{BYSHC} Christmas in July 2026 Linky Party ~ Snowman Globe ~ RAM Stamps

Hello there crafty friend!

I'm so excited to share my first card for the {BYSHC} Christmas in July 2026 Linky Party hosted by the Build Your Stash Holiday Cardmakers Facebook group! This is our seventh annual Christmas in July 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 Snowman Globe Digital Stamp from our Sponsor Rachelle Anne Miller Digital Stamps AKA RAM Stamps. I combined and resized a few digital stamps on a page and printed them off with my printer. I colored up the cute snowman globe image with Copic markers. I wrapped the globe with white baker's twine and popped it up on the card with foam tape.

Copic markers I used:

Snowman / Snow: C0, C2, Colorless Blender

Nose: YR20, YR15

Arms: E57

Hat: N1, N3, N5, R20, R14, R27

Scarf: C0, C2, YR11, YG03

Stars: YG11, YG03, R20, R14, R27

Globe: YG11, YG03

I like to revisit some of our past sketches when I'm looking for inspiration. I went WAY back and chose BYSHC Sketch 19 for my card today. Such a fun and quick sketch... I just might use this one again.

I paired up the cute globe with the Knit Picky Winter 6x6 Paper Pack from Sponsor Lawn Fawn. I also used the retired Winter Otter stamp set for the sentiment from Lawn Fawn to finish off my card.

I'm also a Sponsor for the {BYSHC} Christmas in July 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 Tuesday, July 28th.

Be sure to stop by the {BYSHC} Christmas in July 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

Spooky Mixed Media Halloween ~ Scaredy Cats Club ~ Unity Stamp Co.

Hello there crafty friend! 

I had some inky time with a brand new Halloween stamp from Unity's latest release. I just had to ink up the kitties with the ghosts... so cute!!

I inked up the Scaredy Cats Club stamp with Black Amalgam ink and colored it up with my Copic markers. I blended some Black Soot Distress ink around the edges of the die cut image to finish it off. I used a die from the Scallops & Squares {nesting dies} to die cut the cats and ghosts.

Copic Markers used:

Cats: N1, N3, N5, R20

Cats Eyes / Ghosts: C0, C2

Stems / Grass / Sentiment: YG00

Purple Background: V000, V12, V15, V17

I ink smooshed my background panel with Wilted Violet, and Villainous Potion Distress Inks. Once I was happy with my ink smooshing, I blended some Black Soot Distress Ink all over the panel. I die cut the panel using the largest die from the Scallops & Rectangles {nesting dies}.

I adhered the sentiment to the square focal image and then popped them both up with foam tape. So fun to make a Halloween card. I hope you like it.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Inky hugs,

Crystal

Tawny Owl Paperie Inky Inspiration Sketch 44 ~ Membership Wednesday ~ July 2026 KOM Ahead of the Holiday Herd Card 2 ~ Unity Stamp Co.

Hello there crafty friend!

Happy Membership Wednesday! Today I'm sharing inspiration for the Tawny Owl Paperie Inky Inspiration Sketch Challenge 44 in the Tawny Owl Paperie Inky Inspiration Facebook group. I just adore The Creepy Peekies stamps from this month's KOM called Ahead of the Holiday Herd.

I stamped the cute mummy from the July 2026 KOM called Ahead of the Holiday Herd on white card stock using Black Amalgam ink from Gina K. Designs. I die cut the mummy using a die from the Scallops & Squares {nesting dies}. And then I did some coloring with my Copic markers.

Copic markers used:

Mummy: YG00, YG11

Eyes / Cloth: C0, C2

Wall: E04, E39

Grass: YG11, YG03

Ground: YG91, YG67

Here's a look at the fun sketch for Tawny Owl Paperie Inky Inspiration Sketch Challenge 44. 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 flipped the sketch to work with the stamp and I added a second sentiment for the circle accent this time.

I paired up the fun mummy with papers from the Spooky Days {paper pack}. I used the measurements from the sketch for my background layers. Oops! I omitted the 1/8" strip. I cut it but I guess I forgot to adhere it to the card. Haha. The happy Halloween sentiment is from the Little Boos stamps.

All of the layers are adhered directly to a white A2 top fold card base. I adhered the mummy layer to a black scalloped mat that I die cut using a die from the same die set. I adhered the sentiments to the square focal image and popped them all up with foam tape finishing off the card.

Here's a look at the Kit of the Month membership stamps. A full 8-1/2 x 11 sheet of fabulous red rubber stamps!!

Don't want the whole kit... these cute stamps are also available separately in The Creepy Peekies stamps.

That's it for me today! I hope you've been INKspired to play with your membership stamps! And if you're inspired to play along with the TOPII Sketch 44, I sure hope you'll enter your card into the challenge album. Have a fantastic day!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

Tawny Owl Paperie Inky Inspiration Sketch 44 ~ Membership Wednesday ~ July 2026 KOM Ahead of the Holiday Herd ~ Unity Stamp Co.

Hello there crafty friend!

Happy Membership Wednesday! Today I'm sharing inspiration for the Tawny Owl Paperie Inky Inspiration Sketch Challenge 44 in the Tawny Owl Paperie Inky Inspiration Facebook group.

I stamped the cute kitty from the July 2026 KOM called Ahead of the Holiday Herd on white card stock using Black Amalgam ink from Gina K. Designs. I die cut the cat using a die from the Scallops & Squares {nesting dies}. And then I did some coloring with my Copic markers.

Copic markers used:

Cat: C0, C2

Eyes: YG11, YG06, YG17, C0, C2

Nose: R00, R20

Towel: Y11, Y15, Y38

Robe: Y11, Y15, Y38, RV10, RV02

Ground: C0, C2

Here's a look at the fun sketch for Tawny Owl Paperie Inky Inspiration Sketch Challenge 44. 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 focal image is much bigger this time but I think the sketch is still apparent in my design.

I paired up the cute kitty, also available separately in the Self Care Satire stamps, with the Fabulous Enough {paper pack}. I used the measurements from the sketch for my background layers. And trimmed a 1/8" strip of black card stock to cover the line where the papers meet. The cute heart is die cut from one of the pattern papers in the pack using a die from the Dashes and Frills Hearts {die set}.

All of the layers are adhered directly to a white A2 top fold card base except for the sentiment and the heart. I popped those up with foam tape.

Here's a look at the Kit of the Month membership stamps. 

This cute stamp is also available separately in the Self Care Satire stamps.

That's it for me today! I hope you've been INKspired to play with your membership stamps! And if you're inspired to play along with the TOPII Sketch 44, I sure hope you'll enter your card into the challenge album. Have a fantastic day!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

~ Friends of Unity July 2026 Blog Hop ~

Hello there crafty friend & Happy 4th of July!!!

It's time for another Friends of Unity Blog Hop!! Woohoo! This month's cue is lots of fun because it's a challenge that we are hosting in the Unity Show & Tell Facebook group. I sure hope that you can find some time to play along with us! 

Today we are sharing inspiration for a fun Color Challenge!! A nod to America's 250th!! But it's not a 4th of July themed challenge - if that's how you are inspired though, go for it! We're just looking for fun and creative cards using the red, white & blue color combo. There are 4 fabulous prizes up for grabs for 3 lucky winners!! All you have to do is enter a card into the Color Challenge album in the Unity Show & Tell FB group.

I was inspired to use the new Sweet Bee Blooms stamp that's available separately or in the July 2026 Kit of the Month called Ahead of the Holiday Herd. Isn't it amazing?!!

Other than my addition of neutral black, I kept strictly to the color combo. A little out of my comfort zone giving the bees a little shading to keep them white and also keeping the centers of the flowers white with a little shading, but I think it turned out pretty.

Copic markers used:

Red: R20, R14, R27

Shadows for White: C0, C2

Blue: B000, B02, B24

I tore the edges of my layers and adhered them to a white A2 top fold card base. And finished it off with the sentiment that I popped up with foam tape. Kept it easy peasy and only made one card this time. My back is getting better but I'm still being careful not to sit too long and doing my stretches and exercises. Thanks to all those who are praying for me. I appreciate the get well wishes, too.

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

... Carla from Arizona!! Congratulations, Carla!!

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

Please claim the prize before July 29th, 2026. 

I'm also sharing the winners for our friend Dawn. She wasn't able to participate this month but wanted to share her winners so I'm sharing them here. The lucky winners are... Meghan K. and Vannessa Osbourn. Please reach out to Dawn at lovepaperetc@gmail.com to claim your prize.

Well, that's it for me this time! 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 ---> Von Marie

Jenni

Rachel

Toni

Joyce

Doreen

Thanks so very much for supporting our little hop!

We appreciate you so much!!

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

Hive Had Enough ~ This Stings ~ Unity Stamp Co.

Hello there crafty friend! 

It was so fun to get back in the studio and get inky. I just couldn't resist this new bee stamp from Unity. I had to ink him up! He's currently a Spotlight Steal on the website!!

I colored up the bee from This Stings with some Copic markers and fussy cut him leaving a white border. If fussy cutting isn't your thing, there's a This Stings digital cut file available that's compatible with some electronic die cutting machines.

Copic Markers used:

Yellow: Y11, Y15, Y38

Antennae / Legs: N1, N3, N5

Wings / Eyes: B000, B02

Green: YG11, YG03

I ink smooshed a background with Squeezed Lemonade, Mustard Seed, and Wild Honey Distress Inks. Die cut it with the largest die from the Scallops & Rectangles {nesting dies}. The grey spatters were supposed to be black spatters. My black acrylic paint is very watery. I guess I need to mix it more. 

I used the Stitched Hexagon Nesting Dies {I don't see this on the website anymore, sorry} for the black hexagons and the one behind the bee that I ink smooshed with just Wild Honey Distress Ink. And for the strip diagonally across the card I used the HoneyComb Chaos Die. I think it was a Spotlight Steal at one point. I don't see it on the website either. To finish off the card I popped up the bee and the sentiment with foam tape. So fun to make. I hope you like it.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Inky hugs,

Crystal

{BYSHC} Sketch Challenge 71 ~ Christmas Postmark ~ 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 sweet Christmas card featuring a few fun stencils from our wonderful Sponsor A Colorful Life Designs! One lucky winner will win a $25 gift code to A Colorful Life Designs!! Woohoo!

I started with my background and just couldn't resist the cuteness of the Layered Gingerbread Men Stencil. I blended over the gingerbread men with Vintage Photo Distress Ink. And then I blended Candied Apple Distress Ink for the buttons and faces. I wanted to add a postage vibe to the card so I pulled out the Marvelous Masks Postage Stamp Stencils and blended around the edges with Walnut Stain Distress Ink.  I blended a bit of Vintage Photo around the edges to give it a vintage look.

I blended over the Christmas Postmark Stencil with the Candied Apple Distress Ink again. I was a little heavy handed with this one so it's much darker than the gingies. I blended over the mask from the Marvelous Masks Postage Stamp Stencils again with Walnut Stain Distress Ink. I distressed the edges with Vintage Photo Distress Ink to keep the vintage vibe going. And then I adhered the layers to a red A2 card base.

I did absolutely no stamping for this card. I found a cut apart sentiment in my stash that I thought would work nicely with the stencils I had used. There was a lot of empty space under the Christmas Postmark Stencil so I moved the sentiment to the other side. I popped it up with foam tape to finish off this card.

Here's a look at {BYSHC} Sketch Challenge 71 for the month of July. 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!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Inky hugs,

Crystal