Sunday, April 12, 2026

{BYSHC} Spring into Christmas 2026 Linky Party ~ Christmas Ornaments ~ RAM Stamps

 Hello again crafty friend!
I'm back with a couple holiday tags for day 3 of the {BYSHC} Spring into Christmas 2026 Linky Party!! Today's theme on the blog is ornaments... haha! I just adore the cute Christmas Ornaments from our Sponsor RAM Stamps {AKA Rachelle Anne Miller Stamps}. 


Aren't they just too cute?! I printed them off with the kitty digi I used on day 1. I die cut them using a die from the Essential Tags Die Set from our Sponsor Newton's Nook Designs. And then I colored them up with Copic markers.

Here's a quick list of the Copic markers I used:
Snowman:C0, C2, R00, R20, YR15, YR68
Hat: N2, N4, N6, R20, R14
Scarf: R20, R14, C0, C2
Buttons: N2, N4, N6
Angel Hair: Y21, E43, E44
Angel Skin: E000, E00, E11, R00, R20
Dress: B000, B00, C0, C2
Wings / Halo: Y11, Y15
Shoes: B000, B00
Candle: R20, R14, C0, C2, Y15


I cut a simple mask from a post it note and blended the residual ink on my blue blending brush over the HeartFlakes Stencil using a light touch as I blended around the snowman. I did the same with the angel tag using my yellow blending brush along with the Dotted Wreath Stencil. But it was too light so I blended a bit of Mustard Seed Distress Ink over the stencil. It was still too simple so I used the top part of the Snowfall Stencil {the stars} to blend some bold stars around the angel. I like the results.


Now if I was to replicate these. I would die cut them leaving more room on the bottom so I could put the sentiments underneath the snowman and angel. I tied a couple bows and added some twine from my stash to finish these off. 


If you haven't already, stop by the {BYSHC} Spring into Christmas 2026 Linky Party to check out all the wonderful Holiday inspiration being shared!! My mojo is on overdrive with all the ideas I'm collecting! I hope you have an INKredible day!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Inky Hugs,
Crystal

{BYSHC} Spring into Christmas 2026 Linky Party ~ Dotty Ornaments Stencils ~ A Colorful Life Designs

 Hello there crafty friend!
It's day 3 of the {BYSHC} Spring into Christmas 2026 Linky Party!! I'm excited to share another holiday card that I've made to add to my Christmas stash! This time I played with a couple stencils from our fabulous Sponsor A Colorful Life Designs. It's a rainbow slimline card!


I used the Dotty Ornaments Set 1 and Dotty Ornaments Set 2 for my card today. I just love the fun ornament designs!!


Working from the left to right... I used the Dotty Ornaments Set 1 for the first three ornaments along with Distress Inks. I masked each of the ornaments  using iCraft Pixie Tape so I didn't blend into the other ornament shapes. I blended Kitsch Flamingo in the center of the circle swirl ornament and blended Candied Apple around the outer edge and bow. I blended Mustard Seed in the center of the star and Spiced Marmalade around the outer edge and bow. I blended Mustard Seed on the left side of the middle ornament and then blended Mowed Lawn. I used the Dotty Ornaments Set 2 for the remaining ornaments. I used Tumbled Glass and Salty Ocean on the first one. I masked the stencil with iCraft Pixie Tape so I could alternate the colors. And finally I blended Seedless Preserves on the right side of the tree ornament and Wilted Violet on the left side and bow. For the dotted string I blended Lost Shadow.


I didn't have a slimline die that would cut the panel without cutting away too much of the ornaments, so I just trimmed it down to 3-1/4 x 8-1/8" and adhered it to a black mat measuring 8-1/2 x 3-1/2" and then adhered that to a white slimline card base measuring 8-1/2 x 7"; scored at 3-1/2". The cute sentiment is from the retired Fluffy Friends - Holiday stamp set from Sponsor Taylored Expressions.


If you haven't already, stop by the {BYSHC} Spring into Christmas 2026 Linky Party to check out all the wonderful Holiday inspiration being shared!! I have so many wonderful ideas for future cards! So inspiring! I hope you have an INKredible day!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Inky Hugs,
Crystal

Saturday, April 11, 2026

{BYSHC} Spring into Christmas 2026 Linky Party ~ {BYSHC} Sketch Challenge 68 ~ Gnome Friends: Reindeer Die ~ Jaded Blossom

Hello there crafty friend!
I'm back with a little inspiration for the {BYSHC} Sketch Challenge 68 hosted in the Build Your Stash Holiday Cardmakers Facebook group AND it's day 2 of the {BYSHC} Spring into Christmas 2026 Linky Party! Today I'm sharing a sweet Christmas card featuring a darling die set from our amazing Sponsor Jaded Blossom! This month's prize is a $25 gift card to Jaded Blossom! Woohoo!


I die cut all of the fun pieces for the adorable Gnome Friends: Reindeer Die to create my reindeer. I also die cut a scarf using a die from the Gnome Dies: Winter Add Ons. I used Chocolate Chip and Early Espresso card stock from Stampin' Up and Kraft, True Black, Sweet Blush, and Pure Poppy card stock from Papertrey Ink. I added a touch of Copic marker to the reindeer's cheeks with R00 and R20. And then I added a few dots to his cheeks and scarf using a Sakura White Gelly Roll pen.


I applied a whole bunch of fun holiday themed washi tape to a black card stock panel for my background. I die cut the background using a die from the Scallops & Rectangles {nesting dies} from Unity and then I also cut out the circle die that's behind the reindeer from the same panel using a die from the Scallops & Circles {nesting dies}, also from Unity.


The sweet sentiment is from the Christmas Village: Post Office stamp set also from Jaded Blossom. This is one of my favorite sentiments!! I heat embossed it using the TE Anti-Static Powder Tool and Sugar Cube White Pigment ink from Taylored Expressions along with Alabaster White Embossing Powder from Unity. And I melted the powder with a Wagner Precision Heat Tool.


Here's a look at {BYSHC} Sketch Challenge 68 for the month of April. If you're interested in seeing a bunch more inspiration for this sketch, check out the amazing inspiration from the design team over on the {BYSH} Cardmakers blog!


Join us for the {BYSHC} Spring into Christmas 2026 Linky Party!! Start building your stash of holiday cards and who knows... maybe you'll win a prize!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Inky hugs,
Crystal

Friday, April 10, 2026

{BYSHC} Spring into Christmas 2026 Linky Party ~ Christmas Kitties ~ Angie Blom Digital Designs

Hello there crafty friend!
I'm so excited to share my first card for the {BYSHC} Spring into Christmas 2026 Linky Party hosted by the Build Your Stash Holiday Cardmakers Facebook group! This is our sixth annual Spring into Christmas Linky Party! Woohoo!! This event is a great excuse to get ahead on those holiday cards to relieve some of the stress later on in the year during the holidays. I am super excited to add a few more holiday cards to my Christmas card stash and I sure hope that you'll join in the fun!


For my first card I've made a sweet holiday card using the adorable Christmas Kitties from our Sponsor Angie Blom Digital Designs. I used one of Angie's printable images where she's done the work in combining the images for four different cards on one sheet. Only I cropped just the one image I planned to use and combined it with other digital stamps in a Word Document and printed them off on white card stock. I colored up the cute kitty image with Copic markers. 


Copic markers I used:
Kitty: YR20, YR21, YR15
Hat: C0, C2, R20, R14, R27
Scarf: R20, R14, R27
Tree: YG11, G24, G46, E53, E55, E57
Ornaments: R00, R14, R27
Star: Y11, Y15, Y38
Green Present: YG11, G24, Y11, Y15, Y38
Polka Dot Present: C0, C2, R00, R14, R27
Snow: C0, C2


I like to revisit some of our past sketches when I'm looking for inspiration. I went WAY back and chose BYSHC Sketch 2 for my card today. I flipped the sketch to fit my card design.


The beautiful plaid papers are from the retired Plaids for Christmas paper pad from Sponsor Not 2 Shabby. And I die cut the kitty using the retired Frayed Edge Stacklets dies from Sponsor Taylored Expressions. I adhered the sentiment to the focal image and popped them both up with foam tape.


I'm also a Sponsor for the {BYSHC} Spring into Christmas 2026 Linky Party!! I have a wonderful prize set aside for one lucky winner. For a chance to win my fun prize make a Christmas card and link it up to the linky party blog post on the Build Your Stash Holiday Cardmakers blog. All of the winners of all the amazing prizes will be announced on the {BYSHC} blog on Wednesday, April 22nd.


Be sure to stop by the {BYSHC} Spring into Christmas 2026 Linky Party to check out all the wonderful holiday inspiration from our Sponsors and the {BYSHC} Design Team!! I'm so excited to continue building my stash of holiday cards for 2026... I hope you'll join in the fun and play along!


Thanks so much for stopping by!

Inky Hugs,
Crystal

Wednesday, April 8, 2026

Membership Wednesday ~ April 2026 KOM Life is Ridiculous ~ Unity Stamp Co.

Hello there crafty friend!
Happy Membership Wednesday! Have you seen all of the adorable stamps in this month's Kit of the Month membership from Unity!? Oh My Gosh!! I am seriously in love with so many of them... it was hard to decide which to play with!


But I did! I inked up the adorable butterfly from the April 2026 Kit of the Month called Life is Ridiculous. This cutie is also available separately as the A Thought Flew By stamps.


Unity has been releasing some absolutely gorgeous papers this year. I just had to crack open the Raindrop Serenade {paper pack}. These papers aren't just for rainy day cards! I love the pretty colors in the plaid papers and the tiny flowers are so pretty! I die cut the papers using the largest die from the Scallops & Rectangles {nesting dies}. I tore the flower papers and adhered the layers for an easy peasy background.


I die cut the cutie butterfly with a die from the Scallops & Circles {nesting dies}. And colored it up with my Copic markers. I used similar colors to the papers so it all coordinated.

Copic markers used:
Butterfly: B000, B00, B02, Y11, Y15, BV00, BV02, BV17
Eyes: C0, C2, YG11, YG03
Branch: E15, E57
Leaves: YG11, YG03
Sky: BG000


Here's a quick look at this month's Kit of the Month membership!


This gorgeous stamp is also available separately in the A Thought Flew By stamps.

That's it for me today! I hope you've been INKspired to play with your membership stamps! 
Have a wonderful day!


Thanks so much for stopping by!

Inky Hugs,
Crystal

Tuesday, April 7, 2026

Tawny Owl Paperie Inky Inspiration Sketch 41 ~ Garfield ~ Rubbernecker Stamps

 Hello there crafty friend!
Today I'm sharing more inspiration for the Tawny Owl Paperie Inky Inspiration Sketch Challenge 41 in the Tawny Owl Paperie Inky Inspiration Facebook group. A fun owl card!


I inked up the cute Garfield owl from Rubbernecker Stamps and colored it with some Copic markers that coordinated with my papers. I used the Garfield Die to die cut him. Sadly, Rubbernecker Stamps is no longer in business. I believe it was actually taken over by Brass & Bliss Craft Co. but I couldn't find this cute stamp anywhere to share with you all.

Copic Markers used:
Owl: W1, W3, W5, W7
Eyes: Y11, Y15, Y38
Beak / Feet: YR15, YR27
Cup: BG10, BG01, BG72


I paired up Mr. Garfield with the Ninth Street paper pad from The Paper Studio AKA Hobby Lobby. I just love the mix of colors in these papers! And the designs are fun too. I thought it was fun to die cut circles from the circle papers. I used the Scallops & Circles {nesting dies} from Unity.


Here's a look at the fun sketch for Tawny Owl Paperie Inky Inspiration Sketch Challenge 41. 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. I used larger circles and replaced the middle circle with the owl. 


All the pattern papers are adhered directly to a white card base. I stamped and trimmed the sentiment from the retired Hoot Hoot Hooray stamps from Unity. I popped up Garfield and the sentiment with foam tape. I hope you can find time to play along with the sketch challenge. Have an INKriffic week!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Inky Hugs,
Crystal

Saturday, April 4, 2026

~ Friends of Unity April 2026 Blog Hop ~

Hello there crafty friend!
It's time for another Friends of Unity Blog Hop!! Woohoo! I can't believe that it's already April! How is that even possible?! This month's cue is a fun one...


Today we are sharing inspiration for Earth Day / Recycle!! I was kind of all over the place trying to decide which direction to go with my makes this time. But I'm happy with them and I hope you enjoy them.


Where would the world be without mothers?! Well, the answer is absolutely no where as we birth the babies that populate it so I decided to make a Mother's Day card. My first card features the super cute and new Little Miss Moo stamps from this month's Kit of the Month membership. You can sign up for the KOM membership and get this adorable stamp along with all the others in the kit, plus all the perks of the membership, mailed straight to your door. OR buy it as a 1-Time Purchase. Isn't it just the cutest stamp?!

 

 I die cut the adorable moo cow and my background using dies from the BIG Scallops & Rectangles {nesting dies}. I found a fun ink smooshed background in my "To Be Used Later" pile that looked MOO-velous with this sweet cow. LOL! I really like the pretty spring colors! I had ink smooshed it with Mustard Seed, Picked Raspberry, and a tiny bit of Chipped Sapphire Distress Inks. 


I couldn't decide which sentiment to use so I used both! I adhered them to the cow panel and then popped up the panel and sentiments together with foam tape.

Copic markers used:
Cow: E000, R00, R20, E51, C0, C2, C3, N0, N1, N3, N5
Flowers: Y11, Y15, RV14
Flower Centers: YR02, YG68
Tiny Flowers: RV14
Leaves / Grass: YG11, YG23, YG67
Basket: E21, E23, E25


Do you ever look at packaging and think that would be cool on a card?! I can't be the only one. LOL! I was tearing up a cardboard/paper envelope and I just loved the look of the corrugated paper. I HAD to use it for a card! And it brings the Recycle element to my second card.


I stamped the beautiful Elise Girl with Black Amalgam ink on white card stock and colored her up with Copic markers. I decided early on that I would fussy cut her because she has a lot of extra hearts and flowers around her so I cut all of those off so the background would show through. I masked the sentiment and used Black Amalgam ink as well as Candied Apple Distress Ink for the heart.

Copic markers used:
Skin: E000, E00, E11
Hair: C0, C3, C5
Dress: Y11, Y15, RV10, RV14
Pants: RV000, RV10
Flowers: Y11, Y15, RV000, RV10, RV14, BG000, BG10, BG01
Leaves: YG11, YG23
Bird: Y11, Y15, BG000, BG10, BG01, Y28


 I wrapped the recycled paper with some aqua twine from my stash. I secured the pieces with tape on the back and used a lot of glue to adhere the it to the card base. I adhered Elise Girl to the bottom of the sentiment and popped them both up on the card with lots of foam tape. And then I finished off the card with a few raindrop embellies.


It only made sense to use the cute world stamp from the 2025 Advent Calendar for my last card. I stamped it with Black Amalgam ink and fussy cut on the line. I colored the edges of my fussy cutting with a black marker.


My card design was inspired by the Tawny Owl Paperie Inky Inspiration Sketch 41. I'm hosting a fun sketch challenge in the Tawny Owl Paperie Inky Inspiration Facebook group. The challenge is open until April 27th. Lots of time to join in the fun and play along.


I paired up the cute world stamp with the Cloud Hopper Chronicles {paper pack}. I die cut some of the scrap papers using the smallest circle die from the Scallops & Circles {nesting dies}. I used my last full sheet for my striped background. I trimmed it to 5-1/4 x 4". I adhered the circles and cut off the excess on the ends. And then adhered the panel to a Kraft A2 card base. I popped up the world circle with foam tape.


All that was left was the sentiment and searched and searched through my stamps and came across this one. I stamped the sentiment from the Whole Wonderful World stamps. I think it works nicely.

Copic markers used:
Water: BG000, BG10
Land: YG11, YG03
Heart: RV10, RV14

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...



... Sue D!! Congratulations, Sue!!
Please email me at crystalominkler@gmail.com to claim your prize. 
Please claim the prize before April 29th, 2026. 

Well, that's it for me this time! It's a short hop this month with just six of us sharing makes. I'm so excited to see how our friends were inspired for this month's hop. 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 ---> Jenni






Thanks so very much for supporting our little hop!
We appreciate you so much!!

Inky Hugs,
Crystal