Polka Dot Orchard ~ Sketchy Pumpkin Spice

Hello! I wanted to share a card I made using the new digi stamps from Polka Dot Orchard by Jessica Pickeral Burnham. Jessica just released a couple of new digi stamps in her Etsy shop and she's having a sale... but hurry... the sale ends very soon!!

I resized the background digi to fit an A2 sized card. I was able to get two backgrounds on one sheet... YAY!! I printed the images with my printer and let it set just for a few minutes before I started coloring. This was the first time I'd used my new printer for printing a digi stamp so I wanted to make sure the ink was dry before I started coloring with my Copic markers.

I had so much fun coloring this background!! I die cut the background and mat it on a die cut piece of Cocoa Bean card stock that I also die cut using a rectangle scallop die. I adhered my layers to a Canyon Clay card base. I printed off a sentiment that I trimmed and mat with a scrap of Cocoa Bean card stock. I just adhered that layer flat... I wanted to keep this card pretty flat so it didn't require extra postage. I did add some Ripened Pumpkin Nuvo drops. My last touch ~ a total last minute thing ~ was to add some splatter. I smooshed some Vintage Photo and Carved Pumpkin distress inks on an acrylic block and then using my water pen I splattered away. I just love this digi stamp! I love it so much I'm working on another card... I hope to share later this week!!

Now go get yourself this wonderful digi stamp... it's on sale for just a little longer!!

Thank you friends for checking out my blog post!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs!

~ Crystal

Scrapping for Less ~ October 2018 Flavor of the Month Card Kit ~ Joy to the World

Joy to the World! That song so reminds me of Christmas because as a little girl I was full of joy and glee waiting for Christmas to arrive. Of course though, what child isn’t? Right? Well, I feel the same way every single month when it comes time to reveal the card kit. This month is no exception because Christmas cards are my most absolute favorite cards to make! So let’s get cracking on those Christmas cards! Have you started yours yet? Well, if not here are some fantastic little collections to get you going. So run don’t walk to make sure you get your Flavor of the Month kit this month, it is packed full of JOY! Also, you could win a past kit if you head back to the SFL blog and join in by participating in our rafflecopter!

Crafty peeps!! This month's kit is AMAZING!!! Oh my goodness... I'm not going to keep you waiting, let's get to the cards!

For my first card I used Sketch #1 with Collection One.

I cut and adhered my patterned papers to a piece of thin copy paper that I die cut with a stitched rectangle die. I adhered that to a piece of white card stock and then adhered the entire piece to a Jelly Bean Green card base. I set that aside and stamped the absolutely adorable Christmas Bug image by Stamping Bella with Memento tuxedo black ink. I colored the image in with the following Copic markers ~ Y06, Y11, Y13, Y17, YR02, YR16, R14, R27, V06, V09, G000, G14, YG63, YG67, BG0000, BG000, BG01, BG10, BG70, B0000, N0, N3, N6, C00, C3, 0.

I die cut a piece of patterned paper from the collection, as well as, a piece of white card stock using a stitched circle die. I layered the pieces and adhered them to the card. I fussy cut the Christmas Bug image and adhered it to the card. I stamped the sentiment {masking each separate word since it was too long to fit as it is} on Jelly Bean Green card stock using VersaMark ink and heat embossed some ultra fine white embossing powder. I trimmed the sentiment pieces and mat them on white card stock. I adhered the sentiment pieces to the card and then decided to add some fun Sprinkled Sugar Stickles from the Banana Split subscription to the snow on the Christmas Bug.

I added the stickles to the snow on the car and under the car! Really love that bit of sparkle the stickles adds to the image!

For my second card I used Sketch #2 with Collection Two.

I mat my patterned paper with red card stock and then adhered it to a white card base. I stamped the ornament image using Candied Apple and Barn Door distress inks. It's hard to see in the picture but the Barn Door distress ink gives the ornament some dimension... I applied it to the edges of the ornament. Sometimes pictures just don't cooperate. I heat embossed the top of the ornament with a gold embossing powder from my stash. I fussy cut that and adhered it to the top of the ornament. I adhered some of the ribbon included in the collection so that it hung down the piece of white card stock and then I tied a bow and adhered that with a pop dot. I cut two tags using the tag die from the Banana Split subscription. Since the tags are the same size I just adhered them to the card so the second tag from patterned paper would just peek out from behind. To finish off this card I added a couple sequins to the tag.

For my third card I used Sketch #4 with Collection Three.

Now if you're looking at the sketch for this card, you're going to notice I omitted a couple elements. I tried to make those other elements works but this card just didn't like it. It wanted to be simple layers with some fun sequins and some pretty shimmer from the stickles that I added to the snow on the street light. :) 

I adhered my layer of patterned paper on the Berrylicious card stock and then adhered it to a white card base. I die cut a cross stitched rectangle from white card stock and then I stamped the critter image with Memento tuxedo black ink. I stamped the image again on a post-it note to create my mask. I applied the mask to the image and then stamped the street light with the same black ink. I also stamped a mask for the street light. I fussy cut that out and applied it to the image. I blended some Worn Lipstick and Spun Sugar distress inks around the masked images until I was satisfied with the coverage. 

I then removed the masks and colored the images with the following Copic markers:

Street Light/Song books ~ N0, N1, N2, N3, N5, N7, R14, R27, Y06, Y11, Y35.

Bear ~ E44, E47, RV21, RV34, N0, N5, R20, YG23,

Penguin ~ N0, N1, N5, B00, B12, YR15, YR68, and touches of white gel pen

Deer ~ E21, E23, E25, E31, E34, E51, E53, W00, W4, N0, N5, R20, B00, YG23, 0 

I stamped the sentiment and music notes. To finish off this card I added some sequins and some stickles to the top of the street light.

For my fourth card I used Sketch #3 with Collection Four.

I started by layering my patterned paper onto some Red Hot card stock and then I adhered it to a white card base. I cut a couple pieces of patterned paper from the collection and used my corner rounder to trim the corners. I adhered these pieces to scraps of Red Hot card stock that I trimmed and also trimmed the corners. I stamped the sweet snowman and the mug on a scrap piece of white card stock with Memento tuxedo black ink and colored the images in with the following Copic markers:

Santa ~ E000, E00, E51, N0, N1, N3, N7, R14, R20, R27, 0

Chimney ~ N0, N1, N3, R39, R89, E40, B0000 (highlights for the snow)

Mug ~ G19, G29, G99, N0, N1, E27

I added some shading around the Santa image using B0000 and then I die cut it using a circle die. I die cut some Red Hot card stock with a slightly larger circle die and then mat the Santa image. I adhered my patterned paper pieces to the card and then popped up the Santa image. I stamped the sentiment on a scrap of Red Hot card stock with VersaMark ink and heat embossed some ultra fine white embossing powder. I trimmed the sentiment into a banner and popped it up on the card. I adhered a Sweater Sugar Cookie die cut that's included in the collection and then adhered the mug. To finish off the card I added a few sequins to tie in the green throughout the card.

That's my cards for today! I absolutely adore this kit!! It's perfect to get a start on your Christmas cards for this Holiday season that is just around the corner!

Here's a look at the Double Dip Sundae subscription.

Here's a look at the Banana Split subscription.

I hope you enjoyed the cards I shared today. I had so much fun creating them to share with you all.

Let's get to hopping and see what the other members of the design team and our wonderful guest designers have created!

Up next is Luci!!

Here's the full list just in case you need it...

Scrapping for Less

Crystal <--- you're here

Luci

LeeAnn

Katie

Courtney

Stacy

Desiree

Jenn

Amy Tsuruta {Guest Designer}

Christine Patterson {Guest Designer}

Kari Webster {Guest Designer}

Jackie Pasko {Guest Designer}

Mary Polanco {Guest Designer}

Teresa

After checking out the hop, make sure to join the Rafflecopter back on the SFL blog to have 

a chance to win an awesome prize!! 

Thank you friends for checking out my blog post!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs!

~ Crystal

Scrapping for Less ~ Newton's Nook ~ Sending Warm Thoughts

Hello! Today I'm sharing a couple of cute Fall cards using the Sweater Weather stamp set by Newton's Nook. Now this adorable set is geared a bit more towards a Christmas theme with the snowflakes and the mittens included in the set. I had a different idea for this set since the temperatures are starting to drop and it's finally time to pull out some sweaters, I really wanted to make a Fall themed card using this set so let's have a look at what I came up with... 

I started by blending some Vintage Photo and Walnut Stain distress ink over the Newton's Nook Tree Rings stencil on two pieces of kraft card stock measuring 4 x 5-1/4". I adhered a strip of coordinating card stock on the left edge and then adhered a 1-1/2" strip of Echo Park Celebrate Autumn patterned paper on both pieces of stenciled kraft card stock. I then mat these pieces with a dark brown card stock measuring 4-1/8 x 5-3/8" and adhered them to kraft card bases. I stamped the sentiment on a piece of coordinating card stock using Versamark watermark ink and heat embossed a fine white embossing powder. I then die cut it with a banner die that I trimmed on one end. I adhered these banners to the card and set them aside.

Since I wanted a Fall theme for my card, I decided to use the coffee cup and pumpkins from the Newton's Nook Fall-ing For You stamp set that was included in the September 2017 Flavor of the Month card kit. I stamped all the images in Memento tuxedo black ink and them colored them in with the following Copic markers:

Newton ~ YR0000, YR21, YR24, BG70, BG72, N0, N1, N2, R37, R56

Bear ~ E44, E47, E49, E70, E71, E74, R00, YR15, YR21, YR24, YR68, Y35, BG70, BG72

Pumpkins ~ E55, E57, YR15, YR27, YR68

Coffee Cups ~ R37, R56, BG70, BG72, YR21, YR24, YR68, N0

All that was left to do was fussy cutting the images out and adhering them to the cards using a liquid glue. I sure hope you enjoyed the cards I'm sharing with you today. I had so much fun making them!

Thank you friends for checking out my blog post!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs!

~ Crystal

Scrapping for Less ~ Lawn Fawn ~ Merry Little Christmas!

Hello! Today I'm sharing a bunch of super cute cards using Lawn Fawn's Say What? Christmas Critters along with a few other Lawn Fawn products. Let's have a look, shall we?

I really wanted to make a card that would showcase the sweet critters included in the stamp set but I also wanted to play with the Lawn Fawn Really Rainbow Christmas papers. I pulled out my collage die and started die cutting the papers. I went a little crazy... I ended up with more than enough pieces to make 5 cards.

Now it was time for assembling the card bases. I chose coordinating card stock to mat each collage. I adhered the outside piece and then adhered each stitched piece. Once all of those were done, I adhered each one to a white card base.

Time for the fun! I stamped each of the little critters and the sentiments in the word bubbles several times on white card stock with Memento tuxedo black ink and started coloring with my Copic markers. I chose colors to match the fun rainbow colors in the papers.

Penguin ~ N1, N3, N5, N7, YR14, YR16, R24, R27.

Deer ~ E23, E25, E51, E53, E31, E34, W4.

Llama ~ W00, W1, W3, E41, E51, BG13, BG32.

Unicorn ~ YR16, R27, YG05, Y15, B00, BG32, R00, E0000, BV000, BV04, W4.

I then decided the little critters needed some trees behind them, so I grabbed the Lawn Fawn Winter Skies stamp set and stamped the trees several times on white card stock with Memento tuxedo black ink and also colored them in with Copic markers. I used ~ YG03, YG17, YG23, E57. I played around with the shading on the trees alternating the darker to lighter colors to give the trees some interest rather than make them all the same.

All that was left to do was assemble the cute critter scene on the cards. I decided to use the main sentiment to ground the scene so I die cut the banners from coordinating card stock using a banner die and stamped the sentiment using VersaMark ink and heat embossing a fine white embossing powder. I popped the banners up on the card with foam tape and then adhered the trees with a liquid glue. I alternated popping up the critters on the first four cards coordinating them to the particular sentiment. For example, I popped up the llama on the card with the 'fa-la-la llama' sentiment. On my last card I adhered several trees in the background and then popped up all of the critters having them 'sit' on the banner.

This is such a fun set to play with!! I loved it so much that I also made some tags!! 

I kept the design very simple. 

I die cut the bases of the tags from the Lawn Fawn Really Rainbow Christmas papers. 

I die cut the frames of the tags from white card stock.  I had some critters and sentiment bubbles left over from the cards that I had made so I just used those for these tags.

 I did change up four of them by adding the sentiment to a white base that I had die cut with the other bubble die in the coordinating Say What Gift Tags die set. To finish these tags off, I added some baker's twine from my stash. So cute! And quick!

Now, be sure to go to the shop and sign up on the waitlist for this fantastic stamp set!! You can do that... here!!

Thank you friends for checking out my blog post!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs!

~ Crystal

~ Friends of Unity October Blog Hop ~

Hello! Happy World Cardmaking Day!! I hope that you get to play on this day for us card making peeps! Speaking of... can you believe that it's October already?! Time is flying by so quickly. I do love the cooler temperatures and the gorgeous colors appearing in the trees. Speaking of trees... wink wink... our Cue for the Friends of Unity October Blog Hop is Leaves.

I LOVE Fall! I've mentioned this in other posts. I just can't help myself... the rich oranges, yellows, reds and even the browns! Sigh... I love love love them! Add to that an adorable fall themed stamp set and Oh My Goodness... again, I say Love!

Another thing that I love... is a good sketch! I found this sketch in my Sketch Journal and thought it would be perfect to showcase this adorable stamp from the Hoppy Fall stamp set. I started by stamping this sweet bunny and a few leaves using Gina K's Black Amalgam on white card stock AND on Canson XL watercolor paper. The card above was colored using the following Copic markers ~ Y000, Y02, Y06, Y11, YG0000, YG61, YG63, YR15, YR16, YR68, R14, R20, R27, N0, E000, E23, E25, E30, E31. I die cut the bunny with the Labels Three die from Spellbinders. I also die cut a piece of Kraft card stock that I cut in half and adhered just on the edges of the bottom and top portion of the main panel. Since the center portion wasn't adhered, I could slide my patterned paper in between the layers of the focal image. I adhered those pieces in place and then popped up the whole piece on the layers adhered to a Kraft card base.

For my second card, I flipped the sketch and also watercolored the image using ZIG Clean Color Real Brush pens with similar colors to the Copic colored version. I changed up the patterned papers a bit but I really love how these two cards turned out.

The inside of the first card. I added a piece of white card stock with a strip of patterned paper and stamped the entire sentiment with Memento tuxedo black ink.

The inside of the second card... just like the first, I added a piece of white card stock with a strip of patterned paper and stamped the entire sentiment with Memento tuxedo black ink.

Surprise!! I have another card!! Did you know that the beautifully colored part of the Poinsettia plant is actually colored bracts which are modified leaves?! A fun fact I've learned and one of the reasons I'm playing with the Poinsettia with Love sentiment kit for this hop. Let's check out the card I made...

I started with a pretty simple sketch idea with a diagonal cut of patterned paper mat on a piece of gold card stock, also cut diagonally. I wanted the words on the paper to stand out so I adhered the mat patterned paper to a white card base. I then stamped the gorgeous poinsettia on a piece of Canson XL watercolor paper (110 lb) using Amalgam black ink. I watercolored the image with ZIG Clean Color Real Brush pens and once it was dry, I fussy cut it out. I added some gold to the center of the flower using a gold gel pen and I also added some glossy accents to the red berries to give them some shine.

I popped up the fussy cut poinsettia on the card using dimensionals and that was it... I absolutely love how this card turned out! I originally wanted to add a sentiment near the top in the white portion of the card, but decided against it. I just love it how it is... so I'll add a sentiment inside or maybe I'll just leave it blank to hand write my holiday greetings to the recipient... who knows?!

Thank you friends for checking out my blog post! I sure hope that you like the cards I've shared today. There are a few giveaways this month so be sure to check out each of the blog posts and comment. We absolutely love all of your comments!

Now I think it's time to get hopping!

Kim

Robyn

Bobbie Sue

Crystal <--- you're here

up next ---> Eileen

Jeanie

Dawn

Joyce

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs!

~ Crystal

Scrapping for Less ~ March 2018 FOTM ~ Let's Make Some Birthday Cards

Hello! Today, I am sharing a handful of cards I created using an older Flavor of the Month card kit from Scrapping for Less.

I found myself in need of some birthday cards and I remembered this sweet March 2018 Flavor of the Month card kit in my stash called It's All About Ice Cream. The perfect kit to replenish my birthday card stash!!

For all of the cards I created, I went with a pretty simple design... I started with a 5-1/4 x 4" piece of patterned paper from the collection. Some of those I mat on a piece of 5-3/8 x 4-1/8" piece of coordinating card stock... some I just left as is and adhered to a white card base.

This first card I watercolored and die cut with a wonky rectangle die. I stamped the sentiment from the Flavor of the Month Year 1 sentiment stamp set and then popped it up on the card with foam tape. I added a few sequins and that was it for card one.

For my second card, I added a strip of the pretty ribbon that I adhered to the back of the patterned paper. I then stamped the cute Flavor of the Month Logo stamp masking the center so I could stamp Happy Birthday from the FOTM Year 1 sentiment stamp instead. I just used a ruler and a Memento tuxedo black marker to add the masked lines back in and then stamped the sentiment. I colored the image using the following Copic markers ~ R14, R20, R29, B02, B21, BG000, BB01, BG45, E0000, E00, E23, E25, Y15. I fussy cut the focal image and then popped it up on the card. I added a few red sequins and this one was done.

For my third card I had to get creative because I didn't have a full 5-1/4 x 4" piece of patterned paper left over so I combined two papers and mat them on a green piece of card stock. This card was pretty simple... I utilized the fantastic cut-a-parts included in the patterned papers. I mat this particular one on red card stock and then popped it up on the card. I added a few of the Silver Glossy Dots and then decided I wanted to also use the cute Lawn Fawn Treat Yourself stamp set. 

I thought it would be fun to add a gift card for an ice cream shop (only had this gift card to show... sorry!) inside so I paper pieced the ice cream tub using the papers from this collection and adhered it on a strip of the same patterned paper that I had stamped the sentiment. I colored the little bit of ice cream using R20, E27, E51. I left the bottom portion of the card empty so I can write my birthday wishes to the recipient.

Now getting creative again, I cut the music note patterned paper in half and adhered it along with the green/white polka dot paper to the mat of orange card stock. I mat another cut-a-part paper onto red card stock and popped it up on the card with foam tape. I used my last five Silver Glossy Dots to finish off this card.

My last card came together pretty simply with the layers of patterned paper and the addition of the tag. I stamped the Ice Cream Marci directly on the tag along with the sentiment and then set the tag aside. I stamped Ice Cream Marci again on a scrap piece of white card stock and then paper pieced her shirt with the pink/white polka dot paper. I colored her in with the following Copic markers E0000, E00, E17, E23, E27, E47, E49, B91, B95, RV10, RV14, RV21. I then fussy cut her out and adhered her to the tag. I added some pink and white ribbon that I tied off with some twine... all from my stash. I then popped up the tag on the card and called this last card done!

There are some March 2018 Flavor of the Month card kits still in the shop. There's also some mini collections available in the shop. You can check out all of those kits... here.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

~ Crystal

~ Growing in Unity Winners ~

Hello! I wanted to share the winners I've randomly picked for my Growing in Unity week. Thank you so much to all the wonderful people who checked out my blog all week and left me the sweetest comments! You made my week amazing!! On to the winners...

Random.org chose Day 3...

and comment #30... Congratulations Karen Adams!!

Random.org chose Day 1...

and comment #32... Congratulations Denise Bryant!!

Karen and Denise, please email me at crystalominkler@gmail.com with your mailing addresses to claim your prize of a grab bag of 25 fabulous deeply etched red rubber stamps!! You have two weeks to claim your prize.

I mentioned a few times that this or that card was my favorite and really it's hard to choose when it comes to the cards you've created, but I wanted to share my all time favorite for my week.

Why is this my favorite? Well, honestly, because I struggled with this one the most. I started with my color combination and really wasn't sure how the design would go... but it turned out way better than I could have hoped for... so this lovely card is my favorite. I do adore this Emerson Girl stamp!! Which one was your favorite? I'd love to hear... just leave me a comment if you have a minute.

Thanks again for stopping by!

See ya next time.

~ Crystal