{BYSHC} Sketch Challenge #9 ~ Stay Warm ~ Unity Stamp Co.

 Hello there crafty friend!

Today I'm sharing a sweet mini slimline card using the adorable Stay Warm stamp set from Unity Stamp Co. You may remember this sentiment from the sweet penguin card I shared the beginning of April. I remembered the sweet snowman from that set and just had to use him in my card this week!!

Isn't he just the sweetest?! Too cute! I chose the I Love Winter papers from Echo Park to pair up with this sweet stamp. I love the blues and blue-greens in these papers!! So much fun!

I used the following Copic markers to color up this cute image:

Snowman ~ C00, C2, YR15, YR68, R14

Hat / Scarf ~ BG11, BG15, C00, C2

Bird / Nest ~ N2, B0000, B06, B26, B39, R14, R27, E25, E49

Snow / Sky ~ C00, C2, BG0000, BG000

I had to adjust the sketch a bit for this one since I wanted to make it into a mini slimline card. The snowman paper measures 3-1/2 x 6" and is adhered to a white mini slimline card base measuring 7 x 6", scored at 3-1/2". The wood panel paper measures 3-1/8 x 4-1/2". The snowman and sentiment is stamped on a 3 x 3-3/4" piece of white card stock... which was a tad bit too big and I ended up trimming off the two corners. I finished off the card with a couple strips of patterned paper from the same paper pack. I think it turned out pretty cute... I do wish that I had colored the bird a different color. It's really too dark... but it is what it is!

Here's another look at {BYSHC} Sketch 9... I sure hope that you're inspired to pull out your holiday stamps and papers and get a jump on your holiday cards!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

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March 2021 KOM ~ Nose Wiggles & Bunny Wishes ~ Unity Stamp Co.

 Hello there crafty friends!

I just couldn't get enough of the Friends of Unity sketch for our March cue... I had to make another card using the sketch but turning it a bit to work for my design. Have you seen the adorable bunny in the March 2021 Kit of the Month?! Omgeee!! It's too cute! I just had to ink it up and color this cutie!

I used pretty patterned papers called Hello Easter by Echo Park for my layers and the banners.

So cute! I used the following Copic markers to color up this cutie:

Bunny ~ W00, W2, W5, R20, C00, C2, Colorless Blender

Flowers ~ YG11, YG23, R00, R20, RV14

I have a process video to share for this card. 

You can check it out here... Nose Wiggles & Bunny Wishes.

Not technically an Easter card, but I'm considering it my first Easter card for 2021! 

What do you think about that bunny? Too cute, right?!

I invite you to hop with our Friends of Unity blog hop and check out our March sketch cue!

You can start hopping here on my blog by clicking on the header above and scrolling down to the previous blog post or you can just click here... Friends of Unity March 2021 Blog Hop.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

Beautiful Things Change ~ A Simple Scene ~ Unity Stamp Co.

 Hello there crafty friend!

I have one more card to share using the Beautiful Things Change stamp set from Unity Stamp Co. A simple scene that I created using the tree stamps in the stamp set and a stencil.

I stamped one of the trees horizontally with Tumbled Glass Distress Oxide ink to create my pond and then stamped my tree trunk with Vintage Photo Distress Oxide ink. I then inked up another tree with Mowed Lawn Distress Oxide ink and dabbed a bit of the ink off with my Stamp Scrubbie to give the tree a bit of texture. I stamped the tree over the tree trunk. To complete my scene I added a few clouds by blending some Tumbled Glass Distress Oxide ink over the Cloud & Wave stencil from Unity. I tore a scrap piece of card stock as my grass stencil and blended some Shabby Shutters and Mowed Lawn Distress Oxide inks over that homemade stencil and around the pond being careful to not go over the pond too much.

I stamped the sentiment with Memento Tuxedo black ink and then decided that the pond and tree needed a bit more texture so I squeezed my Mowed Lawn Distress Oxide ink pad to get some ink in the lid of the pad. I then pulled some of that ink with my water pen and painted a bit more in the tree. Now because this is oxide ink and I'm using a watercolor pen this gives the tree a bit more texture. I used Salty Ocean Distress Oxide ink to give more depth and texture to the pond. I trimmed down the panel to 3-1/2 x 4-1/2" and mat it with a 3-5/8 x 4-5/8" piece of kraft card stock. I adhered it to a white A2 top-fold card base and finished off the card with a couple brown enamel dots. 

I just love how this turned out! I hope you do too!

Go check out the new release over at Unity! 

They also have a fabulous sale going on but it ends today so hurry!!

 Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

Beautiful Things Change ~ You Are Worth Everything ~ Unity Stamp Co.

 Hello there crafty friend!

 Today I'm sharing a quick CAS card using the Beautiful Things Change stamp set from Unity Stamp Co. I had a fun idea using just a couple of the tree trunks from the set. A little distress oxide ink stamping and Penny embossing powder from Brutus Monroe.

I stamped one of the tree trunks several times along the edge of a card front measuring 4-1/4 x 5-1/2" with Shabby Shutters and Mowed Lawn Distress Oxide inks. I then stamped the second tree trunk a few times with Wow Clear embossing ink and then heat embossed the Penny Embossing Powder from Brutus Monroe.

I trimmed the card front down to 4 x 5-1/4" and adhered it to a white A2 top-fold card base. I then stamped the 'You are worth everything' sentiment with the Wow Clear embossing ink and heat embossed the Penny embossing powder. I trimmed the sentiment and added a little piece of Copper Kraft stock from Tim Holtz Metallic Kraft stock to the end of the sentiment and then popped it up on the card. Simple and pretty. Check out the latest release over at Unity... lots of fabulous new sets!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

Large Terrarium Tag ~ February 2021 Whit Kit ~ Unity Stamp Co.

  Hello there crafty friend!

I'm back with another project using the wonderful February 2021 Whit Kit called Small Steps are Progress... this time I've created a large tag. I had hoped to share this last week but I've had technical difficulties with the video for this one and it's delayed me in sharing. I'm going to share a bit more about my process here on my blog... let's get to it, shall we?!

I created this tag by cutting two pieces of kraft card stock both measuring 4 x 7". I measured 1" off of the top corners and cut that diagonally to create my tag shape. I trimmed my patterned papers from the Whit Kit - the pink leaves papers measures 2 x 5-5/8" and the green leaves papers measure 3-3/4 x 5-5/8" I then die cut the green leaves paper with a stitched scallop border die. I adhered the two patterned papers together and then distressed the top and bottom edges with a Tim Holtz distressing tool. I adhered a 1/8" strip of Rose Gold Kraft Stock to the top and bottom portion of the tag and then adhered the patterned papers to the tag. I wrapped the entire tag a few times with Ivory Burlap string and then adhered the two tags together. 

I stamped a bunch of the succulents from the Small Steps Are Progress stamp set and die cut them with the coordinating dies from the kit. I die cut the terrarium as well from the Rose Gold Kraft Stock. I traced the shape of the terrarium onto some vellum card stock and fussy cut it. I adhered the succulents and pebbles to the vellum terrarium base and then adhered the rose gold terrarium piece over top. I trimmed off the excess pebbles that stuck out of the bottom of the terrarium. I set that aside and stamped the sentiment with Wow Clear Embossing Ink on kraft card stock and then heat embossed some Alabaster White embossing powder with a mini Wagner heat tool. I trimmed the sentiment and adhered the right side to the terrarium with a little liquid glue. I then popped up both pieces with foam tape being sure to avoid the open areas of the vellum.

I added a tiny bow to the top of the terrarium and also added some ribbons from my stash to the tag. I really wish that I had the entire video to share with you all but the only portion I was able to use was the Two-Tone Stamping for the succulents. You can check that out here... Two-Tone Stamping | Large Tag.

I sure hope that you're inspired to play with your February Whit Kit and maybe even make a large tag.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal 

CAS Snowman Card ~ Dec. 2020 Whit Kit Winter Shake Up ~ Unity Stamp Co.

 Hello there crafty friend!

I'm popping in today with a quick and fun CAS card using the fantastic December 2020 Whit Kit called Winter Shake Up! I am loving this fabulous kit!! I can't get enough of the adorable images in the stamp set included in the kit... also called Winter Shake Up! Now this kit is definitely geared towards making shaker cards... but I'm sharing some fun alternatives to shaker cards over the next few days!

My card for today features this adorable snowman! I've created a very CAS scene for him using a piece of the White Winter papers and then I've mat it on another piece of patterned paper from the pack.

I colored up the cute snowman with the following Copic markers:

Snowman ~ BG0000, BG01, YR21, YR68, E55, E57

Hat/Scarf ~ G21, G46, N0, N1, N4

You can check out my process video here... CAS Snowman Card | DEC 2020 Whit Kit | Unity Stamp Co. or click on the video below.

I love how this sweet card turned out! I hope you do too! Come by tomorrow to check out a fun slimline card I created with products from the December 2020 Whit Kit!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

Unity Stamp Co. ~ Aging Graze-fully ~ Masculine Birthday Card

 Hello there crafty friend!

Today I'm sharing a quick and fun masculine birthday card that I made for my son's upcoming 17th birthday!! He loves buffaloes so when I saw this fabulous new release at Unity Stamp Co. called Aging Graze-fully, I just knew I had to use it for his birthday card!

The detail in the buffalo is amazing... he really doesn't need to be colored, at all! So I stamped him on kraft card stock and die cut him with a circle die. I did a little distressing with ink and with the paper distresser!

The background was created using the fantastic Infinite Birthday Wishes background stamp! I will be utilizing this fabulous stamp often! I also love how the background turned out... I can't wait to see how it looks in different colors!

I have a process video for this fun card on my YouTube channel! You can check that out here... or click the video below.

I know that masculine birthday cards can be difficult so I hope my card has inspired you 

to get inky today!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

~ Friends of Unity July 2020 Blog Hop ~

Hello there crafty friend!

First of all, Happy 4th of July!!! I hope that you all have a wonderful celebration!!

Now, let's get to some crafty fun with the Friends of Unity hop!! Today we are doing something fun and we're sharing inspiration using the Paper Piecing Technique!!!

Usually when I hear the words paper piecing I think of paper dolls... basically it's the same thing as paper dolls. We're dressing them up in cute patterned paper! But for this hop, I wanted to do something a little different!

What do you think? Hee hee!! 

I love these cute cow with polka dots! This sweet cow is from the Sassy Bessie kit and I used two paper packs for this one... the red bandanna paper is from the Down on the Farm paper pack and the black with white polka dots is from the Kraft in Color - Color paper pack, both by Doodlebug Design. 

I colored up the scene with the following Copic markers:

Cow ~ C00, C1, E0000, E000, E01, N0, N2, N4, R00, R20

Flowers ~ R0000, R14, G24, YG23, Y000, Y13, Y15

Background ~ YG0000, YG06, YG11, YG17, B0000, B000, B00

I adhered all of my layers to a True Black card front and then adhered the entire panel to a white top-fold A2 card base. I just love how this card turned out!

I decided to paper piece an entire scene for this one using dies for the background and the sweet birds from the I'm Obsessed Birdies kit. In retrospect, I think it needs a sun... or maybe clouds. I may still add those but I was running out of time and just had to call it done.

All of the papers for this one are from the Hoppy Easter paper pad by Doodlebug Design.

I did add a bit of Copic coloring to the birds with the following markers ~ YR15, YR16, R21, R32, V15, V25. I adhered all of the paper layers together and then adhered them to a white top-fold A2 card base. The tips of the grass are not glued down to I can give the card a little dimension.

And my last card is a Christmas card!! Yes, one Christmas card done for the stash! Whoohoo!!

I've been waiting very patiently for Gina Marie Design to come out with her slimline dies and they are in and mine came just in time for me to make this card!! I used the No Frills Plain Slim Line die for my base piece. I die cut that from Kraft card stock. I then adhered the grey snowflake and green with white polka dots paper to the Kraft card stock and distressed the edges. I wrapped the panel with two pieces of  May Arts Burlap Natural String and tied a double bow. 

I then die cut a Scalloped Stitched Slim Line from white card stock and adhered it to a Kraft slim line card base measuring 3-1/2 x 8-1/2". I then popped up the focal panel with foam tape and set it aside. 

I stamped the beautiful Arianna Girl kit with Memento Tuxedo black ink and colored her up with the following Copic markers:

Skin ~ E0000, E000, E01, E11

Hair ~ E50, E51, E53, E55

Halo ~ YG11, G24, G46

Flowers ~ YG11, G24, R0000, R14, R46

The paper I used to paper piece Arianna Girl is The Holiday Collection by Avery Elle. There's an assortment of Holiday themed papers in this pack but I decided to go with the softer palette of colors. It looks so beautiful with the kraft! To finish off this card, I added a few sequins that I received with my KOM last month. I'm so excited to have a Christmas card done for my stash!

Be sure to hop along and check out all the creations we have to share with you... I'll be picking a winner from the comments for a fun grab bag prize!

As always, thank you SO MUCH for hopping along with us and commenting! 

I appreciate it so very much!

Let's get hopping...

Crystal <--- you're here

up next ---> Kim

Eileen

Robyn

Dawn F.

Jeanie

Alaine

Joyce

Thanks so much for checking out my blog post!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

Unity Stamp Company ~ June 2020 Whit Kit Live in the Sunshine ~ Sparkle Dust ATCs

Hello crafty friend!

I'm back with a little ATC fun for the June challenge in the Unity Show & Tell Facebook group! This fun challenge is hosted by my sweet friend, Dawn Bryson. You can check out the challenge here ---> Unity Blog... or here ---> Unity Show & Tell.

I'm using the gorgeous June 2020 Whit Kit called Live in the Sunshine... this kit is stunning! All the fabulous glittery goodness is amazing!! And the beautiful papers... I just can't get enough of this kit! 

I'm a huge fan of kraft card stock combined with blues so when I saw the Nuvo Sparkle Dust in the kit, I just had to make a background on kraft card stock!! 

To see how I created the fabulous sparkly background for these ATCs check out my video below!! I also show my process in assembling the cards.

Thank you so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

~ Friends of Unity June 2020 Blog Hop ~

Hello there crafty friend!

Today is the day for the Friends of Unity Blog Hop and as always, I am super excited!! I love these hops! I can't wait to see the creations that my friends are sharing this month... so, let's get to it!

Our cue this month: Wings!! Such a fun cue with all kinds of possibilities!

My first card was totally inspired by the Freshly Made Sketches current sketch AND the paper scraps that were literally on my desk!! Love when this happens! Not only do I use up those scraps but I have a beautiful card to add to my stash! The glitter cardstock is from DCWV and it matches perfectly with the colors in the I Am Mom paper pad by Echo Park. I adhered the papers to a True Black card front measuring 4-1/4 x 5-1/2".

I then stamped the circle with type print from the 3 Times as Sweet kit and the butterfly from the June 2014 KOM called In Love with Love on white card stock with Memento Tuxedo black ink. I dried both images well with my Ranger Heat Tool. I knew I wanted to color the circle, but I didn't think it through... I just found some inks and got to coloring. I dabbed my Squeezed Lemonade Distress Oxide ink onto my glass mat and used my watercolor brush to color around the circle. I made sure to not use much water since I didn't use a water friendly black ink. This is where my fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants creating came in... lol! I wanted to add a slightly darker yellow so I searched through my Distress Markers and sadly, I only have Mustard Seed... a little darker than I had wanted but I colored the outer portion of the circle with that and then ended up going over the circle again with the Squeezed Lemonade to lighten it back up. Thankfully the black ink didn't bleed too much! And I really love how it turned out!

I colored the butterfly with the following Copic markers ~ RV10, RV11, R43, B000, B41, Y06, Y11. I stamped the sentiment from the Whit's Words kit with VersaFine Onyx black ink and then fussy cut the butterfly, the circle, and the sentiment. I adhered them all together {leaving the butterfly's wings free to fly} and then popped the circle up on the card with foam tape. Love it!

{You can click that photo to check out the challenge if you'd like!}

I'm playing along with the FMS438 sketch from the fabulous Freshly Made Sketches challenge blog!

I've been on a bit of a watercoloring kick with my Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers. I've really been having a lot of fun with them actually!!

I stamped the gorgeous dragonfly and sentiment from the Hope & Strength kit with VersaFine Onyx Black ink onto Canson XL 140lb watercolor paper and heat set it with my Ranger Heat Tool.

And then I got to watercoloring!! I even did some ink blending over a stencil! I had a blast making this card! I have a video to share of this one. I hope you'll check it out!

Now, a little surprise... I chose a random number from the comments of the May hop and I have a prize to send to the lucky winner!!!

Congrats SHartl!!! You're the lucky winner of a surprise giveaway!

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

Prize must be claimed within two weeks. 

Thank you all SO MUCH for hopping along with us and commenting!! I appreciate it so very much! 

Let's get to the hopping...

Crystal <--- you're here

up next ---> Eileen

Dawn B.

Kim

Robyn

Dawn F.

Amber

Joyce

Thanks so much for checking out my blog post!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

Unity Stamp Company ~ December 2018 Layers of Life Revive ~ Spring | Summer Coffee Lovers Hop

Hello there crafty friend!

Today, I'm sharing another card for the fabulous Spring | Summer 2020 Coffee Lovers Hop using one of my favorite kits from Unity Stamp Company called Revive... this is a Layers of Life kit from December 2018 and it is ABSOLUTELY amazing to use in a mixed media style card so, that's exactly what I did!!

I started by blending Antique Linen Distress Oxide ink over the right side of a 4-1/4 x 5-1/2" piece of Kraft card stock. I then blended some Vintage Photo Distress Oxide ink over the left side and into the middle. I blended with big wispy circles kind of giving a smoky feel to the blends. I then blended some Ground Espresso on the right side leaving some of the Vintage Photo. And to add a bit more contrast to the colors I added a tiny bit of Black Soot to the very edge on the left side.

I stamped the Revive stamp onto the dried background that I rubbed with my anti-static pouch with Ground Espresso Distress Oxide ink and heat embossed a fine clear embossing powder. I then stamped another background stamp from the Vibes kit this time, but again with the Ground Espresso. I stamped that twice down the left side of the card. It gets lost in the darker portion of the card on the left side, but you can see some of the text in the center on the Vintage Photo blends. It needed more of something so I started looking through my stencils. I decided first to use the grid-like stencil from the Tim Holtz Mini Stencil Set 22. I used it on the upper right side and blended some Antique Linen Distress Oxide ink... it goes about two-thirds down the card. I then blended some Ground Espresso Distress Oxide ink over the same stencil in the bottom right corner.

I set that stencil aside and started rummaging through my stencils again... that's when I found my coffee splatter stencil and knew I HAD to use it! This stencil is from the Tim Holtz Mini Stencil Set 3. I blended some Antique Linen Distress Oxide ink over the stencil on the left side of the card. It really pops on the darker blends on that side. Now I decided the coffee cup was getting lost in this background so I stamped it again but this time I used VersaFine Onyx Black ink and I heat embossed it with the fine clear embossing powder, as well. And then to color the coffee cup all I did was blend some of the Antique Linen Distress Oxide ink making sure to keep it light near the top of the cup. To ground the cup on the background, I blended some Ground Espresso Distress Oxide ink just back and forth... I love how the stencil pops through the darker ink! I did a bit of water splatter and dabbed it up with a paper towel and then I added some black acrylic paint splatters. I fussy cut the cup and popped it up on the background. Now this fabulous sentiment which sums up my addiction to the wonderful caffeinated beverage that this whole hop is about is from another fantastic kit called Whit's Words. I blended a tiny bit of Antique Linen Distress Oxide ink on a scrap piece of white card stock and then stamped the Obsessed sentiment with Gina K.'s Black Amalgam ink. 

To mat my background, I blended some Antique Linen Distress Oxide ink around the edges of a white card front trimmed down to 4-1/8 x 5-3/8". I trimmed down my background to 4 x 5-1/4" and adhered it to the mat. I then adhered the entire panel to a black card front measuring 4-1/4 x 5-1/2" and adhered that to a kraft top-fold A2 card base.

Well... this was not a short post but I think I covered all the details of this card. If you have any questions on how I created this card, feel free to ask in the comments. Be sure to check out the Spring | Summer 2020 Coffee Lovers Hop... it's winding down tomorrow. I sure have had a blast creating and sharing during this hop... I hope to sit back and check out more of the creations soon!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal