~ Friends of Unity February 2026 Blog Hop ~

Hello there crafty friend!

It's time for our Friends of Unity Blog Hop for February 2026!! Woohoo! I'm excited for this month's cue... 

Today we are sharing Sassy inspiration! Haha... yay! I made 3 fun cards to share with you all today.

My first card features the sassiest little leprechaun kitty from Zero Luck Given. Isn't it just too cute?! I had so much fun coloring him up with my Copic markers.

Copic markers used:

Kitty: YR20, YR15, YR27; plus some white gel pen

Eyes: C0, C2

Hat: YG00, YG11, YG09, N0, N1, N3, N5, Y15, Y28

Clovers: YG00, YG11, YG09

White Clover: V12

Stems / Grass: YG00, YG23

 

I actually started with my fun background for this card. I ink smooshed a panel of white card stock with Twisted Citron and Lucky Clover Distress Inks. And then I stamped the clovers from the awesome new February 2026 KOM called A Gentle Plot Twist. These gorgeous clovers are also available separately in The Luck of Knowing You stamp kit. I colored over the clovers with Copic markers to help them pop a bit more on the panel. I used YG00 and YG09.

I die cut the ink smooshed background using a stitched die from the Zig-Zag Rectangles {nesting dies}. My mat of True Black card stock from Papertrey Ink was also die cut using the slightly larger zig zag die from the same set. I adhered these layers to a card base of  Tropical Teal card stock from Papertrey Ink. I fussy cut the cute kitty leaving a white border and popped him up on the card with foam tape. I trimmed the sentiment and popped that up with foam tape too.

I went with a coffee theme for my second card. I inked up my favorite chicken from the October 2025 Uniquely Unity membership called Don't Cluck with My Coffee. She's my fave because I requested her and BAM, Ang delivered. Isn't she wonderful!? She's definitely got my coffee vibe going on. And that sentiment... hahahaha!!! Love it!

I wanted a simple one layer card for this one so I pulled out a couple stencils and created a fun, yet subtle, coffee background directly on my card base. I blended Antique Linen Distress Ink over the Falling Dots stencil from A Colorful Life Designs. And then I decided to color the last dot on each row with white Prismacolor pencil. Why? I'm really not sure... it was a whim. I like it on the top portion of the card but it's a little too much on the bottom. IMHO. The creative ideas don't always work! Whatcha going to do?! I then blended Vintage Photo Distress Ink over the Mini Coffee stencil from The Crafters Workshop. I could have sworn I had a stencil from Unity with a coffee theme, but I could not find it. Maybe I'm mixing it up with a die. Anyone know?!  

I stamped the chicken with Black Amalgam ink on Stampers Select white card stock from Papertrey Ink and colored her up with Copic markers. I found a scrap of Kraft card stock from Papertrey Ink in my stash that I used to ground the chicken. I distressed the edges of my card and the scrap using Vintage Photo Distress Ink. I adhered the sentiment directly to the card and added a couple scraps behind the back of the chicken {head, body & mug} so she'd lay flat on the card.

Copic Markers used:

White: C0, C2

Head / Tail Feathers: Y11, Y15, R22

Curlers: R20, R22, YR68

Glasses: Y11, Y15, Y38

Beak / Feet: YR20, YR16, YR27

Wattles: R20, R14, R27

Mug: BG10, BG34, E21, E18

Ground: E000, E21

My last card is a mix of old and new... I've been cataloging my Unity stamps in Google Sheets. So I finally had an opportunity to mark some of my retired stamps. I use a color system using circle dots. It's a whole thing. Maybe I'll share one day when I get closer to done. Anywho... my whole point was that now that I'm getting to know which stamps are retired, I plan to use them each month for our hop. At least one if I have one that works with our cue... AND I remember. Haha! Because it's also a good chance that these stamps haven't seen ink yet. And that's a shame so I'm going to try to fix that. I paired up the sweet and slightly sassy owl from Strange Bird with the awesome Thinkin' Out Loud stamps.

The pattern paper in my background is from the Rainbow Wishes {paper pack}. I adhered it to a white A2 top fold card base. I stamped the sweet owl from Strange Bird on a panel of white card stock using Black Amalgam ink. I colored up the owl with Copic markers and then decided to add some splatters. So I stamped the bird again on a post it note and fussy cut it making a mask. I die cut the panel using a die from the Postage Stamp {nesting dies}. I used iCraft Pixie tape to tape the edges and applied my mask and then I splattered the background with some Uncharted Marine Distress Ink. I also did a tiny bit of Apple Barrel black acrylic paint. Way more splatters than I intended, but it is what it is!

Copic markers used:

Owl: E21, E23, E25

Beak: YR20, YG15

Hat: Y11, Y15, Y38, G000, G82, YG21, YG91, YG93

Cliff: C0, C1, C3, C5, B95

I wrapped the top corner of the die cut with May Arts Black Burlap String and then tied it into a bow on the bottom corner. I added a bunch of foam tape to the back of the panel and popped it up on the card. And then I stamped the Thinkin' Out Loud word bubble and sentiment on a scrap of white card stock. I used an acetate grid sheet to make sure the sentiment was straight-ish. And then I popped it up on the card {tilted - haha!} using foam tape. I finished the card off with a few pieces of White Glossy Card Bling 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...

... Wilma DeG!! Congratulations, Wilma!!

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

Please claim the prize before March 4th, 2026. 

Well, that's it for me this time! I sure hope you'll hop along and enjoy some more inspiration! I can't wait to see how our friends were inspired by 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

Jenni

Rachel

Toni

Doreen

Dawn

Thanks so very much for supporting our little hop!

We appreciate you so much!!

Inky Hugs,

Crystal