Crystal O. Minkler: ~ Friends of Unity May 2023 Blog Hop ~

Hello there crafty friend!

It's the first Saturday of May which means it's time for our Friends of Unity Blog Hop!! I've been so excited for this month's cue but I struggled to narrow down what I would create. It's such a fun cue. I hope that you all enjoy it and hop along to see all the wonderful inspiration. Now, onto our cue this month...

... Inspired By. This wonderful cue was Bobbie Sue's idea and I just love it! I find inspiration in so many places... from blogs, websites, challenges, and even day to day things like store ads. One fabulous source of inspiration that we all share in is the Unity Show & Tell. We are so lucky to have inspiration shared there daily in this wonderful group. If you're not a part of this group on Facebook, I hope you'll join us. I found three wonderful creations in the group that inspired my cards. Let's get to it...

First up is this gorgeous card that our sweet friend, Gaylynn, shared in the Unity Show & Tell group. The beautiful background that Gaylynn created inspired the background for my card.

I used the Vintage Script Embossing Folder to emboss my grey card stock measuring 4-1/4 x 5-1/2". I lightly rubbed the embossed (or raised) portion with a white pigment ink pad. I also added a bit of white acrylic paint splatter on the background focusing the splatters diagonally across the background.

Have you seen this new gorgeous stamp from the birthday release? It's called Bittersweet Graduation and it's illustrated by the wonderfully talented Angie Blom. I colored it up with the following Copic Markers:

Grad Cap ~ N0, N2, N4, N6, Y06, Y35

Flowers ~ RV10, RV13, RV14, RV19, RV66

Berries ~ RV10, RV14, RV66, RV69

Leaves ~ G000, G24, G99

Background ~ C00, C1

I trimmed the bottom of the focal panel with my guillotine trimmer and started the cuts on the sides with my trimmer, as well. I then fussy cut the rest of the edge up to the script and flowers and continued fussy cutting leaving a bit of a white border around the image. The focal panel didn't look quite right just on the background. So I die cut a piece of vellum card stock using the second smallest die from the Scallops & Rectangles {nesting dies}. I adhered the main panel to the vellum layer and then adhered both layers to the card by only adding glue behind the main panel. I finished off the card with a few black gems from my stash. I did end up adding a dot of glue behind that top gem just to help the vellum layer lay flat.

The next card that inspired me is this stunning card shared by Sandra van Blaricum. I was inspired by the flowers and the fussy cut front panel. I love the colors but I went with a different color palette.

My second card features the gorgeous Birthday Blooms... I love this gorgeous big floral stamp! This stamp can be purchased on its own or you can snag the wonderful Peony {Stamp & Stencil} Bundle that includes the gorgeous stamp and a stencil. If you don't like coloring, the stencil is perfect for ink blending over this beauty! AND Unity just released the Birthday Blooms {coordinating die}... unfortunately, it's out of stock already! Wow! That was fast!

I stamped the peony with Black Amalgam ink and colored it up with the following Copic Markers:

Top Left Peony ~ E81, E53, E43, YR31, Y15

Bottom Peonies ~ E81, E41, RV000, R30, Colorless Blender

Leaves ~ YG91, YG95, YG97, Colorless Blender

You can check out my process video {including my copic coloring} here... Vintage Mother's Day Card | Birthday Blooms | Unity Stamp Co.

I fussy cut the Birthday Blooms on the line and then cleaned up the edges by coloring them with a Memento Tuxedo Black marker. I've paired up the stamp with the amazing Vintage Whispers {paper pack} for a square vintage Mother's Day card. I started with a 5 x 10" white card base, scored at 5". I adhered my papers to the front and the inside of the card. Trimmed them up and then I adhered the flower. Now, when I went back to fussy cut around the flowers all these layers were pretty thick. If I was to redo this I would definitely adhere the flowers to the pattern paper and then trim. Adhere it to the card base and then trim off the extra card base. Just my two cents. The sentiment from the recently released The Very Best Gal was stamped with white pigment ink and then I applied some white embossing powder and melted it with my heat tool. I trimmed it up and adhered it directly to the card. To finish off this card, I added a few rhinestones from last month's Whit Kit.

And inspiration for my last card comes from this darling card by Robin Stanton. I just love the background she created for this card! I had to give it a try!

I kinda love how this one turned out! Hope you like it too! This card features the sweet All Ears stamp that just released for Unity's 15th Birthday! I love this pup! So fun and easy to color. I paired him up with the super sweet Cozy Textiles {paper pack}.

I die cut the papers using the largest die from the Scallops & Rectangles {nesting dies}. I ended up turning them around so the pup could set on the yellow line. Not at all my typical straight and perpendicular lines... love it! Here's a quick list of the Copic Markers I used to color up the pup:

Nose ~ N0, N2, N4

Eyes ~ B12

Fur ~ E30, E23, E25, E29

You can check out my process video for this card here... Love You Furever | All Ears | Unity Stamp Co.

I enjoyed this card design so much that I decided to turn it into a sketch. I'm also hosting a sketch challenge for this one with a prize in my Tawny Owl Paperie | Inky Inspiration Facebook group. I've been blessed the last couple weeks with so many crafty goodies from crafty friends... it just makes sense to do a sketch challenge and have a prize!! I hope that you'll join in the fun! The sketch challenge will run from today, May 30, and will end June 26th at 11:59pm PST. Entries must be added to the challenge album in the Tawny Owl Paperie | Inky Inspiration Facebook group to be eligible for a prize. The winner will be chosen randomly from the entries and I'll announce the winner in the group. Hope you'll play along!

I fussy cut the pup for my card but I did see that Unity released an All Ears {coordinating die}... that's going on my wishlist! I adhered all my layers to a white A2 top fold card that I turned on its side for a horizontal card. And I decided to not add any bling or anything. I think it's cute how it is.

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

... Wilma DeGraffenreid!! Congratulations Wilma!!

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

Prize must be claimed within two weeks.

Well, that's it for me this time! Please hop along and enjoy some more inspiration from the Friends of Unity! I'm so excited to hop and check out all the pretty creations shared by our friends!! I'm also interested in seeing how each of our friends were inspired. 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 ---> Bobbie Sue