3 Day Mermaid Hop ~ Giveaway Winner Announced!

Hello there crafty friend!

Just a quick post today to announce the winner of the Mer-Mazing Prize Package giveaway that I had during the 2nd Annual 3 Day Mermaid Hop!! I had a blast checking out all the fun cards and projects that were shared. I sure hope that you found some time to check them out, too.

A big THANK YOU! to those that stopped by my blog and left a comment! It was so fun to read your answers to the questions that I shared.

Well, enough chit chat... the winner of the Mer-Mazing Prize Package is...

Vannessa Osbourn!!

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

Prize must be claimed within two weeks. 

That's it for me today!

Have an ink-tastic day!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

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3 Day Mermaid Hop ~ Mixed Media Cards ~ Unity Stamp Co.

 Hello there crafty friend!

I'm back for the last day of the 3 Day Mermaid Hop and today I'm sharing not just one card, but two Mixed Media cards!! I'm on a mission to use those must have crafty items in my stash that have just been collecting dust and the beautiful 12 x 12 Mermaid Dreams stencil by The Crafters Workshop was definitely a must have and it was also really dusty. LOL! I paired it up with a couple of new dies that just released over at Unity Stamp Co. These new dies are awesome... and cut like a dream!! I also played with some neglected Distress Oxide Sprays and Glacier Paste to create my background!! 

So Fun!!

I started with a large 5-3/4 x 8-1/2" piece of Canson XL watercolor paper. No particular reason for this size, it was just a piece I had left over from another project and it was big enough to fit the mermaid's tail. I sprayed it with water and then spritzed some Antique Linen, Peacock Feathers, Mermaid Lagoon, and Walnut Stain Distress Oxide Sprays. I also splattered some Walnut Stain and Mermaid Lagoon Distress Oxide Sprays all over the background. I did this by opening the bottle and tapping the top of the bottle over the whole panel.

I then laid the Mermaid Dreams stencil over the dried background and applied some Sea Sprite Glacier Paste from Nuvo over the stencil. I let it dry over night and then applied some more of the glacier paste giving the mermaid tail more dimension. I let it dry again over night. I die cut the Here's a Hug {die} three times from Kraft card stock and then adhered them all together using Tombow Mono Multi liquid glue. When adhering dies cuts together I like to use tiny dots of glue all along the die. I've found it to be the best way to not get too messy. For this first card, I cut the background down to 4 x 5-1/4" and mat it on a Kraft card front measuring 4-1/4 x 5-1/2" and then I adhered it to a Kraft A2 top fold card base. I adhered the background to the card front first to make it a bit more flat and sturdy.

Now for the second card, I also cut the background to 4 x 5-1/4" but before I adhered it to a Kraft card front I wanted to add some Sand embossing powder to the corners. I used a VersaMarker which is just a watermark pen and scribbled around the corners so the embossing powder would look kind of like sand laying on the card. I added the Hero Arts Sand embossing powder to the areas that I scribbled with the VersaMarker and then melted the embossing powder with my Mini Wagner heat tool. For the bottom left corner I wanted the embossing powder to have some real texture so I scribbled over it again with the VersaMarker and added more Sand embossing powder. And then I did it a third time.

I recently ordered some fun embellishments from Twiddler's Nook and I was excited to use the Glass Beach Embellishment mix on this card. I added some Ranger Multi Medium Matte along the edge of the Sand embossing powder and than added some of the Glass Beach Embellishment mix. I especially love the beautiful pearls in the mix! The colors were perfect for this project! All that was left was the sentiment... I chose the 'hello' die from the Chic Script Salutations {die set} - a fabulous set of dies also from Unity Stamp Co.!!

 I die cut the 'hello' shadow from Vellum card stock and then die cut the 'hello' die three times from Kraft card stock. I adhered all of those 'hello' dies together with Tombow Mono Multi liquid glue and then dabbed it on my VersaMark Watermark ink pad. Then I added some of the Sand embossing powder and melted it with my heat tool. I did that a total of three times to really give it dimension. It is so cool in person!!

Be sure to check out the hashtag #mermaidsarereal to see all the other fabulous mermaid creations being shared in the hashtag hop! Some of the stops on the hop are having giveaways!

Before you go... let me know in the comments what's your favorite product to use on mermaid cards? I think other than stamps, my favorite is stencils... they make for quick backgrounds and work well for mixed media projects, too. I'll be picking one lucky winner from the comments during the 3 Day Mermaid Hop that will win a Mer-Mazing Prize Package!* I'll announce the winner of my giveaway on Tuesday, June 22nd.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

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*If an International prize winner is chosen, I will send an alternate prize... a gift card to Unity!

3 Day Mermaid Hop ~ Salina Girl & Ocean Waves Background ~ Unity Stamp Co.

Hello there crafty friend!

It's day 2 of the 2nd Annual 3 Day Mermaid Hop and I am back with another pretty mermaid card!! This time I'm featuring the gorgeous Salina Girl stamp from Unity Stamp Co. along with the awesome Ocean Waves Background stamp! Love these two stamps together!

I stamped the Ocean Waves Background stamp on Canson XL watercolor paper with Gina K. Design Amalgam black ink. I heat set it with my Mini Wagner Heat tool and then blended Salty Ocean, Peacock Feathers and Tumbled Glass Distress Oxide inks over the background. I added some water splatter by spritzing water into the palm of my hand and then clapping over the background. I let the water sit for just a bit and then dabbed the background with a paper towel. The oxide inks covered up a bit of the stamped background so I stamped the background again over the blended inks to make it a crisp black image again. I couldn't find just the right purple card stock in my stash so I decided to make my own by blending Wilted Violet Distress Oxide over Canson XL watercolor paper. I die cut it with a large scalloped rectangle die and then mat it on True Black card stock.

I die cut the Ocean Waves Background with two stitched rectangle dies so that I could pop up the center panel to give the card more dimension. I stamped the sentiment on a wide strip of Vellum card stock with Wow Clear Embossing ink and melted a fine black embossing powder with a Mini Wagner heat tool. I wrapped the sentiment around the top panel adding just a tiny bit of adhesive behind the sentiment and under where the mermaid would be placed. I mat both background layers with True Black card stock and adhered them together and then onto the card front.

I stamped the beautiful Salina Girl with Wow Clear Embossing ink and watercolored her with ZIG Clean Color Real Brush markers. To tie in the purple scallop layer, I added a bit of purple to the center of the flowers. I love how they turned out! Sometimes I struggle with watercoloring hair, but I'm really happy with how her hair turned out. Once the image was dry, I fussy cut it leaving a skinny white border and then I popped up the mermaid on the card with foam tape.

To finish off the card, I added a few Ebony Black Nuvo Gloss Crystal drops. 

Love it! I hope you like it too! 

Be sure to check out the hashtag #mermaidsarereal to see all the other fabulous mermaid creations being shared in the hashtag hop! Some of the stops on the hop are having giveaways!

Before you go... let me know in the comments what's your favorite mermaid stamp? Mine is Adella Girl from Unity Stamp Co. I'll be picking one lucky winner from the comments during the 3 Day Mermaid Hop that will win a Mer-Mazing Prize Package!*

I'll be back tomorrow with not one, but two more beautiful mermaid cards!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

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*If an International prize winner is chosen, I will send an alternate prize... a gift card to Unity!

3 Day Mermaid Hop ~ Trishell ~ The Greeting Farm

Hello there crafty friend!

I'm so excited to be joining a bunch of crafty friends in the 2nd Annual 3 Day Mermaid Hop!! I just adore mermaids and this hop is a perfect chance to ink up some of my favorite mermaid stamps!

Today, I'm sharing a card I made with the beautiful Trishell stamp from The Greeting Farm. Isn't she just the cutest?! The Greeting Farm has a bunch of adorable mermaids in their shop. I chose this one because I haven't inked her up yet and one of my crafty goals this year has been to ink up those neglected stamps that I had to have in my collection.

I stamped Trishell twice, first on a scrap of white card stock and then again on a white card front measuring 4-1/4 x 5-1/2". I set the one on the scrap card stock aside and grabbed a couple of stencils to create my background. Using Trishell as my guide, I blended the Wave stencil from The Crafters Workshop along with Tumbled Glass Distress Oxide ink... but on a side note, I hadn't cleaned my blending brush so I think the waves have a bit of Peacock Feathers blended in there too. For the sun rays I used the Rays mini stencil found in the Tim Holtz Mini Stencil Set 5 and I blended Mustard Seed Distress Oxide ink over that one.

I set aside the background and got to coloring this sweet mermaid with the following Copic markers:

Skin ~ E000, E00, E11, R01, R20

Hair ~ BV0000, BV000, BV11

Bikini / Tail ~ BG10, BG13, BG32, BG57

Conch Shell ~ RV000, RV10, RV21, BV11, E35

 I fussy cut the mermaid and made the edges all nice and clean with a Memento Tuxedo black marker. I die cut the background with a stitched rectangle die. I then grabbed a piece of Weathervane card stock and fussy cut a rock free hand. I added a bit of shading to the rock with Black Soot Distress Oxide ink. I adhered the rock to the background and then adhered the mermaid over top being sure to line her up just right over the mermaid in the background. I added some white gel pen to the pearls on her bikini strap and added some Simply White Nuvo Gloss Crystal Drops to her hair. I popped up the background with foam tape adhering it to a white A2 top fold card base. I stamped the sentiment on a scrap of white card stock and trimmed it. I cut a couple of skinny strips from the foam tape and adhered them to the bottom and right side of the sentiment so it would sit level and then I also used some Tombow Mono Multi liquid glue on the top portion of the sentiment to adhere it in place. 

Be sure to check out all the other creations in the 3 Day Mermaid Hop by checking out the hashtag #mermaidsarereal. Some of the stops on the hop are having giveaways!

Before you go... let me know in the comments what's your favorite color combo for mermaids? Mine is purple and teal. I'll be picking one lucky winner from the comments during the 3 Day Mermaid Hop that will win a Mer-Mazing Prize Package!*

 I'll be back tomorrow with another beautiful mermaid card! 

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

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*If an International prize winner is chosen, I will send an alternate prize... a gift card to Unity!