~ Friends of Unity October 2024 Blog Hop ~

Hello there crafty friend!

It's time for our Friends of Unity Blog Hop!! And I am so excited for this month's cue! It's a fun one...

This month's cue is CASEd It! Such a fun idea for a blog hop and I can't wait to see what our friends made this month!

First up is an adorable kitty card featuring the sweet kitty from A Little Not Fine that just released yesterday for World Card Making Day. Don't ya just want to pick that kitty up and give it a cuddle?! So adorbs!

You may recognize my card design from this awesome card by Gaylynn Martling for the October release. I absolutely adore Gaylynn's card and just had to give it a try with my own spin.

I paired up the adorable kitty with the gorgeous Gosh, I Love You {paper pack}. I die cut the kitty and the sentiment using the dies from Grunge Cuts {tag dies} and Distress Tickets {ticket dies}.

I punched a hole through both of the tags using a handheld punch from my stash and then I tied a pretty bow of {Ivory} Burlap string from May Arts. All my papers are adhered directly to the white A2 top fold card base that I turned on the side for a landscape card, except for the kitty and sentiment that I popped up with foam tape.  

Here's a quick list of the Copic Markers I used to color up the kitty:

Kitty: N0, N2, N4, N6, Colorless Blender

Nose / Ears: R00, R20

Eyes: YG11, YG63, YG45

Ground: E51, E55

Next up is a fun card featuring the cow from Someone Left the Gate Open. So excited to finally ink this cute cow up!

This time I CASEd these fun cards by Beth Artz! Beth shares her creations often in the Unity Show & Tell Facebook group. Love her creations! This is such a versatile card design... I had to give it a go!

I paired the cows up with the awesome Rustic Cowhide {paper pack}. So fun! The cows are both die cut using a die from the Scallops & Circles {nesting dies}.

The fun burlap ribbon has been in my stash forever. I'm pretty sure it's from Stampin' Up. Because it's so thick I popped up the cowhide papers using a thick foam tape. And then the cow circles are popped up on either side of the burlap ribbon using a thinner foam tape. Lots of dimension for these cards!

Here's a quick list of the Copic Markers I used to color up the cows:

Eyes / Teeth: C00, C2

Horns: E51

Face / Neck: N0, N2, N4, Colorless Blender

Nose: R00, R20, N0, N2, N4, E51

Last up is a pretty holiday card featuring the super sweet Simple Little Wishes that also just released for World Card Making Day. I love this Charlie Brown tree!! So cute! 

Some of you may recognize this awesome technique that Jenni Shamblin shared a few months ago for the Christmas in July 2024 {BYSHC} Linky Party. I fell in love with the design but didn't play with it until now and OH BOY am I hooked!! It was so much fun!

You may also recognize the papers from the card I shared on Thursday. This card design is perfect for those scraps and since I was playing with leftover paper scraps, it just made sense to use them again! I do recommend to use copy paper for this technique. It took several runs through my Big Shot with the largest die from the Scallops & Rectangles {nesting dies} to get that background layer cut all the way through.

The adorable tree is die cut using a die from the Scallops & Circles {nesting dies}. The sentiment and tree circle are popped up with foam tape. And then I finished off the card with a few shiny pieces of confetti from the Crystal Metallic Quicksilver Card Bling set from A Colorful Life Designs. 

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...

... Karen Letchworth!! Congratulations, Karen!!

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

Please claim the prize before October 30th, 2024. 

Well, that's it for me this time! Please hop along and enjoy some more inspiration from the Friends of Unity! I can't wait to see the CASEd creations our friends made for this month's cue. 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 ---> Amber

Kari

Jenni

April

Colleen

Jane

Rachel

Joyce

Thanks so very much for supporting our little hop!

We appreciate you so much!!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

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Tawny Owl Paperie Inky Inspiration Sketch 26 ~ Bitty Forest ~ Unity Stamp Co.

 Hello there crafty friend!

Today I'm sharing a bit more inspiration for the Tawny Owl Paperie Inky Inspiration Sketch Challenge 26 in the Tawny Owl Paperie Inky Inspiration Facebook group. Another fun sketch for scraps! I wanted to created a holiday card using the beautiful Bitty Forest stamps from Unity that just released. I love these stamps! So I went looking through my paper scraps and came across these beautiful grey and white papers.

I wouldn't normally open up another package of scrap papers until I had finished off the last one, BUT I just had to for this card! The paper scraps that I've been using are from my days with Scrapping for Less which closed a few years ago so the papers aren't available anymore but if you like the papers stop by Not 2 Shabby and check out the papers they have. My sweet friend, Teresa, is the designer for their papers and she designed the beautiful papers I used for my card today.

Here's a look at the fun sketch for Tawny Owl Paperie Inky Inspiration Sketch Challenge 26. The sketch, as always, is meant to inspire not require. So let the sketch lead in your design, but don't feel limited by it. My rectangle scraps today measure 2 x 2-1/2".

 I stamped the trio of trees twice and both of the deer from Bitty Forest with Smokey Shadow ink from Papertrey Ink. The panel is die cut using a die from the Postage Stamp {nesting dies}. The sentiment and sentiment mat are die cut using dies from the Scalloped & Stitched Sentiment Nesting Dies. The grey mat is also paper from the scraps.

I adhered all my layers directly to a white A2 top fold card base. The postage focal piece is popped up on the card with foam tape. I finished off the card with a few shiny pieces of confetti from the Crystal Metallic Quicksilver Card Bling set from A Colorful Life Designs.

 I hope you all have fun with this sketch! I can't wait to see what you create with it. 

Have an ink-tastic week!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

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{BYSHC} Sketch Challenge 50 ~ Flake Explosion ~ A Colorful Life Designs

Hello there crafty friend!

It's time for a new sketch challenge over in the Build Your Stash Holiday Cardmakers Facebook group! Today I'm sharing a fun Christmas card featuring a fabulous stencil from our amazing sponsor, A Colorful Life Designs! A Colorful Life Designs has generously offered up a $25 gift card as a prize for the {BYSHC} Sketch Challenge 50 this month! So wonderful!!

I am a HUGE fan of A Colorful Life Designs stencils! I couldn't wait to play with this brand new stencil that just released today called Flake Explosion Stencil! Isn't that a fun name for this cool stencil?! I love it! I spritzed the back of the stencil with some Pixie Spray that temporarily adhered the stencil to my 4-1/4 x 5-1/2" piece of white card stock. And then I ink blended Tumbled Glass, Salty Ocean and Chipped Sapphire Distress Oxide inks all over the stencil creating a fun blue background. I love blue for snowflakes!

I also ink smooshed a scrap of white card stock with those same three oxides and die cut it with the stitched circle die from the Ornamental Greetings Ornament dies from Unity {looks like these aren't available right now}. I stamped the beautiful new cabin and a tree from Bitty Forest that just released over at Unity using Black Amalgam ink. And then I die cut it using the plain circle die from the ornament set. I colored it up very simply with just a handful of Copic markers. I used B0000, B00, YG11, G24, G46, E55, and E57. I die cut a few more stitched circles from white card stock. I die cut three toppers from white card stock and adhered two together. I adhered those to the cabin circle. And then I adhered the stitched circles together and adhered them to the front of the cabin circle. I adhered the third topper to the back of the cabin circle and then I die cut one last plain circle from white card stock and adhered that to the back of the ornament. Gosh... I hope this all makes sense! I tried to record my process for this one but I had technical issues. 

Shaker cards and I don't get along very well. It's a love/hate relationship really and I didn't really want to mess with a shaker so I went with a faux shaker card. Actually, it's a faux shaker ornament. I added some Tombow Mono Multi Liquid Glue to the base of the ornament and just dropped some of the awesome Winter Wonderland Card Bling. I scooted a few around and then added those two strays on either end. I love how it gives the appearance of a shaker! So fun!

I finished off the card with a sentiment from Bitty Forest and I added a bit more Winter Wonderland Card Bling to the centers of the flakes. I added a bow to the ornament using a white organdy ribbon from my stash. And then I used three Pixie Dots to temporarily adhere the ornament to the card. So the recipient can remove the ornament and add it to their tree or leave it on the card. I love how this turned out! Head over to A Colorful Life Designs to check out the fab Christmas release and all the awesome new Card Bling!!

Here's a look at {BYSHC} Sketch Challenge 50 for the month of October. Loving this simple sketch! I can't wait to see what everyone does with it. I hope you'll join us and play along with the sketch. If you're interested in seeing a bit more inspiration for this sketch, check out the amazing inspiration from the design team over on the {BYSH} Cardmakers blog! Lots of super creative inspiration this month from the design team.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky hugs,

Crystal

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