Tawny Owl Paperie Inky Inspiration Sketch 27 ~ Roger Guy ~ Unity Stamp Co.

 Hello there crafty friend!

Today I'm sharing a bit more inspiration for the Tawny Owl Paperie Inky Inspiration Sketch Challenge 27 in the Tawny Owl Paperie Inky Inspiration Facebook group. I found myself in need of a birthday card so I thought this easy sketch would be perfect!

I pulled out my scraps from the beautiful Pastel Party Parade {paper pack}. Knowing that I was making a masculine card, I really just wanted the sentiment pattern paper. I trimmed three panels to fit on the white A2 top fold card.

Here's a look at the fun sketch for Tawny Owl Paperie Inky Inspiration Sketch Challenge 27. 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 feel my cards are a good example of that, as I'm always making adjustments... like this time I moved the sentiment.

I stamped the handsome Roger Guy with Black Amalgam ink and colored him up with my Copic markers. The t-shirt was looking a little plain so I added some texture with dots. I think it's fun! 

Here's a quick list of the Copic markers I used to color up Roger Guy:

Skin: E000, E00, E11

Watch: N0, N1, N4, N6

Shirt: G00, G02, G07, G09

Jeans: B91, B95, B97

I trimmed the sentiment from a scrap of the pattern paper. Mat it with True Black card stock from Papertrey Ink. And then I popped up the sentiment with foam tape for some fun dimension. All of my other layers are adhered directly to the card base. I'm having so much fun with this sketch! I hope you can find time to play along! Have an inktastic week!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

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Tawny Owl Paperie Inky Inspiration Sketch 21 ~ Keepin It Classy ~ Unity Stamp Co.

 Hello there crafty friend!

I am back with inspiration for the Tawny Owl Paperie Inky Inspiration Sketch Challenge 21. On the heels of the Friends of the Unity blog hop this past weekend, I still had a couple masculine stamp sets on my desk. So... I thought why not make another masculine card! Next week I'll try to find the leftover scraps that I've made my mission to finish off this month. I'm afraid they are lost under the piles of papers and stuff from my mad-dash card making last week. 

Speaking of the piles of stuff on my desk, not only did I have the Keepin It Classy stamp but I still had the Classic Garage DSP from Stampin' Up on my desk. Naturally they needed to go together! I looked through my paper pack and picked out the scraps. I do wish I had found wider pieces of pattern paper, but I like the flags of papers.

I stamped the cool car and sentiment using Black Amalgam ink from Gina K. Designs. I then colored up the car using a bunch of Copic markers. Here's a list of the Copic markers I used: R00, R21, R05, R17, N0, N1, Y11, Y15. I die cut the car using the coordinating Keepin It Classy die. Added some foam tape to the back of the car and popped it up on the card.

Here's a look at the fun new sketch for Tawny Owl Paperie Inky Inspiration Sketch Challenge 21. Lots of open space that can be kept white or use pattern paper like I did for my car card. 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 card is another good example of altering the sketch but still keeping within the sketch since I turned the sketch on it's side.

I'm so happy with how this card turned out! I hope you're inspired to play along with the sketch... and maybe even make a masculine card! I know Mother's Day is just days away but Father's Day will be here before we know it. Have a wonderful week!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

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Masculine Birthday ~ Shatter & Keepin it Classy ~ Unity Stamp Co.

 Hello there crafty friend!

Sharing a fun masculine card today using the amazing new Shatter background stamp and Keepin it Classy stamps that just released over at Unity Stamp Co. I had a fun idea using the Joseph's Coat Technique and I think it turned out pretty cool.

The background was ink smooshed with Tumbled Glass and Salty Ocean Distress Oxide inks. I left a lot of white on the background too. I then stamped the cool Shatter background stamp using a Wow Clear Embossing ink. I applied Crystal Clear Embossing powder to the inked background and melted it with my heat tool. 

I wanted the embossing nice and thick and I meant to restamp the background in my stamp platform but I forgot to replace my corner magnet and pulled out my card stock. SO... I heated up the embossed background and dabbed it in the embossing powder and then melted it again. I did this a few times all over the card front so the embossed area was well embossed. And then I blended over the entire background with Black Soot Distress Oxide ink. The black ink covered the background that wasn't heat embossed giving this wonderful dimension to the card!

Love how the background turned out! I trimmed it up and adhered it to a black card front. I then stamped the car from the Keepin it Classy stamps and colored it up with my Copic markers. Here's a quick list of the Copic markers that I used: YR000, YR15, YR68, Y02, Y15, N0, N2, N4, C00, C1, C3

I fussy cut the car on the line. Made the edges look all nice and neat with a Memento Tuxedo Black marker. I added a bunch of foam tape to the back of the car and popped it up on the card. To finish off the card, I trimmed the sentiment and adhered it to the card and trimmed off the excess that was hanging off the edge.

You can check out my process video here... Joseph's Coat Technique | Shatter & Keepin it Classy | Unity Stamp Co.

 If you haven't already, you really should stop by Unity Stamp Co. and check out all the amazing new background stamps that were released along with a few new ones!! 

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky hugs,

Crystal

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~ Friends of Unity June 2023 Blog Hop ~

   Hello there crafty friend!

It's the first Saturday of June which means it's time for our Friends of Unity Blog Hop!! This month's cue has become an annual theme. It's one that us card makers are always looking for ideas and inspiration for our makes. I hope that you'll hop along with us this month and find lots of inspiration from our friends. Now, onto our cue this month... 

... Masculine. Yup! Those cards for the guys in our lives. Sometimes masculine cards can be tough. I'm sharing a couple of easy masculine card ideas that never fail. Let's get to it...

Brown on Kraft - Monochromatic Earth Tones

I'm excited to share my first card because it's also a sneak peek of a new stamp that will be releasing in just a few days. And yes, I got permission to share early. Woot woot! Thank you Ang & Whit!! I'm super excited about this upcoming release... it's Tuesday, by the way. Unity is releasing some super cool background stamps... a collaboration with Brutus Monroe, along with some other wonderful stamps. I just adore the Wrinkle background stamp. I inked it up for my background on Kraft card stock using Vintage Photo, Walnut Stain, and Ground Espresso Distress Oxide inks with a spritz of water here and there. It almost gives the background a leather vibe. Don'tcha think?!

I just love the texture that it gives the card. I also die cut the background with the recently released Deckle & Stitches Nesting die set. So excited to get these amazing dies in my recent order. Can't wait to use them more! So fun! I also stamped a fun background using the large fonts from the Favorite Dad stamps. I used the same three distress oxides to stamp those. I actually stamped a larger panel so I might just use the leftovers for another card. I laid the sentiment background over the Wrinkle background and then I placed the large deckle die overtop and secured it to the sentiment background with a couple pieces of washi tape. I then pulled it away and die cut it. Then I adhered the pieces together.

Did you notice the design for my card?! It's the sketch I recently shared in my Tawny Owl Paperie | Inky Inspiration Facebook group. It's also the same sketch that I used for one of my cards in last month's Inspired By hop. I just loved the card design so much I had to turn it into a sketch. I'm actually hosting a challenge in my group for this sketch with a fun prize. I hope you'll join us and play along! 

The cute mustache was stamped with Vintage Photo and then I swiped the Ground Espresso ink down the stamp adding a cool texture to the mustache. I don't think you can see it as well in the photo though. It was die cut with a plain circle die and then adhered to a Dark Chocolate card stock mat from Papertrey Ink that was die cut using the smallest stitched circle die from the Scallops & Circles {nesting dies}. The sentiment, also from the Favorite Dad stamps, is stamped with Ground Espresso ink. I die cut it using the recently released Scalloped & Stitched Sentiment Nesting dies. I also used a slightly larger die to die cut a mat for the sentiment from Early Espresso card stock from Stampin' Up. The sentiment is adhered directly to the card and the mustache is popped up with foam tape. Brown on Kraft is always awesome for a guy card.

Nature Scene Cards

My second card features the sweet Happy and Cozy stamps. I had a blast playing with my ZIG Clean Color Real Brush markers. I used a couple of fun watercolor techniques for this card. I actually recorded my progress while I made this one. I'm hoping to share it soon {video is now below}. The background was created with a few blue ZIGS and a green one. It was actually really easy and it turned out pretty nice.

I dried the background with my heat tool and then stamped the trees using the ZIGs to color and then stamp each part. It was a tiny bit time consuming but it was fun coloring directly on the stamp. I played around a bit with the background until I was happy with it and die cut it with the deckle stitched die. Loving this die for guy cards! I stamped the cabin on a scrap of Canson XL watercolor paper using Black Amalgam ink from Gina K Designs. I used a few ZIGs to color up the cabin. Once it was dry, I fussy cut it. I colored the edges of the cabin using a Memento Tuxedo black marker. This is a great tip for making fussy cutting look nice and neat. 

You can check out my process video here... Watercolor Techniques featuring Happy and Cozy | Unity Stamp Co.

I stamped the sentiment from Favorite Dad stamps again... this time I heat embossed it with Sugar Cube Pigment ink from Taylored Expressions and Alabaster White embossing powder from Brutus Monroe on Early Espresso card stock from Stampin' Up. I just trimmed the sentiment this time and adhered it to the card. To finish off this card, I added a few more stars using a white gel pen. Nature cards are another great idea for guy cards. 

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...

... Vannessa Osbourn!! Congratulations Vannessa!!

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! Please hop along and enjoy some more inspiration from the Friends of Unity! I'm so excited to hop and check out all the pretty creations shared by our friends!! I can't wait to see the masculine cards our friends have made to share with us. 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 ---> Amber

Kim

Jane

Tammy

Colleen

Bobbie Sue

April

Rachel

Gaylynn

Dawn F.

Thanks so very much for supporting our little hop!

We appreciate you!!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

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Membership Wednesday ~ May 2023 KOM Bloom in Color ~ Unity Stamp Co.

 Hello there crafty friend!

I'm back for another Membership Wednesday and today I'm sharing a card using the gorgeous mountain and tree stamps in the May 2023 Kit of the Month called Bloom in Color. Love the fantastic mix of stamp in this month's kit! I thought the mountain and trees stamp would make a wonderful masculine card.

I really like the monochromatic vibe for this card. However, I really wish I hadn't added that ribbon on the right side. It throws off the balance of the card. I think I may redo this one and omit that ribbon. The background card front layer is a piece of pattern paper from the Let Your Soul Wander {paper pack}. It's trimmed down to 5-1/2 x 4-1/4" and adhered to a white A2 top fold card base that I've turned on the side. 

I stamped the lovely trees and mountain stamp using Walnut Stain Distress Ink. I then stamped it again adding a bit of Ground Espresso Distress Ink near the bottom of the stamp. I used a blending brush to soften the line of the ink on my stamp before stamping it. A great trick for avoiding those harsh lines when stamping with multiple inks.

I trimmed the stamped panel to 3" and adhered the ribbon around the edges securing it with tear tape. I then adhered the panel to a slightly larger piece of Early Espresso card stock from Stampin' Up. I roughed up the edges of the dark brown card stock using a Tim Holtz Paper Distresser. I stamped the sentiment using the Ground Espresso Distress Ink. Trimmed it up and adhered it over the a portion of the trees. This was such an easy and quick card. I think it's a great masculine card... and it could be for any occasion just by switching the sentiment. And minus the ribbon, of course. 

Here's a look at the whole Kit of the Month for May!! I wish I had had more time to play with this one! 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 hope to see you next week for another Membership Wednesday blog post. I'll be sharing inspiration for the amazing new June 2023 Uniquely Unity membership... at least that's what I'm leaning towards.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

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Masculine Birthday Card ~ Feline Funny ~ Unity Stamp Co.

 Hello there crafty friend!

I am loving the new kitty stamps that were just released over at Unity!! Have you seen them?! I created a fun card the other day using the new Kitten Kaleidoscope background stamp. I had a few leftover panels after die cutting the circles to make the fun eclipse card. Anywho, I used one of the leftover panel to create a punny masculine birthday card along with the super cute and punny Feline Funny!! Oh my gosh... do I LOVE this new cat!!

Now, you may be asking what makes this masculine? I think the classic black and white color combo is, for sure, masculine. But also the straight lines... rectangles and squares. Not to say that guys don't like other shapes. Just saying, particularly for my guy, he likes squares and straight lines.

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

Fur ~ C00, C1, N0, N2, N4, Colorless Blender

Eyes ~ B000, B00

Nose / Ears / Pads ~ R00, R20, Colorless Blender

Outline ~ B000, B00

Grounding ~ C00, C1

Background Kitties ~ N2, N4

I used a black scrap card front along with the Kitten Kaleidoscope leftover for my card. Both of these panels dictated the design for my card. I shifted the Kitten Kaleidoscope background to the upper left side to cover the hole in my black card front. And I placed the Feline Funny kitty along the same left edge to cover the hole in the Kitten Kaleidoscope background panel. To balance the card I adhered the sentiment so that it went all the way over to the right edge of the card.

You can check out my process video here... Masculine Birthday Card | Feline Funny | Unity Stamp Co.

No enamel dots or ribbons or sequins for this one. I think omitting those embellishments also makes this a masculine card. If you haven't already, head over to Unity and check out the awesome new releases and the fabulous sale going on now! Lots of wonderful new red rubber in the shop!!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky hugs,

Crystal

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Thanks Dad ~ The Very Best Guy ~ Unity Stamp Co.

 Hello there crafty friend!

I have a super quick masculine card to share today. I've used the wonderful new sentiment stamps for the guys called The Very Best Guy from Unity Stamp Co.!! These stamps are perfect for Father's Day or really any day.

I paired up the sentiment with the Roger Guy stamp and the Classic Garage papers from Stampin' Up. I also used a couple black and white washi tapes I think that were from Stampin' Up, but I really don't know. They are just in my stash of washi tapes.

I went with some color for 'Roger' so that he would contrast on the card. Also my husband, who used to wear black all the time, has started to wear more color so I thought I'd put him in a different shirt. Here's a quick list of the Copic markers I used to color up Roger Guy:

Skin ~ E000, E00, E11, E04

Shirt ~ YG11, BG72, BG75, Colorless Blender

Jeans ~ B91, B95, B97, B99

Watch / Ring ~ N0, N2, N4, N6

Outline ~ N0, N1

Notice the cute heart...?! Well, I used the awesome new Linen Background of the Month stamp and die cut an ink smooshed background with the Fall Out Hearts {background die}. I started my card for next week's Membership Wednesday... heehee... you'll see more of these cute textured hearts next week!! In the meantime, head over to Unity and check out the amazing new releases and the fab sale going on right now!!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky hugs,

Crystal

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~ Friends of Unity June 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 one of my faves that we've done a couple times now! I can't wait to see all the creations shared by our friends today! So let's get to the cue...

... Masculine cards!! Yes! 

Masculine cards can be so hard at times, but they are absolutely necessary for those guys in our lives and with Father's Day quickly approaching I thought it would be fun to share a few ideas for Father's Day cards.

For my first card I used the cute Best Tool in the Box stamp set... I love the cute tools in this set! I thought it would be so fun to tuck those tools in a pocket and I remembered that I have a pocket stamp!! I used the adorable pocket stamp from the Pocket & Patches stamp set. There is another pocket stamp in an older KOM called A Pocket Full of... that one would probably work too. Not sure about the size of the pocket in that kit though.

I actually started with the background for this card though. I stamped the Dance with Denim background stamp onto Buckaroo Blue card stock from Stampin' Up with Stormy Sky and Faded Jeans Distress Oxide inks. I didn't ink up the background stamp fully before stamping... I inked it up randomly one color at a time. I think it gives the background a bit of a distressed look. I stamped it again with both inks for my second background and then a third time on a scrap of card stock for my pocket.

I stamped the tools with Gina K. Design Black Amalgam ink and colored them up with just a handful of Copic Markers ~ E53, E55, E57, E59, N0, N1, N3, and N4. I fussy cut the tools and cleaned up the edges by coloring them with a Memento Tuxedo black marker. To assemble the card, I mat the denim backgrounds on Kraft card stock to coordinate with the brown in the tools. I used a 1/8" circle punch to punch the holes in the rivets of the pockets and added a couple brads from my stash. I adhered just the outer edges of the pocket leaving the top open for the tools and then I tucked the tools in there adhering them with liquid glue. I stamped the sentiment with the black amalgam ink on Kraft card stock. I trimmed it up adding a layer of scrap card stock to each side of the sentiment strip so it would lay flat and then I adhered it to the card.

For my second card I used the adorable Beary Best Dad stamp set. I'm pretty sure that I haven't used this one before so I was excited to finally ink it up! It was so much fun to color too! I tried a different technique for coloring up the fur... little circles around the face and on the body. Though I think it's more noticeable on the face. I do like how it turned out!

I paired it up with some pattern papers from my stash and the colors from the papers are what inspired my coloring choices for the image. Here's a quick list of the Copic Markers I used:

Little Bear ~ E51, E53, E55, RV21

Dad Bear ~ E51, E53, E55, E57, E59, R000, R20, RV21

Hat ~ E53, E55, E57, E59

Tie ~ BG10, BG01, BG13, YG11, YG13, YR21, YR15

Bow Tie ~ YG11, YG13, YR21, YR15

Grass ~ YG11, YG13, YG17

I die cut the stamped and colored panel with the largest stitched rectangle die from the Scallops & Rectangles {nesting dies} from Unity. I adhered the two pattern papers to my white A2 top fold card base that I turned on it's side. I trimmed off the excess pattern papers and then adhered the top panel. A pretty simple, but adorable card!

And a vintage style card for the grandfather's in our lives using the beautiful You Are a Classic stamp set!! Sometimes you just need some inky time and distressing the edges for this card... so relaxing! I love the deep brown hues on the pattern paper and the Vintage Cream card stock that I used to stamp on! So rich and beautiful in person!

The pattern paper I used was just another one from my stash but it wasn't necessarily vintage in style so the distressing with Vintage Photo Distress Ink around the edges really gave it that vintage look. I stamped the beautiful vintage car background and sentiment with Gina K. Design Black Amalgam ink on Vintage Cream card stock from Papertrey Ink. I mat all of my layers with Soft Suede card stock from Stampin' Up because it coordinated with the colors in the pattern paper but I don't think it really mattered since I ended up distressing each of the layers over the mats with the Vintage Photo Distress ink.

It's been quite awhile since I've used a button on one of my cards... they are just so bulky and it's so annoying paying extra to mail bulky cards, but this card just had to have one.  I wrapped the button holes with some {Ivory} May Arts Burlap string and adhered it to the back of the button with a glue dot. I also used glue dots and a touch of Ranger Multi Media Matte to adhere the button to the card. I'm pretty sure it's not going anywhere! LOL! I popped up the focal image and the sentiment with foam tape giving some dimension to the card. Another one done... so happy with how all of these 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...

... Cat Valdez!! Congratulations, Cat!!

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! Please hop along and enjoy some more inspiration from the Friends of Unity! I can't wait to see all the gorgeous inspiration from our friends! I will be doing another fun giveaway this month!! Be sure to hop along and comment for a chance to win! I'll announce the winner next month! 

***Google/Blogger is acting weird lately so please include your name in the comments just in case the comment is posted as anonymous we'll still be able to know who commented.***

Let's get to the hopping...

Crystal <--- you're here

up next ---> Amber

Eileen

Dawn B.

Rachel

Kim

Dawn F.

Colleen

Alaine

Joyce

Robyn

Thanks so very much for supporting our little hop!

We appreciate you!!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

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