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Saturday, January 6, 2018

~ Friends of Unity January Blog Hop ~

Woohoo! It's time for another Friends of Unity Blog Hop! Our theme for this month is Winter... no Christmas. I don't know about you, but I'm ready for a break from the Christmas cards. I do have some ideas still for cards, but those will have to wait. In the meantime, though, I do love Winter and I thought it would be fun to do a light - mostly white card.




My sweet husband gave me this beautiful coffee mug for my birthday and inspiration for my card hit instantly. In fact, it completely replaced my original plan... so I'll be tucking that idea in my inspiration cap for another time. 




I started with a 5-1/2 x 4-1/4" piece of white card stock that I stamped the Woodland Owl with Memento tuxedo black ink - making sure to keep him to the left side. I stamped him again on a post it note and fussy cut him out for a mask to protect my image. Once the mask was on, I used a few different stamps from a few different kits ~ I Am Who I Am, Never, Hug, and Flower of the Fall. I stamped them using Tumbled Glass, Tea Dye, and Pumice Stone. I really liked the coffee ring-like image to the right of the owl on the mug but I didn't have a stamp that was big enough so... I smooshed some Pumice Stone distress ink on an acrylic block, spritzed it a bit with water, and inked up the bottom of my new owl mug! It was perfect!! I removed the mask and colored the owl using a blender pen. I smooshed the same colors I used for the background, plus Walnut Stain, Antique Linen, and Vintage Photo, onto a large acrylic block and I dabbed the blender pen into the different colors coloring the image until I was happy with the result. I was careful not to go over the areas too much since I didn't use watercolor paper.




 I added a few touches of white gel pen to the dots around the owl. I inked up the sentiment from Winter Blessings using Black Soot distress oxide ink and heat embossed it with Hero Arts Ultra Fine clear embossing powder. 




I die cut the entire panel using My Favorite Things Blueprints 31 and then ran it through my Big Shot with the Papertrey Ink Linen Impression plate. The impression plate gave the panel a bit of texture that you feel on the mug. The picture above shows a bit of the texture from the impression plate. I popped up the panel using dimensionals and just adhered it to a white card base.



I also liked the other wintry sentiment in the Winter Blessings kit, so I inked that up with Black Soot distress oxide ink and heat embossed it also with ultra fine clear embossing powder. I've always loved the idea of finishing a card by stamping the inside. Most of the time, I don't because of time constraints or whatnot, but this time I wanted to be sure to bring the wintry feel to the inside of the card. I stamped the Woodland Owl using Tumbled Glass distress ink... I did stamp off the image once on scrap paper so the image would be lighter. 

I showed my husband this card and he said, "That looks like the mug I got you." I told him I loved it so much it inspired my card. I think he got a kick out of that.

~ Let's Hop ~

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

up next ---> Amber Trubiak







Thanks so much for stopping by!!

Hope to see you next month for our third hop!
~ Crystal


73 comments:

  1. WOW WOW WOW - all of those lovely subtle layers of color - and I recognize that Linen Impression plate ;) Way to rock the Hop, girl!

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    1. Thank you, Amber! That linen impression plate was on my wishlist for THE longest time... so glad that you made me get it! LOL :)

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  2. Your creation from your inspiration were spot on! I love everything about this. Great job!!

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  3. You made me "awe" out loud! I love the owl and the blue flecks! Stunning!

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  4. This card is ahhhhmazing!!
    I love this! Love your colors and now, I want this set!

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  5. This is gorgeous! You should frame it and hang it near your desk where you have the owl mug. What white gel pen do you use? I need to start adding some white accents. Again, beautiful work!

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    1. Thank you, Daphne! I use the Uni-ball Signo white gel pen. I'm so glad you like my card. :)

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  6. Wow this is awesome. Reminds me of an Indian painting I do not know why maybe the coloring but the owl looks like he is staring right at me. I love this card it is great

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  7. Crystal, this is gorgeous! I absolutely love the design and your color selection. Stunning! I appreciate your prayers for my family and I. I came back home early Thursday morning. I'm sad to say that my sister-in-law went back to the hospital on Thursday. On top of everything else she now has double pneumonia. Your continued prayers are greatly appreciated. I believe I purchased the art stones from blitsy.com, one of my favorite online shops.

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    1. Thank you so much, Dawn! I will definitely continue to pray for your sister-in-law and your family. Thanks for the tip on the art stones... I'll have to go check it out. :)

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  8. Gorgeous! And now of course I need that stamp! Love all of the details here... from the blue in the owl to the awesome coffee rings...and love the shadow of the owl on the inside.. brilliant!

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  9. Wonderful card! I love the mix of colours. Beautiful cup too!! tfs Germaine

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  10. You are SO talented....How do you come up with all the little touches???

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    1. Awww... thank you, Lisa! Honestly, for this card it was all inspired by the mug... the colors, the images, the texture. It was a blast to make!

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  11. So amazingly beautiful and detailed!

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  12. Very nice! I love the colors and I love that you showed us what inspired you! Thanks for sharing.

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  13. WOW!! That card is beautiful! The coloring is perfect! Thanks for sharing.

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  14. Just lovely. I adore everything about this!

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  15. Absolutely gorgeous card and lovely technique!

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  16. Okay I absolutely love that you used the inspirational coffee mug as your coffee circle stamp lol. Love this card!!

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    1. Thank you! Isn't it fantastic... it really was perfect! :)

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  17. I love this card- the background paper frame is perfect!

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  18. This card is gorgeous! The colors and the details are amazing! I added this set to my Unity wishlist because of what you created.

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    1. Thank you so much! Yay! I'm so glad I inspired you... I hope you love the kit as much as I do!

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  19. How awesome is that??!!! You did a great job! Your cup has come to life!!

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  20. Wow it sure does look like the mug. Great job

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  21. This is simply the best one ever....truly love this card and will be trying to "recreate" as well

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  22. So lovely! Amazing capture of your owl mug

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  23. This is hauntingly beautiful. I think it should be framed.

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  24. Beautiful art work! You really captured the essence of the mug and winter with the soft colors! I love the stamping layers, right up my alley!

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  25. Great work with color and layering

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  26. Beautiful card!! I love that it was inspired by your mug. Lots of detail in your card....love it!!

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  27. Wow, your owl coloring is so stunning! Love the inside too. Such a creative card. Thank you! I wouldn’t have considered this stamp until I seen your card.

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  28. The things I learn!!! A linen impression plate..what a lovely card...thx

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    1. Thank you! I totally understand too... I remember when I first saw a card using the linen impression plate. It was a must have!

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  29. One of my favorite stamps from \unity. Gorgeous card. I really love that you used it on the inside of the card too.

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    1. Thank you so much, Jan! It's one of my favorites too! I am really loving stamping inside of my cards too.

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  30. This is so stunning!!! love the idea of running it with a textureplate through the bigshot, never done that after coloring!!! have to try that!

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    1. Thank you so much, Sandra! I really wanted to achieve the texture that the mug has and I think that linen plate was just the right touch. ;)

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  31. I am obsessed with anything owl! This card and your cup are just beautiful 🦉can’t wait to see more of your creations!

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  32. Amazing looking card owl love your technique thank you for sharing

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