Membership Wednesday ~ August 2023 Kit of the Month Phases ~ Unity Stamp Co.

 Hello there crafty friend!

I'm back for another Membership Wednesday and today I'm sharing a card using the beautiful pumpkin stamp in the August 2023 Kit of the Month called Phases from Unity Stamp Co. I love coloring pumpkins! It's one of the first things I worked hard to learn how to color when I started using Copic markers.

I paired up the pretty pumpkin with the gorgeous Autumn Dreams {paper pack}. These are my go-to papers for Fall cards! So gorgeous! And the flowers in the papers work so well with the flowers on the pumpkin.

I stamped the pretty pumpkin and sentiment on white card stock with Black Amalgam ink and colored the pumpkin and flowers up with the following Copic markers:

Pumpkin ~ Y11, YR21, YR15

Flowers ~ R000, R81, R83, R85, RV91, RV93, RV99, Y11, YR15

Stem ~ E51, E53, E55, E57

Leaves ~ YG93, YG95, YG97

Ground ~ N0, N1, N3

I die cut the main panel using a die from the Deckle & Stitches Nesting Dies and trimmed the sentiment. I adhered them together and then added a bunch of foam tape to the back of both. I popped up the panel and sentiment on to the pattern paper layers I had adhered to a white A2 top fold card base that I turned on it's side.

Here's a look at the whole Kit of the Month for August!! So perfectly Fall! Can you believe that you get this full sheet of rubber for only $44.99. That includes shipping! You also get a $6.95 discount on every order from Unity over $45. And you can purchase any past kits for only $34 plus shipping. Such a great value!

I'll be back for another Membership Wednesday blog post in two weeks. Next week, I'll be sharing inspiration for the amazing new September 2023 Kit of the Month on my Instagram. The new September KOM releases on Friday!! And it's AMAZING!!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

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~ Friends of Unity November 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 new one. I don't think we've done this one before. I have to admit I'm rusty and tossed aside a couple things I started but I still have a few cards to share that turned out ok. I'm excited to see the creations our friends have to share with us though so let's get to the cue...

... Watercolor! Not a medium that I've played with in quite awhile actually. I tend to copic color, ink smoosh or ink blend. Those are pretty much my go-to techniques. So this one was a challenge for me. I hope you like what I ended up keeping. LOL!

October was a very busy month and I didn't get to play with my October Whit Kit so I thought I'd make a couple cards using the kit. I've been itching to play with the beautiful pumpkin stamp from the kit. The pumpkins were stamped with Versafine Onyx Black ink and watercolored using a few ZIG Clean Color Real Brush Markers. 

My card design was inspired by the latest sketch I've shared in my Tawny Owl Paperie Inky Inspiration Facebook group. A fun CAS sketch with a bit of watercolor wash or ink smooshing in the background and then a focal image over that. Pretty easy peasy.

I decided to play with my very neglected Ken Oliver Color Bursts... I used Yellow Ochre and Pthalo Green over a piece of Canson XL Watercolor Paper. Once I was happy with my background, I ran it through my big shot in the pretty Plaid Embossing folder that was included in the October Whit Kit. I love the subtle texture it gives to the card. 

I stamped the sentiment with white pigment ink and heat embossed some white embossing powder. I die cut just a portion of the focal image with a square die from the newly released Scallops & Squares {nesting dies}. I popped it up on the card with foam tape. This didn't quite turn out how I envisioned it but I still like it.

My second card using the October 2022 Whit Kit... for this one I stamped the image with Black Amalgam ink and heat embossed clear embossing powder. No specific reason why I chose this ink. It's just what I grabbed. I think I need to reink the ink pad though... it did not take the embossing powder very well. 

I watercolored this one with my ZIGs again. It was fun playing with these markers again. It's been way too long since I've used them. I die cut the image with an oval die. The pretty orange paper is from the Enrich the Soul {paper pack} that was included in the kit. The linen bows from the kit are just too cute so I had to add one to the card. They look really nice with the jute ribbon I have so I added a piece of that under the focal piece. I adhered it to the card with some tear tape.

I popped up the focal piece with lots of foam tape and adhered the card front to a white A2 top fold card base that I turned on the side. I like the pumpkins as my focus so I decided not to put a sentiment on the front of the card.

I stamped one of the sentiments from the Enrich the Soul stamps inside the card. I just love this one! The October Whit Kit is no longer available but you can get the paper pack and the stamps individually now.  

And my third card... I thought it would be fun to watercolor on Kraft. I used my ZIGs again and boy did they do great on this Kraft card stock from Papertrey Ink. So happy with the result! I stamped the beautiful Twig of Merry stamp with white pigment ink and heat embossed some white embossing powder. In person the white embossing isn't quite as bright. 

I die cut the watercolored panel with one of the Postage Stamp {nesting dies}. I trimmed a piece of red card stock just slightly larger than the die cut. I adhered the layers together and then popped them up on a Kraft A2 top fold card base.

I also heat embossed the sentiment which is from the Ornamental Season {Itty Bitty}. This is a long sentiment so I had to mask portions of it and stamp them separately to get the sentiment how I wanted. I love how this card 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...

... Teri Kellum!! Congratulations, Teri!!

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 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. And as you hop along and comment, I wanted to recommend using Google Chrome as your browser. We've been having issues for awhile now with hoppers only being able to comment as Anonymous and if you use Google Chrome you'll be able to log in and comment as you hop. I hope this helps some of you. I know that it's been very frustrating!

Let's get to the hopping...

Crystal <--- you're here

up next ---> Amber

Alaine 

Bobbie Sue 

Kim

April

Gaylynn

Dawn B.

Dawn F.

Joyce

Rachel

Thanks so very much for supporting our little hop!

We appreciate you!!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

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A{moose}ing Holiday Card ~ October Sketch Challenge ~ Unity Stamp Co.

 Hello there crafty friend!

I'm so excited to be hosting the Unity Challenges again over in the Unity Show & Tell Facebook group. Let's kick off the challenges with a fun sketch!! Woohoo! Sketches are a wonderful starting point for a card design. I love to use them for my cards! I hope that you'll join us and play along.

Loving the fun layers for this sketch - perfect for pattern papers! The measurements included are for an A2 size card, but this sketch could be easily altered for a mini slimline or an A7 card... it could even be used for a fun scrapbook page! I share measurements just as a guide and keep in mind that they are approximate.

Today I'm sharing inspiration using the adorable A{moose}ing Holiday - Clarence. This is a sweet Itty Bitty stamp and he's just perfect for this sketch. In fact, many of the Itty Bitty stamps will work perfectly with this sketch!

Here's a quick list of the Copic Markers I used to color up this adorable moose:

Heart / Red Ornament ~ R20, R14, R27

Yellow Ornament ~ Y11, Y15, Y35

Blue Ornament ~ BG0000, BG11, BG23

Antlers / Hooves ~ E21, E23, E25, E27

Head / Body ~ W00, W1, W3

The adorable moose and the sentiment are both popped up on the card with foam tape. You can check out my process video here... A{moose}ing Holiday Card | October Sketch Challenge | Unity Stamp Co.

One card just wasn't enough! I made a couple more to share as inspiration for other holidays.

This one features the cute Acorn Greetings Itty Bitty... a cute Thanksgiving Day card. The pretty plaid paper breaks up the patterns of the busy background papers just enough that mats aren't necessary for these layers.

Here's a quick list of the Copic Markers I used for this card:

 

Leaves ~ Y15, YR21, YR15, YR68, YR27

Acorns ~ E21, E23, E25, E27

Outline / Dots ~ BG0000, BG11, BG32

A Halloween card was a must! My sweet daughter, Saydee, has been counting down the days to Halloween... just 25 days to go! She is a serious Halloween lover, like her mama! So I had to make a Halloween card! Aren't these jack-o-lanterns just the cutest?! Love them!! They're from the Get Spooked Itty Bitty stamps... perfectly paired up with some spook-tacular Halloween papers for a fun Halloween card.

Here's a quick list of the Copic Markers for these spooky-cute pumpkins:

 

Stem ~ E53, E55, E57, E59

Pumpkin ~ YR21, YR15, YR68, YR27

Eyes / Mouths ~ Y06, YR15, N1

Outline ~ V000, V12, V15

A card for each of our upcoming seasons! Yay! I hope I've inspired you to pull out your Unity stamps and play along with this fun sketch challenge.

Here's another look at the sketch! Please know that the sketch is meant to inspire and not require. Feel free to alter it to work for your creation and most importantly have some inky fun! I can't wait to see what you create! Be sure to share your cards in the Unity Show & Tell group and also add them to the sketch challenge album in the group to be entered for a prize!! I'll see you back here next Thursday with more inspiration for this month's sketch challenge.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

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Thanksgiving Place Cards ~ Fall, That's All ~ Unity Stamp Co.

 Hello there crafty friend!

Today I'm sharing adorable Thanksgiving place cards using the new Fall, That's All stamps from Unity Stamp Co. Love this sweet set of stamps!! I had created these to share as part of my Fall is in the Air Collab with my sweet friend Teresa, but sadly she's unavailable currently with a health issue so we've postponed our collab. I would really love if you would lift her up in prayer or send good vibes her way. I bet she'd appreciate it! Well, let's get to these cute cards...

Aren't they just the cutest?! These stamps are perfect for some cute 3 x 3" place cards! How fun are these and so easy to make! A fun addition to your Thanksgiving table this year!

I paired up these cute stamps with the Celebrate Autumn 6 x 6" paper pad from Echo Park Paper Co. I die cut the circles from Orange Zest and Dark Chocolate card stock (both from Papertrey Ink) using a die from the Stitched Circle Stacklets dies from Taylored Expressions... it measures approx. 2-1/8".

So these are just top fold 3 x 3" notecards of Kraft card stock measuring 6 x 3"; scored at 3". I trimmed up the pattern papers using my Tim Holtz Tonic Deckle Torn Edge Trimmer so they're about 2-7/8" square. Ha! I just realized I forgot to color the name tag for my second pumpkin card! Ooops! I got rushed finishing up my video and missed that! Oh, well... let's just imagine it has that bit of shading.

The pattern papers are adhered to the 3 x 3" place cards. I went with this size so that I could also write little notes inside. So fun!

I had so much fun coloring up these stamped images! I just love coloring Fall images... something about the rich beautiful colors of Fall!

I adhered the bottom portion of the circles to the top of the note cards. I thought about popping up the fussy cut images but decided to just leave all the layers flat. Here's a quick list of the Copic Markers I used to color up the images:

Pumpkin Pie ~ E30, E31, E33, YR21, YR15, YR24, C00, C2

Acorn ~ E21, E23, E25, E29

Pumpkin ~ E21, E23, E25, E29, YR21, YR15, YR68, YR27

I just love this pumpkin pie stamp! It's definitely my fave... and I think it could be used for other pies! I have a video sharing my coloring of the three images and then I assemble just one of the cards so it's not a super long video. I hope you'll check it out!! Here's the link... Thanksgiving Place Cards | Fall, That's All | Unity Stamp Co.

Here's another look at the set of Thanksgiving Place Cards. Today is the last day for the Tag Sale over at Unity Stamp Co. Be sure to stop by and check out all the amazing new releases and the sale, of course!!

Thanks so much for visiting my blog and YouTube channel!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

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