Scrapping for Less ~ June 2019 Flavor of the Month ~ Under the Sea Babies

Where is your most favorite place in the world? 

Well other than Ireland (oh how I love that country...another story for another day), my favorite place would be the beach and the ocean. I love and am fascinated by anything and everything that has to do with sand and saltwater! So let's dive deep and see if we can spot any Under the Sea babies in that wonderful blue ocean water. Dive on through the hop and SEA what our fabulous designers brought to the surface for you! Make sure you visit the Scrapping for Less website to grab your kit of "Under the Sea Babies" and you too can get lost in an ocean of cards. Don't forget to enter the Rafflecopter for a chance to win a prize! ~ Teresa, SFL Co-Owner

If you are just starting hopping, we're so glad to have you join us! 

The hop starts on the Scrapping for Less blog or you can start hopping right here.

Here's a quick look at the June 2019 Under the Sea Babies card kit...

Double Dip Subscription...

Banana Split Subscription...

The June 2019 Under the Sea Babies card kit is my absolute favorite card kit!!

So many adorable images to stamp and color and the papers are amazing!!

Collection One: Sea Babies

I love this beautiful little mermaid... so much that I used her for my Sneak Peek this month... and she paired up so well with the adorable papers in the collection. This card came together so quickly by using the papers and card stock for my layers along with the second sketch. I added the washi across the front of the card and then popped up the white die cut circle. I stamped the mermaid with Gina K. Amalgam Jet Black ink, heat set it and then colored away. I pulled my color choices from the papers I chose for the card. I fussy cut her leaving a skinny border and adhered her to the side of the circle die. Easy peasy!

Supplies used (not found in the kit):

Copics ~ E000, E00, E21 (skin); RV02, RV34, RV63 (hair); BG10, BG13, 

BG23, B0000, B000, B02 (top/tail)

Gina K. Amalgam Jet Black ink cube

Spellbinders Standard Circles Large dies

Collection Two: Neon Sea Life

How stinking cute is that octopus!?! 

Oh my goodness... this adorable octopus is cut from a die that is included in the Banana Split Subscription. I just love it!! I die cut some Canson XL 140lb watercolor paper and used the Daniel Smith Watercolor dots, also included in the Banana Split Subscription, to watercolor.... so fun and I love how it turned out! I cut and adhered all of my layers onto a Limeade card stock base. I die cut a wonky stitched oval from white card stock and popped it up on the card with foam tape. I then stamped the cute little fish and octopus with Gina K. Amalgam Jet Black ink, heat set it and watercolored them, as well. I fussy cut them and then added all the little sea creatures to the card using liquid glue. I stamped the sentiment from the Sentiment Stamp set included in the Banana Split Subscription onto Blu Raspberry card stock using VersaMark watermark ink and then heat embossed a fine white embossing powder. I popped up the sentiment on the card and added a couple google eyes from my stash to the octopus... so cute!

Supplies used (not found in the kit):

MFT Wonky Stitched Oval die

Watercolor Brush pen

Brutus Monroe Alabaster Ultra Fine embossing powder

Doodlebug All Eyes on You Shape Sprinkles

Collection Three: Sea Creatures

This card was so fun to create and it almost has a patriotic feel with the colors and the stars... a fun bonus to my card! LOL! I cut the fun papers from the collection and adhered them to a 4-1/8 x 5-3/8" piece of white card stock and then adhered it to a Black Licorice card base. I set the card aside and inked up the super cute otter and had fun coloring him up! So fun! I fussy cut him and then got to thinking that he'd be cute holding one of those starfish from the patterned paper, so I fussy cut one out and using my craft knife to make a slit around the otters front legs I was then able to insert the starfish. I added a tiny bit of glue to the starfish to help it lay down... so cute! 

I set him aside and added some mesh from the collection to the card using a little bit of multi medium matte just in a few random places so the mesh isn't flat.... gives it some fun dimension!  I then adhered the cute otter to the card along with a bunch of sequins. I stamped the sentiment and die cut it with a banner die that I trimmed off the left side and then popped it up on the card. And for my final touch for this one, I bent the wire embellishment into the shape of a heart and adhered it with a few tiny dabs of multi medium matte.

Supplies used (not found in the kit):

Copics ~ E42, E43, E44, E47

Ranger Multi Medium Matte

Collection Four: Sea Buddies

I love to color turtles!! I think it's because I love my greens and blues... Lol! I just adore these sweet turtles in the Sea Buddies stamp set by Scrapping for Less!! So cute and so fun to color!

I cut all my patterned papers for the background to my design and adhered them to a Blu Raspberry card base. I stamped, colored and fussy cut the turtles... now the shell on my larger turtle for some reason got messed up when I started coloring - the black ink bled - so I stamped it again and colored it separately, fussy cut it out, and adhered it over the messed up turtle shell. I'm actually glad that the first shell messed up because I love the dimension the additional shell gives to the turtle. I die cut a couple of circles from white card stock and then blended a little Tumbled Glass Distress Oxide ink over the Bubble Stencil that's included in the collection... love the dimension it gives to the turtles! And speaking of dimension... I popped up the turtles with some foam tape, as well!

Supplies used (not found in the kit):

Copics ~ G12, G24, G28, BG10, BG23

Spellbinders Standard Circles Large dies

Ranger Mini Ink Blending Tool

I sure hope you've enjoyed the cards I've shared today.

Your next stop on the hop is... Stacy

Be sure to head back over to the Scrapping for Less blog to enter the Rafflecopter once you've finished hopping!

Thank you friends for checking out my blog post!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

Polka Dot Orchard ~ Camper Snail ~ Love Is...

Hi there crafty friends!

Today, I am sharing an adorable card using the sweet Camper Snail digi set by Polka Dot Orchard! Eeep! How cute is this snail!!??!! I just love him! 

The Camper Snail digi set is another wonderful set created by Kimberly Wiener. 

To start my card, I resized and cropped the 'Love is...' sentiment and then combined it with the camper snail image on a Word Document so that it would fit on an A2 card. I included some other images on my sheet (I hope to share my other card using these digis next week!) and then printed them off and started coloring! I used the following Copic markers to color the Camper Snail:

Camper ~ E08, E97, E99, N0, N2, N4, G000, G24, Y000, Y06, Y11, B000, B02, B04

Snail ~ G000, G12, G24

Luggage ~ E08, E97, E99, R000, R14, R46, G12, G24, YG09

I kind of lucked out and the colors I used to color the image worked perfectly with the papers from the Simple Stories Travel Notes 6x8 paper pad. I die cut my main panel and adhered it to the fun sentiment paper. I wrapped some kraft twine around the panel a few times and tied a bow. I then adhered my striped paper directly to a white card base and popped up the main panel on the card.

I mentioned above that I cropped the sentiment and this is the other portion of the sentiment... I thought it would be fun to put it inside the card. I die cut it with the same wonky stitched rectangle die and adhered it inside. 

Such a cute card! I love how it turned out! I hope that you like it too.

Polka Dot Orchard has several fun digi sets available... you can check them out here!

Thanks so much for visiting my blog! I'd love to invite you to check out my Instagram and my Facebook crafty page. You can find links for both above just under the heading of my blog.

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

Scrapping for Less ~ June 2019 Flavor of the Month Card Kit ~ Sneak Peek

Hello there crafty friends!

Today, I'm sharing a sneak peek of the fabulous June 2019 Flavor of the Month card kit called Under the Sea Babies!! This is THE most adorable kit ever!!

As a busy mom, I am always looking for quick and easy ways to make a card and let me tell you... the papers in this month's kit are just perfect for a quick and easy card that is also super adorable!

I die cut this beautiful background paper ~ easy peasy!! Then I just stamped the adorable mermaid and fish... and had some fun coloring! I fussy cut and then adhered all of my colored images directly to the card and added the cute little enamel dots included in the collection... done!

Here's a list of the copic markers I used for my card:

Skin ~ E000, E00, E21

Hair ~ E09, E15, E97

Top/Tail ~ V000, V04, V12

Fish 1 ~ YR12, YR15, YR16

Fish 2 ~ Y06, B000, B02

That's it for me today! Be sure to use the hashtag #FOTMundertheseababies in your social media showing projects you made using the June 2019 Under the Sea Babies FOTM card kit. Your project just might be featured by Scrapping for Less!! How fun! I can't wait to see your creations with this fabulous kit!

Thanks for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

Unity Stamp Company ~ Naturally Beautiful ~ Be Your Own Kind of Beautiful

Hello there crafty friends!

I'm back with another post today for the new Unity Stamp Company release!! Woohoo!!

I love love love the gorgeous stamps in the Naturally Beautiful set by Graciellie Design... and I got to thinking that it would be fun to make a card with some clear card stock so 

I decided to make a clear panel card.

So basically a clear panel card has a layer of clear card stock or acetate that shows through to the inside of the card. I used a pretty stitched scallop border die to cut my white card base and then I cut three addition pieces of white card stock to adhere on either side of my clear card stock.

Here's a close up picture that shows the layer of clear card stock in between the layers of 

white card stock.

Now... back to the gorgeous oranges and blossoms in this stamp kit!! Eeep! Love it!

I colored them with the following Copic marker ~ Y06, Y11, YR15, YR16, G12, G24, G28.

I fussy cut the image and then I traced the shape of the fussy cut image on another piece of white card stock and fussy cut that out, as well. I adhered the beautiful oranges to the front of the card.

And then I flipped it open and adhered the clean white piece over the messy back. I hope this picture gives a good visual for what I mean. I sure had a lot of fun creating this card! I love to work with clear card stock, but I just don't do it enough! I hope this inspires you to pull out that clear card stock or acetate and make a fun card!

I'm sharing more of my cards for the Unity Stamp Company new release this evening on my Instagram as part of a Instagram hop... to check those out you can click on the tab above just under the heading of my blog.

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

Polka Dot Orchard ~ Lifetime of Happiness ~ Laugh When You Can

Hi crafty friends!

Today, I have a pretty card using the beautiful Lifetime of Happiness digi set from Polka Dot Orchard! Poppies are one of my favorite flowers so when I saw this beautiful set designed by Kimberly Wiener, I knew I just had to create with it!

I also just adore this fabulous sentiment included in the digi set. I like to be pretty positive and happy so this sentiment spoke to me. I thought it worked well with a few poppies. So I resized them and added them to each side of the sentiment in my Word Document. I print my images and got to coloring! I used the following copic markers for the poppies ~ YR07, YR15, YR21, R27, E41.

I die cut the image with a large stitched rectangle die and then added some silk splatters in Cranberry Bliss and Gold, using a mask to cover the sentiment. I adhered the panel to a layer of Pure Poppy card stock that I die cut with a large scalloped rectangle die. I then adhered the entire panel onto a card front of True Black card stock and then to a white card base.

I colored a couple extra poppies that I popped up on the panel. You can see a bit of the dimension it gives to the card in this last picture.

I love this digi set so much! Kimberly made such beautiful poppies... so fun to color!

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

Scrapping for Less ~ The Greeting Farm ~ Happy to Sea You... Again!

Hello crafty friends!

Today, I have another couple of cards using the Happy to Sea You stamp set by The Greeting Farm. I just adore this set and had to ink it up again!

For my cards today, I went with a non-traditional fold. The base of the card is an A2 size measuring at 5-1/2" x 4-1/4" but the fold is actually the circle where the focal image is placed. 

The base is simple with just white card stock with a layer of Watercolor Wishes paper by Lawn Fawn that I die cut with the Wonky Stitched Rectangle STAX Die-namics by My Favorite Things. I then die cut a piece of white card stock that I had scored and folded with the Wonky Stitched Circle STAX Die-namics, also by My Favorite Things. I ran it through my Big Shot a few times to get a really good cut through both layers of the folded card stock. I adhered the circle folded piece to the base and then stamped the sentiments.

Then I started stamping and coloring all the images... I stamped the images with Memento tuxedo black ink and colored with the following Copic markers:

Whale ~ BG10, BG23

Coral ~ R12, R22

Seaweed ~ YG01, YG23

Jellyfish ~ RV63, RV66, Colorless Blender

Clam ~ BV000, BV00, BV13, RV63, RV66, RV91

Sand ~ E33, E55

I adhered the fussy cut images to build my scenes... popping up the whale and the jellyfish. To finish off my cards for today I added some drops of the beautiful Fairy Wings Nuvo Dream Drops in the sand at the bottom of the scene... I think it looks like pretty pearls in the sand. So fun!

I just adore this sweet set... if you'd like to see the other cards I made using this set, you can see them here ---> Happy to Sea You cards.

Thank you so much for checking out my blog post!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

Scrapping for Less ~ The Greeting Farm ~ Happy to Sea You

Hello crafty friends! 

Today, I have two fun cards using the adorable Happy to Sea You set by The Greeting Farm and I've paired it with the beautiful Watercolor Wishes paper by Lawn Fawn!! 

I love how easy it is to make a card using these beautiful papers for your background! They are so beautiful and all I needed to do was run them through the Big Shot with a fun die to create my background. For the cards I'm sharing today, I used the Stitched Circle Plate Background die by Gina Marie Designs. I die cut it four times... twice for the two patterned papers and then with white card stock and kraft card stock.

Once I had that done, I set it aside and stamped my sea creatures... oh my goodness... this set of sea creatures just might be my favorite!! The turtle... love! And that seahorse... adore!! I sure had a blast coloring all the images!!

I used the following Copic markers to color the images:

Turtle ~ G12, G24, G28, BG10, BG23

Whale ~ B21, B23, B26, T1

Clam ~ RV63, RV91, N0, N1, N3, R00

Seahorse ~ G12, G24, YG01

Jellyfish ~ RV91, V04, V12

Octopus ~ V04, BV000, BV00, BV04, BV13

Starfish ~ YR15, YR16, R12

Shark ~ N0, N1, N3

Seaweed ~ YG01, YG23

Coral ~ R12, R22

Once I had them all colored, I fussy cut them out as close to the black line as possible and then colored the edges with my Memento tuxedo black marker. That's a great way to make the edges look nice and clean. And then the fun part of building my scenes... so fun! On both cards, I wanted a creature to look like he was swimming through the circle so I used the whale on my first card and the shark on the second. I think it gives dimension to the card even though all the layers are adhered together. Yup... you read that right. I didn't pop up any of the images!! Lol!

But I did pop up the sentiments!!! I just love how these turned out!

I hope I've inspired you to create a fun scene using pretty papers and cute stamps!

Both items I've featured today are in stock in the SFL shop!!

Thanks so much for taking the time to check out my blog!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

Polka Dot Orchard ~ National Iced Tea Day

Hi there crafty friends!

Today, I have a quick card to share with you using the sweet Endless 

Potential digi set by Polka Dot Orchard!!

It's perfect for celebrating National Iced Tea Day!

My card design took a left turn from my original idea but I love how it turned out!
I colored the image with the following Copic markers ~ Y06, Y13, Y17, RV10, RV63, RV66, V0000, V04, V12, G12, G14, B000, E11. I adhered the white frame from the Wonky Scalloped Frame dies by Avery Elle onto a kraft card base. To color the Love die cut sentiment, I used a few of the Copic markers I used to color the cup. I colored a section of white card stock in an ombre style and then die cut it using the Love die by My Favorite Things. I love using this technique for die cut letters... it's also a great way to customize your colors on the letters if you can't find just the right card stock to coordinate with your design. 

I colored up my cup of iced tea cup and then fussy cut it... popped it up on the card adhering the 'Iced Tea' sentiment to the cup. Oh... and I customized my mat for the sentiment by coloring a scrap of white card stock with the RV66 copic marker. I adhered the sentiment and trimmed around it... super easy peasy way to coordinate with copics! I adhered a few sequins... adding one to the center of the flower. Done! A pretty simple design... but I think it turned out cute!

Polka Dot Orchard has a sale going just for today!! Go check it out ---> here!!

Thanks so much for checking out my blog post!
See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,
Crystal

Unity Stamp Company ~ Planner Gal: Thinking About Wine... or Tea?!

Hello crafty friends!

Today, I have a few cards to share using the beautiful new Planner Gal: Thinking About Wine kit... this kit is the current freebie with a $75+ order at Unity Stamp Company. I had so much

fun coloring her up that I just couldn't seem to stop making cards!!

My first card using some of my precious hoard of Basic Grey papers Perhaps... I can't believe I cut into these!! But I sure love how this card turned out! I used the Outside In Stitched Scalloped Rectangle Stackables by Lawn Fawn. I used the following Copic markers:

Skin ~ E000, E00, E21

Hair ~ E55, E57, E59

Clothes ~ V91, V93, V95, N0, N1

Wine Glass/Bottle ~ RV91, RV95, R12, YR00, N0, N1 

For this card, I used the Stampin' Up! Painted with Love Specialty DSP. I die cut the background piece with a stitched rectangle die and the hearts paper with the Memory Box Wrapped Scalloped Rectangles die. I popped up the main focal panel and adhered the fussy cut girl directly on the paper.

I used the following Copic markers for this card:

Skin ~ E000, E00, E21

Hair ~ Y21, YR12, YR14, E15, E18

Clothes ~ R12, R22, N0, N1

Watch - BG23, N1

For my last card, I used the same SU! papers as the second card and the same dies as the first card. I adhered my layers on a Kraft card base, popping up the center scalloped panel using foam tape. I stamped the sentiment from Beau-Tea-Ful Friend onto Kraft card stock using VersaMark watermark ink and heat embossed a fine white embossing powder. 

I fussy cut the image and popped it up on the card using dimensionals. I colored in the tea mug from the recently released Hot Mess {border backgrounds} and fussy cut it out.

I used the following Copic markers for this card:

Skin ~ E000, E00, E21

Hair ~ Y21, YR12, YR14, E15

Clothes ~ N0, N1, BG11, BG23

Tea Mug ~ Y06, YR15, YR21

For my last touch on this card, I added a few little pearls from Little Things from Lucy's Cards ~ Crystal Collection ~ Harmony Sparkly Shaker Mix.

I love how these three cards turned out! Such a fun kit to play with!

Thanks for checking out my blog post!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

Scrapping for Less ~ Picket Fence ~ Be a Unicorn of the Sea

Hey there crafty friends!

I have a couple super fun cards to share today using the fabulous Be a Unicorn of the Sea stamp set by Picket Fence. Oh my goodness... this is an adorable set!!

I paired the fabulous set with the beautiful Watercolor Wishes paper by Lawn Fawn. I stamped the schools of fish and bubbles directly on the Watercolor Wishes paper using Tumbled Glass Distress Oxide ink and Powder Blue ink by Gina K. Designs. I adhered that to another layer from the paper pad and then I set it aside. 

I stamped several of the narwhals and started coloring... I wanted my narwhals to have some pink-purple so I started by coloring them with the V000 Copic marker. I then added some grays to the narwhals using C00, C2, and C3.

 I fussy cut the narwhals and adhered them to my panels... popping up one of the narwhals for dimension. Once I had my panels done, I set them on the white card base so I could decide where to put the sentiment. Using my stamp platform I positioned the sentiment just so and was able to remove the panel and then stamp without worrying about getting extra ink on my panel. For my first card, I stamped the sentiment with Tumbled Glass Distress Oxide ink and then just barely inked up the bottom portion of the sentiment with the Powder Blue ink and stamped it again.

I love the effect it gives to the sentiment!

For my second card, I did all the same steps except I turned my card base and made my panel slightly larger to fit the card. For the sentiment on this one, I just used Tumbled Glass Distress Oxide ink.

To finish off both of my cards I added drops of the gorgeous Nuvo Dream Drops Fairy Wings.

Oh my goodness the color of these drops is seriously dreamy! Love them!!

I'm entering my first card into the challenge over at Freshly Made Sketches!

Love their sketches... and this one is so simple and awesome! Love it!

Thanks so much for checking out my blog!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

Polka Dot Orchard ~ Flowers in Bloom

Hello there crafty friends!

I have a friendship card to share today using the beautiful Flowers in Bloom digi set by

Polka Dot Orchard. I love this flower! It was so awesome to color!

I kept the flower digi rather large for the card and added the sentiment... I think it's a great combo of digis for a card front! Once I had that printed, I colored the flower using RV02, V04, V17 Copic markers... I love the way the purple blended with the pink. For the center of the flower I used Y06, Y13, Y17 Copic markers. I used YG01, YG23, and YG25 Copic markers for the stem of the flower. To finish off the flower I decided to add white dots using a white gel pen. 

I love the texture it gives the flower!

I die cut the panel using a Gina Marie Design's Eyelet Elegance Square die and I set it aside. I die cut a stitched rectangle piece of Lovely Lady card stock and then adhered a 2" strip of patterned paper from the Doodlebug Designs Simply Spring paper pad to that panel. I ran the white organdy ribbon around the panel and pulled it through the hole in the main image panel. I then tied a bow and adhered the popped up panel using dimensionals. For a last minute touch I added some flourish using a MFT die that I can't seem to find on the internet so I believe it's retired. I cut the flourish in half and adhered it just slightly tucked under the main panel... only adhering bits of it so it can pop up in spots for dimension.

Here's a close up of the card. I think it turned out real pretty!

Thanks so much for checking out my blog post!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

Unity Stamp Company ~ Uniquely Unity ~ In A Snap!

Hi there crafty friends!

I'm so excited to share my card today using the gorgeous new Uniquely Unity stamp called In A Snap from Unity Stamp Company!! I was inspired to go all black and white for this card because of the sentiment. 'Thanks for the memories'... just got me thinking about my childhood and the black and white photos that I used to look through in our family photo albums. So, I thought this stamp would be fun to color in black and white!

I was a little concerned because I'd never done this technique before using Copic markers... but I think it turned out really nice! I used only five Copic markers for this card ~ N0, N1, N2, N5, and the Colorless Blender.

Oh... and as a note or a tip... I have been changing out the broad tips for fine tips on all of my sketch markers and the fine tips came in very handy for the tight spots in coloring this image. 

Once I had my image colored, I die cut it with the beautiful Pleated Lace Rectangle die from Gina Marie Designs. I adhered gorgeous Harper's Boutique papers by The Paper Studio to my white card base and then popped up my panel using foam tape. To finish this card off I added a few drops of the Nuvo gloss ebony black crystal drops. I love how this turned out!

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

~ Friends of Unity June Blog Hop ~

Hey there crafty peeps!
It's one of my favorite times of the month... it's time for the June Friends of Unity Blog Hop!!
Our theme or cue this month is Wedding...

My first thought when I was looking at our cue was... Flowers! Flowers always work for a wedding card... so I pulled out my Delectable {Border Backgrounds} kit!! These flowers are gorgeous!!

I stamped the flowers on Canson XL watercolor paper with VersaMark watermark ink and heat embossed a fine white embossing powder. I watercolored the flowers with ZIG Clean Color Real Brush pens... to achieve the pretty colors on the flowers I used Yellow {No. 050} and Light Pink {No. 026} watercolor pens. First I lightly colored the flowers with the yellow watercolor by scribbling the color on my acrylic block. I then used my watercolor brush pen to pick up the color and paint on my panel. Without waiting for the yellow watercolor to dry I did the same with the pink watercolor... scribbling the color on my acrylic block and using my watercolor brush pen to pick up the color and I painted in swirls around the petals of the flowers allowing the watercolors to blend.

I love that the yellow and pink blended to make a beautiful peach color but you can still see the yellow and pink in the petals.... so pretty! I also used two greens for the leaves... Yellow Green {No. 053} and Light Green {No. 041}. I started by watercoloring with the yellow green using the same technique picking up the color from my acrylic block. I always use this technique when I want more control over the amount of color on my project. I then watercolored with the light green... blending with the yellow green but also allowing the light green to dry over top of the yellow green in some spots. I love the defined lines that it gives the leaves when you allow the layers of watercolor to dry in between colors.

Here's a close up of my favorite flowers on the card. I'm so pleased with how it turned out... so pretty!

My second card came together in my mind when I was searching through my background stamps for the Delectable {Border Backgrounds} kit... I happened to see my never-been-inked Barn Wall background stamp ~ a collaboration by Brutus Monroe and Unity Stamp Co ~ and thought it would make for a lovely background with the From This Day Forward kit. I started by stamping the Barn Wall background with VersaMark watermark ink and heat embossed Emerald Creek Patina Oxide Baked Texture embossing powder... WOW!! This embossing powder is amazing!! If you click on my photo above, you can hopefully see the awesome colors and detail in the embossed background. I watercolored the background using a mix of Light Blue {No. 036} and Turquoise Green {No. 042}. Once dry, I die cut the background using a stitched rectangle die and adhered it directly to a white card base using mono multi purpose liquid glue by Tombow.

Next I stamped the beautiful bride and groom image, as well as the flowers in the From This Day Forward kit using VersaMark watermark ink and heat embossed a fine black embossing powder. I watercolored the couple using Flesh Color {No. 071}, Light Gray {No. 091}, Brown {No. 060}, Mid Brown {No. 065} for the bride; and Flesh Color {No. 071}, Light Gray {No. 091}, Dark Gray {No. 095}, Mid Brown {No. 065}, Dark Brown {No. 062} for the groom. I added some sparkle to the bride using the Nuvo Aqua Shimmer pen...

Here's a close up of that shimmer... it's really gorgeous in person!

I ended up taking a couple close up shots because my OTT light kept giving me a shadow... but I think with the two photos you can see the beautiful shimmer. Oh, and this second photo gives you a little close up look at the Patina Oxide embossed background... if you look between the leaf and the purple flower in the bottom left corner. Love it!

I watercolored the pretty flowers blending Lilac {No. 083} and Violet {No. 080} with a touch of Bright Yellow {No. 052} and Yellow {No. 050} in the center of the flowers. For the other flowers {not sure what they are called} I used Blue {No. 030} and then blended them with clean water. For the leaves, I used Pale Green {No. 045} and May Green {No. 047}. I fussy cut the couple and flowers and adhered them to the card... popping up the couple with dimensionals. I then trimmed off the edges of my card base where the flowers were hanging off the edge. To finish off the card, I stamped the sentiment with VersaMark watermark ink and heat embossed a fine black embossing powder and then die cut it with a banner die. I adhered that to a black layer that was also die cut from the same banner die, however, I cut the black layer in half and adhered it just to the ends of the sentiment banner. I also added a touch of the Patina Oxide embossing powder to the edges of the black banner using a VersaMark watermark marker. I popped up the sentiment on the card and called 'er done! I think it turned out pretty nice!

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

the winner of my giveaway is...

...It's a Card Knock Life!!! 

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 just feel awful that I haven't had time to reply to each comment to let you know just how much I appreciate it and I really, truly do appreciate each and every one of your sweet comments.

So real quick... while I was unpacking my Unity stamps I found a box full of grab bag stamps! Yup... a box... not a ginormous box, mind you, but a box full! Anywho, I've decided to give away two grab bags of 25 stamps each!! Woohoo! Winners will be chosen and announced in our July blog hop. So be sure to hop along and comment on each of our blog posts!

Let's get to it, shall we...

~ Blog Hop List ~

Crystal <--- you're here

up next ---> Eileen

Bobbie Sue

Dawn

Jeanie

Robyn

Kim

Thanks so much for checking out my blog post!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal