Membership Monday ~ October 2022 Uniquely Unity Here Comes Amazon ~ Unity Stamp Co.

 Hello there crafty friend!

Welcome back for another Membership Monday blog post... today I'm featuring the super cute Uniquely Unity membership from Unity Stamp Co. called Here Comes Amazon!! As you may know, I love Christmas so when the memberships have Christmas stamps I get especially giddy! The beautiful holiday lights in this month's Uniquely Unity membership are so pretty, but I think the sentiments actually steal the show!

I only had time to play with one of the sentiments for this one card, but if you haven't seen the others you HAVE to!! They are so perfect and kinda punny too! So for my card, I tried out a new technique... Copic coloring over ink smooshed Distress ink. Echo Noble had shared this technique when the Design Team was visiting Unity and I just fell in love with the texture in this technique. I had to try it!

I'll be honest... I was scared to touch my Copic markers to the ink smooshed distress inks but it's totally fine and they are all good!! Yay! I'm so glad because I love this technique! I'm sure I'll be playing around with it again soon!

Here's a quick list of the Distress Inks and Copic markers I used:

Tumbled Glass Distress Ink

Kitsch Flamingo Distress Ink

Purple Bulb ~ V000, V12, V15, V17

Blue Bulb ~ B000, B00, B02

Pink Bulb ~ RV10, RV21, RV14

I die cut the panel with the largest stitched rectangle die from the Scallops & Rectangles {nesting dies} from Unity. I also die cut a piece of Tempting Turquoise card stock with the largest stitched scallop die from the same die set. I adhered all my layers on a white A2 top fold card base measuring 4-1/4 x 11"; scored at 5-1/2". If you're interested in seeing my process video for this card you can check it out here... Copic Coloring on an Ink Smooshed Background | October 2022 Uniquely Unity | Unity Stamp Co.

Isn't that stamp just too cute!! So fun to color! Be sure to check out the Uniquely Unity membership over at Unity Stamp Co. I'll be back next Monday with another Membership Monday post - this time using the gorgeous October 2022 Kit of the Month!!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

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~ Friends of Unity October 2022 Blog Hop ~

 Hello there crafty friend!

It's one of my favorite times of the month... time for the Friends of Unity Blog Hop!! Our cue this month is a fun one that we played with last year. We had lots of fab ideas last year... can't wait to see the creations our friends have to share with us this year! 

Now, let's get to the cue...

... Anything But a Card!! Fun, right?! 

I had several ideas come to mind and I thought about revisiting one of the ones I shared last year but I decided to go with something new. You may have heard that I was lucky enough to visit the wonderful family behind Unity ~ the Magnuson and all the crew!! Such an amazing experience!! The Unity crew is amazing and they're truly a wonderful family!! Anywho, I made little gifts for everyone and I may have been early but I went with a fun Halloween theme. This way I wouldn't forget to send out my Halloween cards! Haha!

 

A few years ago, Bobbie Sue hosted a Napkin Decoupage challenge in the Unity Show & Tell. I got to thinking I could decoupage the front of these cute little Kraft gift bags I had found at Walmart. I also got some cute orange plaid napkins from Walmart in their dollar section. I separated the 2-ply napkins leaving me with just 1-ply for the orange plaid design. I unfolded them and cut them into sections that were slightly longer than the front of the gift bags. I then used Mod Podge to adhere the napkin to the front of the gift bags. I let the Mod Podge dry and then I tore the tops of the napkins off.

I placed the gift bag in my Stamp Platform and stamped the fabulous tree and the Happy Halloween sentiment from the Hallow's Eve Tree stamps with Black Amalgam ink from Gina K. Designs.

Copics I used for the Witch Gnome:

Skin ~ E000, E00, E11, E04

Hair ~ C00, C2

Hat ~ V000, V12, V15, V17, YG11, YG23

Shoes ~ N1, N3, N5, N7

Cauldron ~ N1, N3, N5, N7, V000, V12, V15

Broom ~ E21, E23, E25

I used a tiny blending brush to add a bit of Black Soot Distress Ink around the edges of the napkin. I wrapped each gift bag twice with some {Black} May Arts Burlap string and tied it off with a pretty bow.

Copics I used for the Vampire Gnome:

Skin ~ E000, E00, E11, E04

Hair ~ C00, C2

Hat ~ R20, R14, N3, N5, N7

Shoes / Bat ~ N1, N3, N5, N7

I fussy cut each of the adorable gnomes from the Witch Way stamps and cleaned up the edges by coloring them with a Memento Tuxedo black marker.

Copics I used for the Frankenstein Gnome:

Skin ~ E000, E00, E11, E04

Hair ~ C00, C2

Hat ~ YG11, YG23, G14, YG91, N1, N3, N5

Shoes ~ E21, E23, E25

Pumpkin ~ YR21, YR15, YR68

Candy ~ YG11, YG23, V12, V15, YR15

I slipped a napkin, a Halloween card, some cute Halloween stickers and candy inside the bags. 

So fun! I love how they turned out!! I think everyone liked them too.

For my second Anything But a Card Project I went with my fave... a bookmark!! I love making bookmarks for my friends and family. I started with a die cut bookmark using the Bookmark Die from Newton's Nook Designs. I die cut two bookmarks - one from white card stock and the other from Hawaiian Shores card stock and set the Hawaiian Shores one aside.

I blended Twisted Citron Distress Ink on the bottom of the bookmark. And then I blended Peacock Feathers Distress Ink in the center. And last was Tumbled Glass Distress Ink which I let fade into white by just lightly blending near the top. I went over each section being sure to blend into the other colors until I was happy with my blends. I have found that three times is usually the charm for blending. I loved the blends but it needed something so I grabbed a stencil... I used a cute one from Gina Marie Designs called Mini Triangles 6x6 Stencil. I blended over the stencil without adding more ink to my brushes leaving a light background of the cute little triangles.

I stamped the beautiful stack of books from the I Love Big Books Itty Bitty directly onto the bookmark and also on a scrap of white card stock. I also stamped the sentiment directly on the bookmark. I colored the books on the white card stock with my Copic Markers and then fussy cut the image on the black line. Here's a quick list of the Copics I used ~ RV21, RV14, RV29, C00,C2, YG11, YG23, BG10, and BG23. While fussy cutting the image I cut off the twirly black line because I was basically paper piecing my image onto the bookmark. I cleaned up the edges of the fussy cut image by coloring them with a Memento Tuxedo black marker and then I adhered it to the bookmark. The back of my ink blended bookmark did get a bit messy from the ink on my desk so I adhered it to the Hawaiian Shores bookmark I had die cut at the beginning. Love how this turned out!!

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 package and that lucky winner is...

... Carla Hundley!! Congratulations, Carla!!

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! I hope you'll try your hand at some handmade gifts. I had so much fun! Please hop along and enjoy some more inspiration from the Friends of Unity... I can't wait to see all the different projects being shared! I'm sure that some of my friends are having a giveaway so be sure to comment as you hop along.

Let's get to the hopping...

Crystal <--- you're here

up next ---> Amber

Kim

Rachel

Bobbie Sue

Gaylynn

Dawn F.

Colleen

Eileen

Joyce

Dawn B.

Robyn

Thanks so very much for supporting our little hop!

We appreciate you!!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

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{BYSHC} Sketch Challenge 27 ~ Nut Cracker Holiday ~ Unity Stamp Co.

 Hello there crafty friend!

It's time for a new sketch challenge over at Build Your Stash Holiday Cardmakers and I have a cute Christmas card to share using a punny stamp from Unity Stamp Co. called Nut Cracker Holiday. This detailed nutcracker stamp was so fun to color up all festive and I just love that punny sentiment!

I paired the Nut Cracker Holiday stamp up with the beautiful My Favorite Christmas 6x6 paper pad from Echo Park Paper Co. I couldn't find a paper in my stash with just the right colors but I think this one coordinates nicely. Yes, that means I colored before looking for my pattern paper... it happens sometimes! 

You'll see the sketch down below in my blog post but I've altered it just a bit to work with my nutcracker. He's a little taller than the focal piece in the sketch calls for so I made my panels 2-3/4 x 4-1/4" and they are both mat with white card stock measuring 2-7/8 x 4-3/8". It takes up a bit more room on the card front but I think it still works nicely with this sketch design.

Here's a list of the Copic markers I used for the Nutcracker:

Skin / Eyes ~ E000, E00, E11, E04, B000, B00, B02

Hair / Facial Hair ~ C00, C2, C3

Clothes / Scepter ~ Y15, Y35, Y28, R20, R14, R27, N0, N1, N3, N5

Here's a look at {BYSHC} Sketch 27 for the month of October!

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! I'll be back next week with my weekly Christmas card using this fun new sketch!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky hugs,

Crystal

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{BYSHC} Sketch Challenge 26 ~ More Cards with Let it Snow ~ Doodlebug Design

 Hello there crafty friend!

I'm back with my weekly Christmas card using the {BYSHC} Sketch 26 from the Build Your Stash Holiday Cardmakers Facebook group. I shared a couple cards earlier this month using the Let it Snow collection from Doodlebug Design and while I was making them I realized I had another Let it Snow paper pad. So I decided to make a couple more cards using the collection. So today I'm sharing a couple more cards using a couple more adorable Doodlebug Doodle Pops.

I cut my layers and adhered them all together. I cut (2) 1/8" strips of white card stock and adhered them along the edge of the Santa paper - a trick I love to do rather than matting the pattern paper. It makes for a less bulky card.

I removed the backing from the Santa Doodlebug Pop and adhered it to a white stitched circle die cut. I also added a couple hearts from the Let it Snow Shape Sprinkles stickers pack. Since the Santa Doodlebug Pop has some dimension to it I decided not to pop up the focal piece and just adhered it to the card.

The sentiment is a cut apart sentiment from the Let it Snow paper pad that I trimmed and mat on a scrap of white card stock. I adhered the sentiment directly to the card front and then I adhered the card front to a white A2 top fold card base.

I just love this cute polar bear and squirrel Doodlebug Pop!! I decided for my second card to turn the sketch... what do you think?

I think it's really cute turned on the side. I moved the sentiment just under the striped paper. I think it pops a bit better there.

Do you have a favorite?! I don't know if I can pick... I really love that Santa but the critters in the second card are just too cute!

Here's another look at the {BYSHC} Sketch 26!

 I hope that my cards today have inspired you to pull out those Christmas goodies and make some cards! This year just keeps flying by! The holidays will be here before we know it! If you're interested in seeing more inspiration for this sketch, head over to the {BYSH} Cardmakers blog... the design team is sharing some really cute cards this week! Today is the last day to play along with the {BYSHC} Sketch Challenge 26... I'll be back tomorrow with my first card for the {BYSHC} Sketch Challenge 27!!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

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Fun with Ephemera ~ September 2022 Whit Kit ~ Unity Stamp Co.

Hello there crafty friend!

I'm back with a couple more cards that I created using the beautiful September 2022 Whit Kit from Unity Stamp Co. I couldn't resist playing with the pretty ephemera in the kit... so many wonderful pieces and I thought it would be fun to make a no-stamping card!

I just love the beautiful papers in this card kit too! I chose the print paper for my background. I was going for a kinda monochromatic card.

I just love this beautiful mushroom ephemera piece!! I used four ephemera pieces for this card. The mushroom and the 327 piece are both popped up on the card with foam tape. Does that paper clip look real in this photo or what?! It's not! I almost added a real paper clip but didn't want to take away from this one.

I wrapped the top layer with some {Natural} May Arts Burlap string. I really love how this card turned out and it was really quick once I had my ephemera pieces picked out. If you're interested in seeing my process video for making this card you can check it out here... Pattern Paper & Ephemera Card | September 2022 Whit Kit | Unity Stamp Co.

I did make one last card with the kit... a birthday card for a very dear friend of mine. I can't wait to give it to her... I hope she likes it! I used two papers from the Vintage Naturalist {paper pack} from the card kit. I trimmed them down and distressed the edges with Vintage Photo Distress ink and I also distressed (roughed up) the edges with a Paper Distresser from Tim Holtz.

I mat both layers with a Kraft card stock and adhered them together. I picked a few ephemera pieces for this card too... love love love the butterflies!! I distressed the edges of the rectangle ephemera piece with the Vintage Photo Distress ink and mat it with Kraft card stock. I adhered it to the card and then wrapped the layers with {Natural} May Arts Burlap string securing it on the back of the card front with scotch tape.

I then adhered the entire card front to a Kraft A2 top fold card base measuring 4-1/4 x 11"; scored at 5-1/2". I popped up the other two pieces of ephemera with foam tape. And then I die cut my sentiment using the Chic Script Salutations {die set} from Unity. First, I die cut the outlines from Kraft card stock and then I die cut 'happy' and 'birthday' each three times from True Black card stock. I adhered the three sentiments together and then adhered them to the Kraft outlines and then adhered them to the card. To finish the card I added a few green enamel dots. 

Here's a look at the beautiful card kit for the month of September! Be sure to check out the Whit Kit membership at Unity... there's still time to sign up for this kit!! If you already have the kit, I hope you share your creations in the Unity Show & Tell Facebook group! I'd love to see what you create! I'll be back on Friday with not one, but TWO Christmas cards!!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

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Snail Mail Vintage Style Card ~ Making Spirits Bright with Christmas Express ~ Unity Stamp Co.

 Hello there crafty friend!

I don't know about you but as a cardmaker there's just something about postage style stamps and envelopes and mailboxes! I just adore them and love to use them in my cards! I especially love when they are Christmas themed and Unity just released two stamps... Making Spirits Bright and Christmas Express!! Both are a Must Have!!! Oh my gosh! 

The Christmas Express stamps just scream to be part of a background... I used a bunch of the stamps to create my background. This could easily be a full sheet that you could cut into four card fronts and make multiple cards from!

I went with a vintage style card which was easy to achieve with just a bit of distressing with some Vintage Photo Distress ink and the Paper Distressing tool from Tim Holtz to rough up the edges. I also added a bit of splatter with the Vintage Photo Distress ink. I mat that background layer with a slightly larger piece of True Black card stock. Under that is a layer of pretty pattern paper from the Old World Winter paper pack from The Paper Studio... it adds a bit more color and interest to the card. I die cut a piece of True Black card stock from Papertrey Ink with the Postage Stamp {nesting die} from Unity and adhered my layers on top of that. For my last layer I kept going back and forth between red and kraft... but with the mailbox being red I think the Pure Poppy card stock {Papertrey Ink} really helped to make the mailbox pop on the card.  

I wrapped the layers five times with {Natural} May Arts Burlap string and tied a little knot to the left. I fussy cut the Copic colored image leaving a skinny white border. I tend to fussy cut a white border when the image has small details that are harder to cut around like the leaves and berries. And I've also found that it helps the image to pop a bit more on the card. To add to the dimension of the image I did use foam tape to pop the mailbox on the card. I stamped the cute sentiment and distressed it with a bit of Vintage Photo Distress ink and mat it with black card stock. I also popped it up on the card with foam tape.

Here's a quick list of the Copic markers I used to color up the mailbox:

Mailbox ~ R20, R14, R27; N2, N5 {slot}

Snow ~ C00, C3

Letters ~ W00, W1, W3

Leaves ~ YG11, G24, G46

Berries ~ R20, R14, R27

Gifts ~ YG11, G24, G46 {green}; BG70, BG72, BG75 {blue}; Y15, Y35, Y28 {yellow}

Under Mailbox {to coordinate with the distressed edges} ~ E30, E31, E33

I'm sharing a new sketch based on my card today in my Tawny Owl Paperie Inky Inspiration Facebook group. It's similar to a sketch I shared a couple months ago but this one has layers and I've added string/twine. If you're liking this sketch, I hope you'll give it a try and share your card or project in the group.

To finish off the card I added a few red rhinestones from the Rainbow Bling rhinestones from Gina Marie Designs. I really like how this turned out! Head over to Unity and check out all the fab new releases... if you love Christmas stamps this release is one that you don't want to miss!! 

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky hugs,

Crystal

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Membership Monday ~ September 2022 WK Vintage Naturalist ~ Unity Stamp Co.

 Hello there crafty friend!

I've been anxious to get to play with my September 2022 Whit Kit from Unity... it came just before we left for our family vacation and I didn't even get a chance to open it up and give it a good look. But now I have and oooohhhh... it's so beautiful! I made a few different cards with the kit but today I'm just sharing two cards. I had a fun idea to use the Deckle Edge Ruler die that was included in the kit and die cut six different papers and use those for a fun pattern paper background.

I just love how it turned out!! I also made a practice card and that's the second card you can check out further down in my blog post. I didn't add the distressing with Vintage Photo Distress ink to the practice card and I think that really added a certain touch to the design of the card.

I wrapped the pattern paper background with {Naturals} May Arts Burlap string and popped up the wood slice, sentiment and even the butterfly!

Such a pretty card! I hope you like it too. If you're interested you can check out my process video for this card here... Pattern Paper Background | September 2022 Whit Kit | Unity Stamp Co.

And here's a look at my practice card... what do you think? It's okay but I think the added distress ink on the edges of the die cut papers really makes the card so much prettier!!

I just love that sentiment... so true!

Here's a look at the beautiful card kit for the month of September! Be sure to check out the Whit Kit membership at Unity... there's still time to sign up for this kit!! If you already have the kit, I hope you share your creations in the Unity Show & Tell Facebook group! I'd love to see what you create! I'll be back on Wednesday with one more card using this fantastic kit.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

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