Polka Dot Orchard ~ National Coffee Day Blog Hop

Hello there crafty friends! Happy National Coffee Day! 

Today, I'm super excited to be sharing some fun inspiration along with my teamies from the Polka Dot Orchard Design Team! Polka Dot Orchard has joined in with several other companies to hop along in honor of National Coffee Day. This fun event is being hosted by the Coffee Loving Papercrafters Facebook group.

Not only are we hopping along with so many lovely companies, we are doing a hop with our very talented design team to show off many amazing projects created from our newest release. Polka Dot Orchard is doing a few giveaways too. For more information on the giveaways and the full line up for both hops head over to the Polka Dot Orchard blog.

My first card using one of my newest digi designs for Polka Dot Orchard, Merry Little Coffee digi set, has a subtle background using some pretty Christmas papers by Moda Scrap called Christmas Holidays. For this card, I kinda went rogue because I wanted my background subtle and my main image to pop so I pulled the colors from the background papers but brightened them up for the colors on the mug.

I used the following Copic markers for this card ~ YG11, YG23, RV0000, RV00, RV14, RV63, YR21, YR30, E23, E35, E37, E51, N0, N1.

I think the brighter colors really make the mug pop on the card... and I just adore this sentiment!!

I sure hope you like my card too!

My next couple of cards also use new releases for Polka Dot Orchard that I recently designed. This first card features Poinsettia Greetings... a fun small digi set with one poinsettia flower along with a few sentiments. I combined a bunch of the poinsettia flowers in different sizes along with the sentiment in a Word document so that I could just die cut it out with a stitched rectangle die.

This card was so fun to color and I just love coloring poinsettias in pinks!! I used the following Copic markers for this card ~ YG11, YG23, RV0000, RV00, RV14, RV63, B0000. The ribbon is a white wide organdy ribbon from my stash... pretty sure it's retired Stampin' Up! The pretty pearls are from Ink Road Stamps... Donna Pearls Flat Back Half Beads... so pretty!!

My last card features the Halloween Luck digi set... how sweet is this little kitty in a jack-o-lantern?!

I paired him up with some fun jack-o-lantern papers from the American Crafts Spooky Boo paper pad. I kept with a simple orange and black color scheme.

Isn't that font on the Happy Halloween just amazing!! I love it so much!

That's it for me! Be sure to check out the Polka Dot Orchard blog and the Coffee Loving Cardmakers blog for more information on this hop and all the fun giveaways!!

Thanks so much for checking out my blog!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

Unity Stamp Company ~ Growing in Unity September Blog Hop ~ Masculine and a Bit of Autumn

Hello there crafty friends!

I'm so excited to be blog hopping with some Growing in Unity gals!! I'm always super happy to share my love of Unity Stamp Company!! I have a couple of cards to share that I've recently created.

My first card is a quick masculine card that I made for my husband's birthday. He just recently got a new Jeep and the Having Fun Itty Bitty stamp was perfect to pair up with Roger Guy for my guys birthday card!! I used some masculine papers from Stampin' Up! called Classic Garage (I'm not sure if these are still available) for my background along with the jeep stamp that I just heat embossed in black on a piece of the patterned paper. I die cut the papers with a stitched rectangle die and adhered them to a card front of patterned paper from the same papers measuring 4-1/4 x 5-1/2" that I adhered to a white A2 card base.

I stamped Roger Guy on a scrap of white card stock and colored him with the following copic markers ~ E000, E00, E21 (skin), N0, N1, N3, N5 (shirt), N0, N1, C1, 0 Colorless Blender (watch), B91, B95, B97, B99 (jeans). I then die cut the image with a stitched rectangle die (from My Favorite Things). I adhered the image to my card base, trimmed the sentiment, and then popped it up on the card. On the inside of the card, I wrote Happy Birthday to finish off the sentiment on the front. I love that Unity carries so many unique stamps that I was able to make THE perfect card for my husband's birthday. And he absolutely loved his card... woohoo!!

My second card you may have seen in the Unity {show & tell} Facebook group or on Instagram. I used the fabulous new Frondescence {border backgrounds} stamp along with the beautiful Planner Gal Stay Cozy kit to make an Autumn themed card filled with gratitude. To start my card, I ink smooshed the Frondescence {border backgrounds} image with Mustard Seed, Carved Pumpkin, Wild Honey, Candied Apple, and Crushed Olive Distress Oxide inks. I then blended some Vintage Photo around the outer edges and a bit of Mustard Seed on the center piece after I fussy cut the center out. I die cut the background with a large stitched rectangle die and adhered it to a black mat that I had die cut the center out of. I then adhered the background to a kraft card base.

I then stamped the Planner Gal Stay Cozy stamp with Gina K. Designs jet black Amalgam ink and colored her in with the following copic markers ~ E000, E00, E21 (skin), E55, E57, E79 (hair), Y11, Y13, Y26, R24, R29 (clothes), E35, E37, BG70, BG72, YG93, YG97 (cup), and C1 (bracelet).

I fussy cut Planner Gal Stay Cozy out and cleaned up the edges with a Memento tuxedo black ink marker. I popped her up on the card base and then trimmed the sentiment, mat it with black card stock, and popped it up on the card too. To finish this card off, I added a few mustard yellow enamel dots from a random package. I am loving this new {border backgrounds} kit so much!!

Be sure to hop along and leave a comment for your chance to win one of two Unity filled prize packs!!! Woohoo!! So exciting! Love me some deeply etched red rubber stamps!!

~ Blog Hop List ~

Crystal O. Minkler <--- you are here

up next ---> MariLynn DeGroot

Shanta Newby

Julissa Padilla

Anya Lynet

Michelle Golz

Ania Szary

Helen Gullett

Tina Riddle

Thanks so much for checking out my blog!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

Scrapping for Less ~ Teresa Talks Fall ~ More Fall Inspiration!!

Hello there crafty friends!

I have another Fall card to share with you today in lieu of our monthly Flavor of the Month card kit blog hop. Sadly, some items for the card kit were delayed so the kits are delayed. But when they do arrive, I will be a cardmaking ninja and get some cards created to share with you all!! 

For today, though... we're revisiting an old friend, The Teresa Talks Fall stamp!! Isn't she lovely?! When I was searching through my stash of Fall themed stamps for a sentiment to go with my Tumbleblossom Cluster card a couple of weeks ago, I found this beauty... and since she was already on my desk, I thought I'd ink her up and make a card!

I stamped the girl on a scrap of white card stock and colored her in with the following Copic markers:

Skin ~ E000, E00, R00, R20

Hair ~ E37, E47, E79

Clothes ~ B91, B95, B97, BG70, BG72, BG75, N0, N3, N5

Mug ~ N0, N3, YR0000, YR15, YR21, YR68

Ground ~ N0, N3

I fussy cut her out and set her aside. I then stamped the sentiment using some Stampin' Up! markers (Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie, Really Rust, and Chocolate Chip) and my Stamp Platform. It took a few tries to get the colors just how I wanted and the Stamp Platform made that so much easier! I die cut the card stock using a scallop stitched border die from My Favorite Things. I positioned the girl just so on my card stock, removed her and then colored in the "ground". I then adhered the girl to the panel. I had already picked out the gorgeous Fall Breeze papers by Photo Play... I love the rich, beautiful colors in this paper pad!! Can't help but use it every chance I get! I adhered the trimmed piece of diagonally striped patterned paper to a mustard card front measuring 4-1/4 x 5-1/2". I then adhered that piece to a white card base. I adhered a strip of the same mustard card stock to the side of the white focal panel and then adhered the focal panel to the card. 

I craft-lifted fellow design team member Lynnea's idea to stick the pumpkin stickers onto white card stock and fussy cut them like stamped images, also adding a few of the leaves from the Autumn Pumpkin stickers by Sticko. To finish off the card, I added a few enamel dots from Echo Park's Celebrate Autumn collection. I just adore how this card turned out! I hope you like it too!

Be sure to stop by the Scrapping for Less blog for the reveal of the September 2019 Flavor of the Month card kit called Fall is Coming!! I'm so excited to get inky with this kit and share with you all!!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

Scrapping for Less ~ Simply Beautiful Christmas Card

Hello there crafty friends!

Today, I'm sharing a super quick Christmas card using just a few supplies and a fabulous sentiment stamp by Stampendous called Christmas Sky. 

This card could be easily duplicated and with a slight change of colors, be made uniquely for each recipient. I stamped the wonderful sentiment from the Christmas Sky set using VersaMark watermark ink and heat embossed a fine black embossing powder. 

I blended over the card stock with Stormy Sky and Hickory Smoke Distress Oxide inks. I die cut the panel with the Eyelet Elegance Rectangle die from Gina Marie Designs and set it aside. 

I wanted to keep my card base simple so I ran a white cardfront measuring 4-1/4 x 5-1/2" through my Big Shot with a snowflake embossing folder. I trimmed it down to 4 x 5-1/4" and wrapped it with a pretty white ribbon. I adhered the snowflake layer to a white card base using Gina K. Connect liquid glue.

 I then popped up the main panel using foam squares. To finish off the card I added a bunch of Simply White Nuvo drops. A simple card design just perfect for multiple cards! I think this would look lovely in purples and blues and even pinks. What do you think? The Christmas Sky set isn't available in the Scrapping for Less shop, but I found a couple of cute scene building sets with fun sentiments that would work with this design... Here Comes Santa Claus by My Favorite Things and Merry Christmas Greeting by My Favorite Things.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

Scrapping for Less ~ Tumbleblossom Cluster ~ Happy Thanksgiving!

Hello there crafty friends!

Today, I'm here with another look at the fabulous Tumbleblossom Cluster stamp set by Stamping Bella... this stamp is absolutely stunning and such a dream to color! I had so much fun watercoloring it last week that I just had to color it up with my copic markers.

It's been a very long time since I've attempted an Eclipse card and I thought it would be so fun to use the florals in this stamp as my eclipse background. Can you see the "Thanks" in the midst of the florals? It's not super easy to see in this first picture but the closeup pictures that follow you can see it more and more.

I used the following Copic markers to color these beautiful flowers in Autumn hues ~ Y000, Y06, Y17, YR000, YR15, YR27, YR68, BG70, BG72, BG75, YG11, YG95, YG97, R000, R00, R11, R14, R20, R56, R89. I added touches of white in the centers of some of the flowers with a white gel pen.

I die cut the thanks from the center of the flowers and then again three more times from scraps of kraft card stock. I then stamped the "+ giving" from the Fall Breeze stamp set by Photo Play, masking the "thanks" portion of the sentiment, onto a scrap piece of black card stock with VersaMark watermark ink and heat embossed a fine white embossing powder. I trimmed it down and set it aside.

 I die cut the flowers with the scallop peekaboo rectangle and then die cut a 4-1/4 x 5-1/2" piece of black card stock. I adhered the two pieces onto a thin piece of white card stock and adhered the "thanks" die cut pieces. I then popped up the "+ giving" sentiment with foam squares. To finish off the card, I added several Chalk White Nuvo Stone Drops.

Here's one more look at the card. I sure hope that you like my second Autumn take on this lovely cluster stamp. I truly enjoyed making it and I hope I've inspired you to give the Eclipse technique a try. Such a fun technique!!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

Scrapping for Less ~ Stamping Bella ~ Tumbleblossom Cluster

Hello there crafty friends! 

Today, I'm sharing a wonderful watercolor card using a medium that I don't use often enough and that is Distress Crayons! It has been a long time since I've used my distress crayons and actually, it's been a good long while since I've watercolored so I thought why not do it now! 

So to start, I stamped the gorgeous Tumbleblossoms Cluster stamp by Stamping Bella four times over a 4-1/2 x 5-1/2" piece of Canson XL watercolor paper with VersaMark watermark ink and then heat embossed a fine white embossing powder. I then scribbled Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade, Rusty Hinge, Festive Berries, Fired Brick, Peeled Paint, and Walnut Stain Distress Crayons on my Tim Holtz Glass Media Mat. I was then able to use my watercolor pen and grab the pigment with my pen and watercolor the panel. I had so much fun!

 I started with the lightest color (Mustard Seed) and actually colored a bunch of the flowers with just that color and then I went back in with the Spiced Marmalade and the Festive Berries to add some rich, darker tones that felt more Fall-ish to me. I used the Walnut Stain to color in the open spaces and I just love the way it makes the flowers pop on the panel. To finish off the panel I added some white gel pen to the tiny little flowers and berries. Once I was done watercoloring, I die cut the panel with a stitched rectangle die and then mat it with a gorgeous reddish orange card stock that I found in my stash. Now the Tumbleblossoms Cluster stamp set doesn't have a sentiment so I dug through some of my Fall stamps and found a gem... the Teresa Talks Fall stamp set!! I love this set and the "fall greetings" sentiment was absolutely perfect for this card! I stamped the sentiment on that same card stock with VersaMark watermark ink and I embossed it with a fine white embossing powder. I trimmed it down and then popped up the sentiment. My first thought when finishing up this card was to find a neutral card base... maybe white or kraft (my go to's!!) but then I got to thinking... I really want that Mustard Seed yellow to pop on this card so I dug through my stash of card stock and found this perfect yellow card stock. Bam! It was perfect! I trimmed it down to a 4-1/4 x 5-1/2" piece and then adhered that to a white card base.

Surprise! I was able to make another simple card using the leftover panel. I used the same yellow and reddish orange card stocks from my stash (both are from past card kits... I'm honestly not sure which colors though) and then I added a strip of some kraft card stock that was also in my stash and had just enough left over for a 4-1/4 x 5-1/2" piece for my card front. I then adhered it to a white card base. To finish this one off, I just stamped and heat embossed the same sentiment. Done!

Here's a picture of both cards using the one watercolored panel. I have another small piece left over from the panel that I'll set aside and I hope to use it on another project. I had so much fun making these cards to share with you today! I hope you're inspired to pull out those neglected mediums in your crafty stash and get some fun crafty time!! 

Thanks so much for stopping by! 

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

~ Friends of Unity September Blog Hop ~

Hello there crafty friends!!

I adore all things Autumn!! This month's cue of Autumn Colors just makes my heart deliriously happy!! I love the rich colors of Autumn! 

But before we get to the cards and all that, I'm super excited to share some news... we have two new friends joining us this month for our hop!! 

Please give a big welcome to Alaine Tanner and Dawn Bryson!! 

I've admired the wonderful creations by both of these talented ladies and was so happy when they accepted our invitation to join our little hop! 

Now, onto the cards... I'm going to be brutally honest with you all. I'm not totally loving my first card. I like it... it's ok. But I'm not loving it. I think it's missing something. I don't know. In any case, here it is...

I used the new fabulous September 2019 Sentiment kit called Change Can Be Beautiful for this card. Have you seen this set? It's absolutely beautiful... filled with all kinds of Fall/Autumn goodies! I adore the leaves and pumpkins and that adorable acorn... don't get me started on that mushroom!! Who knew a mushroom could be so darn cute!? I also love the coffee elements in this kit... so I tried to go for a CAS fall card. I did some simple splatters of gold and espresso silks on the Kraft card stock. I wrapped it with some jute twine... it kind of peeks out from the sides. I just adhered the pieces directly to the sentiment that I trimmed and mat on Dark Chocolate card stock. And then I popped it up with foam tape. To finish it off I adhered it to a white card base and added a few gold sequins. I think I should have trimmed the kraft card stock background and then mat it on Dark Chocolate... and then adhere it to the white card base. I might try that... in any case, it's done for now.

I used the following Copic markers to color this card:

Leaves ~ Y000, Y06, Y15, Y17, YR01, YR15, YR21, YR68, E23, E27

Acorn ~ E21, E23, E25, E27

Pumpkin ~ BG93, BG96, E23, E27, G43, G94, YR15

Mushroom ~ R000, R11, R14, R27, E40, E41, E42, white gel pen

Coffee cup ~ R14, R27, YR15, YR68, G43, G99, Y06, Y17, E23, E27, E41

My second card gives me the warm fuzzies... lol. I'm all about a warm, fuzzy cowl during a cool Autumn night. I adore this gorgeous stamp from the new September 2019 Kit of the Month called All Kinds of Holiday Love... such a perfect name for this kit!! When I started coloring the cowl it was looking a little too rainbowy (is that a word? Spell check says no... but we're going to go with it) so I had to darken the colors and man, I want this cowl!! It looks so cozy and warm! 

I used the following Copic markers for this card:

Skin ~ E000, E0, E21, R00, R20, BV20, N0

Hair ~ E47, E57, E79

Cowl ~ Y06, Y35, YR15, YR21, YR68, R000, R14, R17, R89, YG93, YG95, YG97

Once I had the image colored just so, I die cut it with the Eyelet Elegance Rectangle die from Gina Marie Designs. I trimmed down the sentiment and mat it on Dark Chocolate card stock. I adhered it just under the image. I set that aside and started searching for just the right paper... well, that didn't take long! As soon as I saw the stitching in the Lawn Fawn Fall Knit Picky papers, I knew it was going to be perfect! I die cut it with a stitched rectangle die and then mat it on ... you guessed it, Dark Chocolate card stock. I can't help it, I love this color of card stock. I then adhered the panel to a Kraft card base. I popped up the focal image with foam tape and then added a few fun Echo Park's Celebrate Autumn enamel dots. Voila! 

That's it for my cards this month! I do have a couple of winners to announce...

... congratulations to AndreaH and pug1971!! Woohoo!!

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

Prize must be claimed within two weeks.

Thank you all so much for your continued support of our little hop... and for all of your lovely comments! I really, truly do appreciate each and every one of your sweet comments. A few of my friends are having giveaways on their blog so be sure to hop and comment on each of our blogs!!

Let's get to hopping... 

Crystal <--- you're here

Eileen

Robyn

Dawn B.

Alaine

Kim

Dawn F.

Joyce

Jeanie

Bobbie Sue

Thanks so much for checking out my blog post!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

Scrapping for Less ~ Photo Play ~ Fall Breeze

Hello there crafty friends!! 

Today, I'm sharing a Fall themed card!! I am so excited for Fall... I love all things Fall!! Particularly, the cooler weather... I'm way over the hot days of Summer!! I'd much rather have a warm cup of coffee while cozying up with a blanket while reading, so it almost felt cooler just making this card while dreaming of those days ahead.

How sweet is that little fox?! He looks so snug all nestled up with those pumpkins amidst the wreath of leaves. I love making wreaths and I just love how this one came 

together with the fox included. 

I stamped all of the leaves, pumpkins and the fox from the Fall Breeze stamp set by Photo Play on white card stock and then colored them all in with the following Copic markers:

Leaves ~ Y000, Y06, Y17, Y35, E23, E25, E27, R000, R11, R14, R27, YR15, YR21, YR68

Pumpkins ~ YR15, YR21, YR27, YR68, E23, E27

Fox ~ E000, E37, E95, E97, E99

I fussy cut each of those leaves... oy was that something! But definitely worth the effort! I also fussy cut the pumpkins and the fox. I went over the edges of the colored images with my Memento tuxedo black marker and then started laying out my wreath. It wasn't working quite right so I decided to die cut a wreath base using a Wreath die by Gina Marie Designs. Once I had that as my base I was able to lay out the leaves just right.

I adhered all of the pieces to the wreath and set it aside to dry. I then pulled out a 4-1/4 x 5-1/2" piece of black card stock from my stash and blended some Blueprint Sketch Distress Oxide ink in the upper center portion of the card stock for a night sky. I then die cut a circle in a post it note for a mask and masked the black portion of my card stock. I splattered some watered down white acrylic paint for my stars in my night sky. I set that aside to dry and added foam squares to the wreath.

I got excited and popped up that wreath on the card before stamping my sentiment but it worked out since I used my stamp platform to stamp the sentiment with VersaMark watermark ink (which I did twice to ensure it was stamped well) and then heat embossed a fine white embossing powder. To finish off the card, I tied a double bow of jute twine and then adhered it with some Multi Medium Matte.

Thanks so much for stopping by! 

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

Scrapping for Less ~ Sketch Challenge #1 ~ Fall Breeze

Hello there crafty friends!

Today, I'm so excited to share the September challenge over at Scrapping for Less: Show & Share!! In order to play along there are a few rules...

Pretty easy, right?!?! Now, the key to playing along is being a member of the Scrapping for Less: Show & Share Facebook group so if you aren't already a member ---> join here!! Also, please note that you don't need a blog to enter the challenge as you're adding a photo of your creation directly in the Challenge album in the group. You are welcome to include a link to your blog in the description of your creation.

And then check out our Sketch Challenge #1...

A fun little sketch to get you inspired! Now, let's check out the card I created using the sketch...

Pretty cute and the only thing I stamped was the sentiment from the adorable Fall Breeze stamp set by Photo Play. I stamped it with VersaMark watermark ink and heat embossed a fine white embossing powder. I also used the gorgeous Fall Breeze papers by Photo Play and fun Autumn Pumpkins stickers by Sticko. 

I love challenges and truly love sketch challenges... they are so fun and take the hard work of designing a card and make it so much easier. But I always say that challenges should inspire not require so this sketch is open to interpretation! Even I moved the sentiment to the other side of the card... it just got lost in that other corner. As long as your card has the main elements and they're in the approximate position... you're good to go!! 

This challenge will run from today, September 2nd and will end September 30th at 11:59pm EST.  The winner will be announced on Friday, October 4th. Please use #sflsketchchallenge1 in any social media posts when playing along with the challenge.

Lots of time to play along!! I can't wait to see what you create!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal