Cats Eyes / Ghosts: C0, C2

Stems / Grass / Sentiment: YG00

Purple Background: V000, V12, V15, V17

I ink smooshed my background panel with Wilted Violet, and Villainous Potion Distress Inks. Once I was happy with my ink smooshing, I blended some Black Soot Distress Ink all over the panel. I die cut the panel using the largest die from the Scallops & Rectangles {nesting dies}.

I adhered the sentiment to the square focal image and then popped them both up with foam tape. So fun to make a Halloween card. I hope you like it.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Inky hugs,

Crystal

Tawny Owl Paperie Inky Inspiration Sketch 44 ~ Membership Wednesday ~ July 2026 KOM Ahead of the Holiday Herd Card 2 ~ Unity Stamp Co.

Hello there crafty friend!

Happy Membership Wednesday! Today I'm sharing inspiration for the Tawny Owl Paperie Inky Inspiration Sketch Challenge 44 in the Tawny Owl Paperie Inky Inspiration Facebook group. I just adore The Creepy Peekies stamps from this month's KOM called Ahead of the Holiday Herd.

I stamped the cute mummy from the July 2026 KOM called Ahead of the Holiday Herd on white card stock using Black Amalgam ink from Gina K. Designs. I die cut the mummy using a die from the Scallops & Squares {nesting dies}. And then I did some coloring with my Copic markers.

Copic markers used:

Mummy: YG00, YG11

Eyes / Cloth: C0, C2

Wall: E04, E39

Grass: YG11, YG03

Ground: YG91, YG67

Here's a look at the fun sketch for Tawny Owl Paperie Inky Inspiration Sketch Challenge 44. The sketch, as always, is meant to inspire not require. So let the sketch lead in your design, but don't feel limited by it. I flipped the sketch to work with the stamp and I added a second sentiment for the circle accent this time.

I paired up the fun mummy with papers from the Spooky Days {paper pack}. I used the measurements from the sketch for my background layers. Oops! I omitted the 1/8" strip. I cut it but I guess I forgot to adhere it to the card. Haha. The happy Halloween sentiment is from the Little Boos stamps.

All of the layers are adhered directly to a white A2 top fold card base. I adhered the mummy layer to a black scalloped mat that I die cut using a die from the same die set. I adhered the sentiments to the square focal image and popped them all up with foam tape finishing off the card.

Here's a look at the Kit of the Month membership stamps. A full 8-1/2 x 11 sheet of fabulous red rubber stamps!!

Don't want the whole kit... these cute stamps are also available separately in The Creepy Peekies stamps.

That's it for me today! I hope you've been INKspired to play with your membership stamps! And if you're inspired to play along with the TOPII Sketch 44, I sure hope you'll enter your card into the challenge album. Have a fantastic day!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

Tawny Owl Paperie Inky Inspiration Sketch 44 ~ Membership Wednesday ~ July 2026 KOM Ahead of the Holiday Herd ~ Unity Stamp Co.

Hello there crafty friend!

Happy Membership Wednesday! Today I'm sharing inspiration for the Tawny Owl Paperie Inky Inspiration Sketch Challenge 44 in the Tawny Owl Paperie Inky Inspiration Facebook group.

I stamped the cute kitty from the July 2026 KOM called Ahead of the Holiday Herd on white card stock using Black Amalgam ink from Gina K. Designs. I die cut the cat using a die from the Scallops & Squares {nesting dies}. And then I did some coloring with my Copic markers.

Copic markers used:

Cat: C0, C2

Eyes: YG11, YG06, YG17, C0, C2

Nose: R00, R20

Towel: Y11, Y15, Y38

Robe: Y11, Y15, Y38, RV10, RV02

Ground: C0, C2

Here's a look at the fun sketch for Tawny Owl Paperie Inky Inspiration Sketch Challenge 44. The sketch, as always, is meant to inspire not require. So let the sketch lead in your design, but don't feel limited by it. My focal image is much bigger this time but I think the sketch is still apparent in my design.

I paired up the cute kitty, also available separately in the Self Care Satire stamps, with the Fabulous Enough {paper pack}. I used the measurements from the sketch for my background layers. And trimmed a 1/8" strip of black card stock to cover the line where the papers meet. The cute heart is die cut from one of the pattern papers in the pack using a die from the Dashes and Frills Hearts {die set}.

All of the layers are adhered directly to a white A2 top fold card base except for the sentiment and the heart. I popped those up with foam tape.

Here's a look at the Kit of the Month membership stamps. 

This cute stamp is also available separately in the Self Care Satire stamps.

That's it for me today! I hope you've been INKspired to play with your membership stamps! And if you're inspired to play along with the TOPII Sketch 44, I sure hope you'll enter your card into the challenge album. Have a fantastic day!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

~ Friends of Unity July 2026 Blog Hop ~

Hello there crafty friend & Happy 4th of July!!!

It's time for another Friends of Unity Blog Hop!! Woohoo! This month's cue is lots of fun because it's a challenge that we are hosting in the Unity Show & Tell Facebook group. I sure hope that you can find some time to play along with us! 

Today we are sharing inspiration for a fun Color Challenge!! A nod to America's 250th!! But it's not a 4th of July themed challenge - if that's how you are inspired though, go for it! We're just looking for fun and creative cards using the red, white & blue color combo. There are 4 fabulous prizes up for grabs for 3 lucky winners!! All you have to do is enter a card into the Color Challenge album in the Unity Show & Tell FB group.

I was inspired to use the new Sweet Bee Blooms stamp that's available separately or in the July 2026 Kit of the Month called Ahead of the Holiday Herd. Isn't it amazing?!!

Other than my addition of neutral black, I kept strictly to the color combo. A little out of my comfort zone giving the bees a little shading to keep them white and also keeping the centers of the flowers white with a little shading, but I think it turned out pretty.

Copic markers used:

Red: R20, R14, R27

Shadows for White: C0, C2

Blue: B000, B02, B24

I tore the edges of my layers and adhered them to a white A2 top fold card base. And finished it off with the sentiment that I popped up with foam tape. Kept it easy peasy and only made one card this time. My back is getting better but I'm still being careful not to sit too long and doing my stretches and exercises. Thanks to all those who are praying for me. I appreciate the get well wishes, too.

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

... Carla from Arizona!! Congratulations, Carla!!

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

Please claim the prize before July 29th, 2026. 

I'm also sharing the winners for our friend Dawn. She wasn't able to participate this month but wanted to share her winners so I'm sharing them here. The lucky winners are... Meghan K. and Vannessa Osbourn. Please reach out to Dawn at lovepaperetc@gmail.com to claim your prize.

Well, that's it for me this time! I'm so excited to see how our friends were inspired for this month's hop! 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 ---> Von Marie

Jenni

Rachel

Toni

Joyce

Doreen

Thanks so very much for supporting our little hop!

We appreciate you so much!!

Inky Hugs,

Crystal