Rainbow Chicken Card ~ Just Beak-Cause ~ Unity Stamp Co.

Hello there crafty friend! 

Today I'm sharing a fun rainbow chicken card I made using the new Just Beak-Cause chicken from Unity. Love this cutie!

I inked up the fun new chicken and sentiment with Black Amalgam ink. I colored it up with some Copic markers. I die cut it using a die from the Scallops & Squares {nesting dies}.

Copic markers used:

Chicken: Y11, Y15, YR20, YR15, YG11, YG23, B00, B02, BV00, BV02

Wattle: R20, R14

Beak / Feet: YR20, YR15, YR27

Eyes: C0, C2

Wall: E11, E25

Butterfly: B00, B02, BV00, BV02

Flowers: RV10, RV02, Y15

Leaves / Stems / Ground: YG11, YG23, YG17

Sky: B0000, B000

I heat embossed the Hoedown Hankie background stamp using white pigment ink along with the Alabaster White Embossing Powder on a piece of white card stock. I ink smooshed the background using Squeezed Lemonade, Carved Pumpkin and Abandoned Coral Distress Ink. I then blended some more Squeezed Lemonade and a bit more Abandoned Coral until I was happy with the blends. I wiped off the excess ink from the heat embossed image using a microfiber cloth. I then ran the background through my Big Shot with a die from the Scallops & Rectangles {nesting dies}.

I adhered the background to a white A2 top fold card base. Adhered a piece of lace ribbon using tear tape and added a button using glue dots. And then I popped up the focal chicken square using a bunch of foam tape. So cute!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Inky hugs,

Crystal

{BYSHC} Spring into Christmas 2026 Linky Party ~ Membership Wednesday ~ November 2025 KOM ~ Unity Stamp Co.

 Hello there crafty friend!

Happy Membership Wednesday! It's day 6 of the {BYSHC} Spring into Christmas 2026 Linky Party!! I'm excited to share another fun holiday card that I've made to add to my Christmas stash! This time I played with a beautiful stamp from our wonderful Sponsor Unity Stamp Co.

Before we get to the beautiful reindeer and tree stamp that I used. Let's talk about this background... I started with a Kraft A2 card base. I placed the Marvelous Masks Postage Stamp Stencil from our Sponsor A Colorful Life Designs over the card base being sure that the opening was centered. And then I placed the Elegant Snowflake Stencil over top and secured both with iCraft Pixie Tape. I blended Uncharted Mariner Distress ink in the center and Villainous Potion Distress ink around the outer edges. I removed the snowflake stencil and placed it with the Dotted Wreath Stencil over top the postage mask and blended Picket Fence Distress Ink. 

I should have dried the background but sometimes I'm an impatient crafter. Anyone else get excited with an idea and not think through the process?! My impatience resulted in blue dots rather than the white I was going for but I still like it. I removed all of the stencils and placed the negative postage stencil over the blended background and blended some Picket Fence Distress Ink to give some definition to the postage design. I love how it softened the outer edge.

My impatience came back into play when I stamped the tree from the November 2025 Kit of the Month from Unity. I didn't dry the background before I stamped. I learned my lesson and dried the background before I stamped the reindeer. I heat embossed the sentiment, trimmed it and then just adhered it flat on the card. This is a no layer card {minus the sentiment, I guess}. I really like how it turned out.

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

This wonderful set is also available separately as a KOMpanion set called Where Treetops Listen.

If you haven't already, stop by the {BYSHC} Spring into Christmas 2026 Linky Party to check out all the wonderful Holiday inspiration being shared!! I have sooo many ideas from all the inspiration being shared. I hope you have an INKredible day!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

{BYSHC} Spring into Christmas 2026 Linky Party ~ Christmas Ornaments ~ RAM Stamps

 Hello again crafty friend!

I'm back with a couple holiday tags for day 3 of the {BYSHC} Spring into Christmas 2026 Linky Party!! Today's theme on the blog is ornaments... haha! I just adore the cute Christmas Ornaments from our Sponsor RAM Stamps {AKA Rachelle Anne Miller Stamps}. 

Aren't they just too cute?! I printed them off with the kitty digi I used on day 1. I die cut them using a die from the Essential Tags Die Set from our Sponsor Newton's Nook Designs. And then I colored them up with Copic markers.

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

Snowman:C0, C2, R00, R20, YR15, YR68

Hat: N2, N4, N6, R20, R14

Scarf: R20, R14, C0, C2

Buttons: N2, N4, N6

Angel Hair: Y21, E43, E44

Angel Skin: E000, E00, E11, R00, R20

Dress: B000, B00, C0, C2

Wings / Halo: Y11, Y15

Shoes: B000, B00

Candle: R20, R14, C0, C2, Y15

I cut a simple mask from a post it note and blended the residual ink on my blue blending brush over the HeartFlakes Stencil using a light touch as I blended around the snowman. I did the same with the angel tag using my yellow blending brush along with the Dotted Wreath Stencil. But it was too light so I blended a bit of Mustard Seed Distress Ink over the stencil. It was still too simple so I used the top part of the Snowfall Stencil {the stars} to blend some bold stars around the angel. I like the results.

Now if I was to replicate these. I would die cut them leaving more room on the bottom so I could put the sentiments underneath the snowman and angel. I tied a couple bows and added some twine from my stash to finish these off. 

If you haven't already, stop by the {BYSHC} Spring into Christmas 2026 Linky Party to check out all the wonderful Holiday inspiration being shared!! My mojo is on overdrive with all the ideas I'm collecting! I hope you have an INKredible day!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

{BYSHC} Spring into Christmas 2026 Linky Party ~ Dotty Ornaments Stencils ~ A Colorful Life Designs

 Hello there crafty friend!

It's day 3 of the {BYSHC} Spring into Christmas 2026 Linky Party!! I'm excited to share another holiday card that I've made to add to my Christmas stash! This time I played with a couple stencils from our fabulous Sponsor A Colorful Life Designs. It's a rainbow slimline card!

I used the Dotty Ornaments Set 1 and Dotty Ornaments Set 2 for my card today. I just love the fun ornament designs!!

Working from the left to right... I used the Dotty Ornaments Set 1 for the first three ornaments along with Distress Inks. I masked each of the ornaments  using iCraft Pixie Tape so I didn't blend into the other ornament shapes. I blended Kitsch Flamingo in the center of the circle swirl ornament and blended Candied Apple around the outer edge and bow. I blended Mustard Seed in the center of the star and Spiced Marmalade around the outer edge and bow. I blended Mustard Seed on the left side of the middle ornament and then blended Mowed Lawn. I used the Dotty Ornaments Set 2 for the remaining ornaments. I used Tumbled Glass and Salty Ocean on the first one. I masked the stencil with iCraft Pixie Tape so I could alternate the colors. And finally I blended Seedless Preserves on the right side of the tree ornament and Wilted Violet on the left side and bow. For the dotted string I blended Lost Shadow.

I didn't have a slimline die that would cut the panel without cutting away too much of the ornaments, so I just trimmed it down to 3-1/4 x 8-1/8" and adhered it to a black mat measuring 8-1/2 x 3-1/2" and then adhered that to a white slimline card base measuring 8-1/2 x 7"; scored at 3-1/2". The cute sentiment is from the retired Fluffy Friends - Holiday stamp set from Sponsor Taylored Expressions.

If you haven't already, stop by the {BYSHC} Spring into Christmas 2026 Linky Party to check out all the wonderful Holiday inspiration being shared!! I have so many wonderful ideas for future cards! So inspiring! I hope you have an INKredible day!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

International Women's Day ~ Lauren Girl ~ Unity Stamp Co.

Hello there crafty friend! 

Today I felt inspired to share a card for International Women's Day!! Let's support and cheer each other on! You are amazing. You are fabulous. Beautiful girl, you can do hard things.

I inked up Lauren Girl from Unity but fussy cut her on the line removing the large flower over her shoulder. I colored her up with some Copic markers and colored the edges of my fussy cutting so it looks much neater.

Copic markers used:

Skin: E000, E00, E11

Hair / Shoes: C0, C1, C3, C5

Shirt: BG70, BG72

Dragonfly: BG49

Jeans: B000, B91, B95, B97

I used the Blue Medallion paper pad from Love Nicole... some very old papers in my stash. I wanted to jazz up the papers so I blended some Hickory Smoke Distress Ink over the Falling Dots Stencil from A Colorful Life Designs. It's a little darker than I intended but I still like how it turned out. I die cut the background with a die from the Scallops & Rectangles {nesting dies} from Unity.

I die cut a scrap of Weathervane card stock from Papertrey Ink using the same Scallops & Rectangles {nesting dies} and then I heat embossed my sentiment using white pigment ink and white embossing powder for a vibrant white on the gray card stock. I thought the sentiment was fitting for International Women's Day... I hope you have a wonderful day!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Inky hugs,

Crystal

Holiday Sparkle ~ Frost Kissed Gratitude ~ Unity Stamp Co.

Hello there crafty friend! 

Today I'm sharing a sweet holiday thank you card I made with the adorable new Frost Kissed Gratitude stamp from Unity. Such an adorable snowman!! He's part of the Cyber Monday release over at Unity!! 

I started with a fun background for the snowman. I ink smooshed Uncharted Mariner and Antique Linen Distress Inks on white card stock. I dried the background completely before I ran it through my Big Shot with the Silent Snowfall Embossing Folder {no longer available}. I lightly swiped the raised snowflakes with a white pigment ink pad to make them pop just a bit more. I trimmed the background to 4 x 5-1/4" and set it aside.

I watercolored the cute Frost Kissed Gratitude snowman with Lost Shadow, Uncharted Mariner, Rustic Wilderness, and Antique Linen Distress Inks. I dried him up with my heat tool and then die cut him with a die from the Scallops & Circles {nesting dies}. I popped up the circle on the corner of the ink smooshed and dry embossed background and then I trimmed off the edges. I adhered the panel to a white A2 top fold card base.

I stamped, trimmed and popped up the sentiment on the card too. I just love this card! It was fun to watercolor. I don't do it nearly enough.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Inky hugs,

Crystal

Snow Day ~ Mini-Remix Winter ~ The Greeting Farm

 Hello there crafty friend!

Today I 'm sharing a sweet snow day card. A fun no layer card using stencils from my stash and cuties from a sweet Mini-Remix stamp set.

I'm continuing to use some of my TGF stash that has yet to see ink and these two cuties from the Mini-Remix Winter stamp set caught my eye. So I thought I'd make a fun wintry card for them. Unfortunately, these cuties aren't currently on the website. But if you'd like to add this sweet stamp set to your collection, you can check out the Farmers Market and submit a request via email... maybe it'll be available for the next Farmers Market. Fingers crossed!

First I created a fun background using Christmas Tree Edger stencil and a fun Heartflakes stencil from A Colorful Life Designs for my scene that were both placed over a fun Watercolor Wash Rectangle stencil from My Favorite Things. I just used residual ink on my brushes for the blue of the sky and green for the trees. I went around the edge of the watercolor wash stencil with a tiny bit of Hickory Smoke distress ink. Once the background was dry, I spattered some white acrylic paint for my snow. 

I inked up this sweet couple with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and colored them up with Copic markers. I fussy cut them on the line and then I used a Memento Tuxedo Black marker to color the edges of my fussy cutting. This makes the fussy cutting look nice and neat. I adhered both of them directly to the card and then I added a bit of a shadow underneath them with the C2 Copic marker.

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

Skin: E000, E00, E21, R00, R20

Anya's Hair: E70, E71, E77

Anya's Hair Barrette: RV10, RV02, RV14

Anya's Scarf / Boots: BV00, BV02, BV17

Anya's Sweater: RV10, RV02, RV14

Anya's Skirt: N2, N4, BV00, BV17

Ian's Hair: Y21, E43, E44

Ian's Coat: BG10, BG34, C0, C2

Ian's Shirt: B000, B00

Ian's Jeans: B93, B95, B97

Ian's Shoes: N2, N4

I stamped the sentiment from the Snow Day stamp set. I thought it worked well for my snowy scene. I trimmed it and adhered it directly to the card. I sure hope I've inspired you to get inky! Have a wonderful day!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

~ Friends of Unity November 2025 Blog Hop ~

Hello there crafty friend!

It's time for our Friends of Unity Blog Hop!! This month's cue is another fun one! 

Our cue this time is Creating a Background! So fun! And even more fun because we're hosting another fun challenge in the Unity {Show & Tell} Facebook group! Be sure to hop along with us to see inspiration for the challenge. I sure hope that you can play along with us. Three lucky winners will each win a $25 gift card to Unity! Yippee!!

For my first card I created a fun wintry background for the new deer stamps from the November 2025 KOM called Tinsel, Toasts & Truth (the website should be updated with the new KOM on Monday). It's also available separately in the Where Treetops Listen stamps. 

I started the background by ink smooshing Salty Ocean Distress Ink. And then I swiped the ink pad down the card front leaving fun streaks of ink. I dried the panel with a heat tool. And then I heat embossed the Grit & Glint Snowflake background stamp using white pigment ink and white embossing powder. Such a fun background! It was hard to cover any of it up. 

I had used this technique back in August with the fun Ghastly Gourds stamp. It's a really quick way to add color to your background. You can check out the details for this card here... Have a Spooky Day card. You can see more of the ink smooshed background in this one.

I cut a simple hill from white card stock to ground the scene. I fussy cut the trees and deer leaving a white border around them and adhered them to the card. And then trimmed the sentiment and adhered it too. Love how this turned out!

My second card also has some ink smooshing. Ink smooshing is my go-to technique for backgrounds! This time I used Candied Apple and Lumberjack Plaid Distress Inks. Once I was happy with the ink smooshing, I blended some more Candied Apple over the panel to cover all the white spots. I did a bit of water spatters by spritzing some water in the palm of my hand and clapping over the panel. I dried the panel completely with a heat tool.

 And then I did some stamping! I stamped the ink smooshed background with the Linen background stamp using Candied Apple Distress Ink. Can you see the texture in the background? I love it! I then stamped the background with the Buffalo Plaid background stamp using Black Soot Distress ink. I love the technique of using two background stamps together. I've shared some fun cards with this technique in the past. You can check them out here... Fun with Background Stamps {there's also a video}. I die cut the background using the largest die from the Scallops & Rectangles {nesting dies} and adhered it to a black A2 card base.

I stamped the cute Santa from The List Guy stamps and colored him up with Copic markers. I fussy cut him on the line {except around the fur trim and pom pom where I left a white border}. I adhered Santa to the card covering up the edge of the scallops on the bottom right corner. To finish off this card, I heat embossed the sentiment, trimmed it and adhered it to the card.

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

Skin: E000, E00, E11

Beard / Mustache / Fur Trim / Pom Pom: C0, C2

Hat / Coat: R20, R14, R37

Belt: N0, N2, N4

Buckle: Y11, Y15, Y28

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 and the lucky winner is...

... Meghan Kennihan!! Congratulations, Meghan!!

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

Please claim the prize before November 26th, 2025. 

Well, that's it for me this time! Be sure to hop along and enjoy some more inspiration from our friends! I can't wait to see how they all were inspired by this month's cue. 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 ---> Doreen

Amber

Jane

Dawn

Toni

Rachel

Jenni

Joyce

Thanks so very much for supporting our little hop!

We appreciate you so much!!

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

{BYSHC} Sketch Challenge 62 ~ Joy of the Season ~ Gina K. Designs

Hello there crafty friend!

I'm back with one last card for the {BYSHC} Sketch Challenge 62 hosted in the Build Your Stash Holiday Cardmakers Facebook group! Celebrating Blue Christmas with this one! My mom loved that song by Elvis Presley. She played it all the time! So naturally, I love it because it reminds me of her.

Anywho, I had a lot of fun making this card! I started by heat embossing the beautiful trees on white card stock with white pigment ink and white embossing powder. I wanted to be sure the trees would stay a nice, bright white. The beautiful trees and deer are from one of my favorite Gina K. Designs stamp sets, a collaboration with Simon Says Stamp for STAMPtember back in 2018 called Joy of the Season. Good news though... the trees are available in the Tall Pine stamp set. I don't see the same deer on the website but there's a pretty deer silhouette in the Holiday Silhouettes stamp set and a similar one in the Season's Greetings stamp set.

Once my trees had cooled off, I started ink smooshing with Salvaged Patina, Chipped Sapphire and Black Soot Distress Inks. It's not super easy to ink smoosh with heat embossed images. The raised images tend to keep the paper from reaching the ink pools, so I do tend to do more ink and a bit more water so the pool of ink is a little deeper. Once I was happy with the ink smooshing, I started blending with the inks until I was happy with the background. Lastly, I spattered the background with white acrylic paint that I thinned with a spritz of water. And then I ended up trimming the background way down to fit the sketch. That actually hurt after all that work on the background. But I made another background and adhered it to a black A2 card base. I trimmed the tree panel into three segments following the design of the sketch and adhered it to a black mat. I popped it up on the card base with foam tape.

I heat embossed the sentiment from the Christmas Cheer stamp set on black card stock again with white pigment ink and white embossing powder. I die cut it using the coordinating Christmas Cheer die set, and then I popped it up on the card with foam tape. I stamped the pretty deer using the three distress inks. I started with the lightest, Salvaged Patina, and worked my way down with the Chipped Sapphire and then Black Soot inks. Hint: to keep from getting harsh lines between your inks use a blending brush along the edge of the ink on your stamp. It's a wonderful way to stamp silhouette stamps!

Here's a look at {BYSHC} Sketch Challenge 62 for the month of October. Today is the last day to enter the challenge! 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'm always blown away by the creations from the DT... they are amazingly talented cardmakers!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Inky hugs,

Crystal

{BYSHC} Falling for the Holidays 2025 Linky Party ~ Merry Christmas ~ A Colorful Life Designs

 Hello there crafty friend!

I'm back with another card today for the {BYSHC} Falling for the Holidays 2025 Linky Party!! I pulled out a bunch of my stencils from A Colorful Life Designs and just had to ink up another. They make such great backgrounds. AND they also make for a quick card!

I didn't use a mask or anything for this one. I was just pretty careful to keep my blending brush on the one row. I blended each row of the Merry Christmas Stencil at a time alternating between Candied Apple and Mowed Lawn Distress Inks. If you do this, keep your blending brush with the correct ink pad. I caught myself a couple of times picking up the red blending brush and heading over to pick up green ink. Yikes! That could have been a mess!! But I separated the ink pads and had their brushes next to them and it didn't happen again.

Once I was happy with my background, I set the card aside and inked up the beautiful Joy Girl from Sponsor Unity Stamp Co. I colored her up with Copic markers and fussy cut her leaving a white border.

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

Skin: E000, E00, E11

Hair: E21, E23, E25

Hat: C0, C1, Y15, Y28, YG11, G24, G46

Sweater: YG11, G24, G46, Y15, Y28

Ornament: R20, R14, R29

My card design was inspired by {BYSHC} Sketch 50. This one is great for stenciled backgrounds.

I stamped, trimmed, and adhered the sentiment using iCraft UltraBond Adhesive from Sponsor Therm O Web. I used iCraft 3D Foam Tape Jumbo Roll (white), also from Therm O Web, to pop up Joy Girl on the card. And then I finished it off with a few green rhinestones from the Green Flat Back Rhinestone Mix from Sponsor Twiddler's Nook.

If you haven't already, stop by the {BYSHC} Falling for the Holidays 2025 Linky Party to check out all the wonderful Holiday inspiration being shared!! All of the cards are so inspiring! I hope you have an ink-redible day!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

{BYSHC} Falling for the Holidays 2025 Linky Party ~ Nicolette Digi Stamp ~ Digi Doodle Studios

Hello there crafty friend!

I'm so excited to share my first card for the {BYSHC} Falling for the Holidays 2025 Linky Party hosted by the Build Your Stash Holiday Cardmakers Facebook group! This is our fifth annual Falling for the Holidays 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 beautiful Nicolette Digi Stamp from our Sponsor, Digi Doodle Studios. I combined Nicolette and a few other digi stamps {for future projects} in a Word Document and printed them off on white card stock. I colored Nicolette up with Copic markers. 

Copic markers I used:

Skin: E000, E00, E11, R00, R20

Hair: Y21, E43, E44

Glasses / Lips: R14, R29

Hat: C0, C1, C3, R20, R14, R29

Scarf: R20, R14, R29, YG11, G24, G46

Coat: E21, E23, E25, C0, C1

Boots: E21, E23, E25, R20, R14, R29, YG11, G24

Sweater: R00, R20

Jeans: B00, B91, B93, B95

Gift: E21, E23, R20, R14, R29, YG11, G24, G46

The fun background was created using two fun stencils from our Sponsor, A Colorful Life Designs. I lightly stenciled over the Cozy Knit Stencil with Candied Apple Distress ink being sure to lighten my touch as I moved towards the edges of the card. And then I used the Outline Holly Stencil for the side. I blended Mowed Lawn and Lumberjack Plaid Distress inks. I used iCraft Pixie Tape from our Sponsor, Therm O Web, to mask the leaves so I could blend over the berries and then to mask the berries so I could blend over the leaves.

 

The sentiment is from the Bring Me Joy, Girl digital stamp from Sponsor, Angie Blom Digital Designs. This is one of the extra digis I printed off with Nicolette. I trimmed it and adhered it across the bottom of the card using the iCraft UltraBond Adhesive from Sponsor, Therm O Web. I used iCraft 3D Foam Tape Jumbo Roll (white), also from Therm O Web to pop up Nicolette on the card. I finished off the card with a few green rhinestones from the Green Flat Back Rhinestone Mix from Sponsor, Twiddler's Nooks. A quick and cute card to start off the Linky Party!

I'm also a Sponsor for the {BYSHC} Falling for the Holidays 2025 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, October 28th.

Before you leave, be sure to stop by the {BYSHC} Falling for the Holidays 2025 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 2025... I hope you'll join in the fun and play along!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Inky Hugs,

Crystal