{BYSHC} Christmas in July 2026 Linky Party ~ Hot Cocoa Gnomes ~ Not 2 Shabby

Hello again crafty friend!

I'm back with a couple more holiday cards for day 7 of the {BYSHC} Christmas in July 2026 Linky Party!! I'm excited to share not one but two holiday cards that I'm adding to my Christmas stash! This time I mixed things up with some fun ephemera from Sponsor Not 2 Shabby and I paired it up with a stencil from Sponsor Gina K. Designs!

The adorable gnomes are from the Hot Cocoa Gnomes ephemera pack from Not 2 Shabby. Aren't they just the cutest?! I love them! The sentiment is from the Gingerbread Coffee House stamp set, also from Not 2 Shabby but I'm not seeing either of them on the website. But they do have a bunch of other fab ephemera packs!!

I paired them up with the Sweater Weather Stencil from Gina K. Designs. I blended Salty Ocean and Seedless Preserves Distress Inks for my first card. 

I die cut the stenciled panels prior to ink blending. I used a die from the Large Cross-Stitched Rectangle Stackables dies from Sponsor Lawn Fawn. I masked the edges of the die panels with iCraft Pixie Tape from Sponsor Therm O Web and then I blended with my inks. For my second card, I blended Mowed Lawn and Candied Apple Distress Inks. I made sure not to actually blend these since I didn't want brown in the middle so they just get lighter near the middle.

If you haven't already, stop by the {BYSHC} Christmas in July 2026 Linky Party to check out all the wonderful Holiday inspiration being shared!! I am loving ALL of the cards! I hope you have an INKredible day!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

{BYSHC} Spring into Christmas 2026 Linky Party ~ Christmas Kitties ~ Angie Blom Digital Designs

Hello there crafty friend!

I'm so excited to share my first card for the {BYSHC} Spring into Christmas 2026 Linky Party hosted by the Build Your Stash Holiday Cardmakers Facebook group! This is our sixth annual Spring into Christmas 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 adorable Christmas Kitties from our Sponsor Angie Blom Digital Designs. I used one of Angie's printable images where she's done the work in combining the images for four different cards on one sheet. Only I cropped just the one image I planned to use and combined it with other digital stamps in a Word Document and printed them off on white card stock. I colored up the cute kitty image with Copic markers. 

Copic markers I used:

Kitty: YR20, YR21, YR15

Hat: C0, C2, R20, R14, R27

Scarf: R20, R14, R27

Tree: YG11, G24, G46, E53, E55, E57

Ornaments: R00, R14, R27

Star: Y11, Y15, Y38

Green Present: YG11, G24, Y11, Y15, Y38

Polka Dot Present: C0, C2, R00, R14, R27

Snow: C0, C2

I like to revisit some of our past sketches when I'm looking for inspiration. I went WAY back and chose BYSHC Sketch 2 for my card today. I flipped the sketch to fit my card design.

The beautiful plaid papers are from the retired Plaids for Christmas paper pad from Sponsor Not 2 Shabby. And I die cut the kitty using the retired Frayed Edge Stacklets dies from Sponsor Taylored Expressions. I adhered the sentiment to the focal image and popped them both up with foam tape.

I'm also a Sponsor for the {BYSHC} Spring into Christmas 2026 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 Wednesday, April 22nd.

Be sure to stop by the {BYSHC} Spring into Christmas 2026 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 2026... I hope you'll join in the fun and play along!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

Tawny Owl Paperie Inky Inspiration Sketch 39 ~ Make It Iced, Please ~ Not 2 Shabby

 Hello there crafty friend!

Today I'm sharing another card for the Tawny Owl Paperie Inky Inspiration Sketch Challenge 39 in the Tawny Owl Paperie Inky Inspiration Facebook group. A quick coffee card for today.

I used some pretty scraps from the retired Make It Iced, Please 6x6 Paper Pad from Not 2 Shabby to make my background for the card. It's been so cold... these bright and sunny colors are just bringing some warmth.

I combined three pieces of ephemera from the coordinating {and also retired} Make It Iced, Please Ephemera from Not 2 Shabby for my focal image for this card. I cut an edge on the circle ephemera for that edge in the sketch and grounded my other pieces of ephemera on the line.

Here's a look at the fun sketch for Tawny Owl Paperie Inky Inspiration Sketch Challenge 39. 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 used long paper scraps for this sketch... no measuring needed.

The sweet sentiment is from the retired Cup of Love stamps from Unity. I love how quick this card came together. And I got to use up some scraps too. I hope you can find time to play along. I can't wait to see what you create. Have an INKredible week!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

{BYSHC} Sketch Challenge 65 ~ Hot Cocoa Gnomes & It's Gingie Time ~ Not 2 Shabby

Hello there crafty friend!

I'm sharing a little more inspiration for the {BYSHC} Sketch Challenge 65 hosted in the Build Your Stash Holiday Cardmakers Facebook group! I'm pretty sure I've mentioned that I love the papers and ephemera from Not 2 Shabby, right?! Like, they make card making so quick and fun! With that said... I have 2 cute cards to share today because they were so quick and easy to make! Why just make one?! LOL!

For my first card, I combined the sweet and adorable Christmas Critters 6x6 Paper Pad with the Hot Cocoa Gnomes Ephemera. The colors in these worked so well together. I was just tickled pink!

Both of those products are retired now, it looks like. But the variety on the website is amazing!! You have to go check it out... Not 2 Shabby papers!

I used pattern papers for my layers except for the white paper that's white card stock. And I finished this one off with a few white glossy confetti pieces from A Colorful Life Designs.

For my second card, I used the adorably sweet It's Gingie Time Ephemera. It was so hard to choose just one gingie!!

I paired up the adorable gingie with the coordinating It's Gingie Time 6x6 Paper Pad.

I adhered my layers to a black card base and die cut scraps of black card stock using the MFT Ric Rac die from my stash. The sweet sentiment is from the Gingerbread Coffee House stamp set. I heat embossed it using a white ink with white embossing powder on the black card stock. I love how the white pops on the black card stock.

Here's a look at {BYSHC} Sketch Challenge 65 for the month of January. Tomorrow 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} Sketch Challenge 65 ~ Holiday Owls ~ Not 2 Shabby

Hello there crafty friend!

I'm back with a little inspiration for the {BYSHC} Sketch Challenge 65 hosted in the Build Your Stash Holiday Cardmakers Facebook group! Today I'm sharing a sweet Christmas card featuring gorgeous papers and an adorable owl stamp from our amazing Sponsor Not 2 Shabby! This month's prize is a $25 gift certificate to Not 2 Shabby! Woohoo!

I started with my background first for this one. I really wanted to play with some of the fun glitter papers in the Festive Christmas 6x6 paper pad. I used pattern papers from the pad for each of my layers. I cut the four strips at 1/4" wide. I alternated the glitter strips and I think it really helps to draw the eye across the card to the cute owl.

I stamped the adorable owl from the retired Holiday Owls using Memento Tuxedo Black ink. I colored it up with a handful of Copic markers.

Here's a quick list of the ones I used:

Hat: R20, R14, R27, C0, C2

Holly: YG11, G24, R14, R27

Beak / Feet: YR20, YR15

Body: W0, W1, W3, W5

White Areas: C0, C2

I adhered the strips at the top of the panel and the right side of the panel leaving them loose in the left corner to weave. I was then able to adhere the weaved ends and didn't have to worry about them moving around. I trimmed the sentiment and popped it and the fussy cut owl up on the card with foam tape.

Here's a look at {BYSHC} Sketch Challenge 65 for the month of January. If you're interested in seeing a bunch more inspiration for this sketch, check out the amazing inspiration from the design team over on the {BYSH} Cardmakers blog!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Inky hugs,

Crystal

{BYSHC} Sketch Challenge 65 ~ A Shabby Christmas ~ Not 2 Shabby

Hello there crafty friend!

It's time for a new sketch challenge over in the Build Your Stash Holiday Cardmakers Facebook group! Today I'm sharing a pretty Christmas card featuring beautiful papers and ephemera from our awesome Sponsor Not 2 Shabby! This month's prize is a $25 gift certificate to Not 2 Shabby! Yay!

I used a fun combination of the papers from the A Shabby Christmas 6x6 Paper Pad for my background. I used the measurements from the sketch for each layer except the red glitter mat which I made a smidge smaller at 3-7/8 x 5-1/8".

The red glitter strips measure 1/4" wide and I kept them at 6" long. I wove them onto the top layer and adhered them starting at the top. Once the top was set I found I could adhere the horizontal strips easily and then adhere the bottom of the vertical strips. I sure hope that makes sense... my head is still congested and my brain isn't working. :)

I punched a 1/8" hole in the top of the star ephemera from the A Shabby Christmas Ephemera and added a little bit of burlap string. I trimmed two fishtails on the ends of the stamped sentiment from the Pick Me Up stamp set from Not 2 Shabby. And then I covered the back of the star and the sentiment with foam tape and popped them both up on the card.

Here's a look at {BYSHC} Sketch Challenge 65 for the month of January. If you're interested in seeing a bunch more inspiration for this sketch, check out the amazing inspiration from the design team over on the {BYSH} Cardmakers blog!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Inky hugs,

Crystal

Tawny Owl Paperie Inky Inspiration Sketch 37 ~ Christmas Critters ~ Not 2 Shabby

 Hello there crafty friend!

Today I'm sharing another card for the Tawny Owl Paperie Inky Inspiration Sketch Challenge 37 in the Tawny Owl Paperie Inky Inspiration Facebook group. Another quick card for this challenge... the holiday season hasn't even officially started and life is busy!

I used some cute scraps from the Christmas Critters 6x6 Paper Pad from Not 2 Shabby to make my background for the card. I love all of the cute critters in these papers!

I combined three pieces of ephemera from the Christmas Critters Ephemera from Not 2 Shabby for my focal image for this card. Super easy peasy!

Here's a look at the fun sketch for Tawny Owl Paperie Inky Inspiration Sketch Challenge 37. 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 used the measurements from the sketch for the strips and adhered them to a red A2 card base.

The cute sentiment is from the retired Gingerbread Hugs stamp set, also from Not 2 Shabby. And it's die cut using the coordinating dies. I love how quick this card came together. And I got to use up some scraps too. I hope you can find time to play along. I can't wait to see what you create. Have an INKredible week!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

{BYSHC} Falling for the Holidays 2025 Linky Party ~ Christmas Critters ~ Not 2 Shabby

 Hello there crafty friend!

It's day 4 of the {BYSHC} Falling for the Holidays 2025 Linky Party!! I'm excited to share not one but two holiday cards that I'm adding to my Christmas stash! This time I played with adorable papers and ephemera from our fabulous Sponsor, Not 2 Shabby!

I used the adorable Christmas Critters 6x6 Paper Pad and the Christmas Critters Ephemera for my cards. I just couldn't resist these adorable critters! And really as a card maker I adore anything card related so the envelopes are really what sold me on these papers and ephemera. TOO cute!!

My background paper layers are all adhered using iCraft UltraBond Adhesive from Sponsor Therm O Web. I adhered the penguin and the star to the tree and then popped them up on the card with iCraft UltraBond Adhesive, also from Sponsor Therm O Web. 

Inspiration for my card came from one of our past sketches... BYSHC Sketch 16. I love using the past sketches! I altered the sketch to work for a landscape card.

The sentiment is from the August 2019 Kit of the Month called Warm and Cozy from Sponsor Unity Stamp Co. I just trimmed it up and adhered it to the card. Easy peasy.

Speaking of easy peasy, this card was just that! I die cut the pattern paper with the cute critters and the sentiment right on it using the Postage Stamp Nesting Dies from Unity. 

I adhered it to a white A2 card base using iCraft UltraBond Adhesive from Therm O Web. And then I finished it off with a little confetti called Hologram Red Card Bling from Sponsor A Colorful Life Designs. Super easy peasy!

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!! I am loving ALL of the cards being shared! I hope you have an ink-redible day!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

Christmas in July 2025 {BYSHC} Linky Party ~ Nautilus Swirl Stencil ~ A Colorful Life Designs

 Hello there crafty friend!

I'm back with another card I made for the Christmas in July 2025 {BYSHC} Linky Party! I've been so inspired by the cards shared over at the Linky Party... I just HAD to get inky! I saw a fab card by sweet Holly Brown not too long ago and I immediately thought it would be fun to use the same stencil but for a Christmas card.

Voila! I think it's peppermint perfection!! Haha! I used the awesome Nautilus Swirl Stencil from our amazing Sponsor A Colorful Life Designs for my fun background. I blended over the stencil using Candied Apple Distress Ink. I focused the blending in the center and lightened the blends with a softer touch around the edges.

I trimmed the panel to 4 x 5-1/4" and die cut it using the Large Cross-Stitched Rectangle Stackables from Sponsor Lawn Fawn. I adhered the die cut piece directly to the white A2 top fold card and then added iCraft 3D Foam Tape Jumbo Roll (white) from our lovely Sponsor Therm O Web to the outer portion making it into a fun frame. It gives some really fun dimension to the card.

I stamped the cute cup and peppermints from the retired Peppermint Mocha Season stamp set from Sponsor Not 2 Shabby using the fabulous Pressure Pal from our awesome Sponsor Twiddler's Nook to get an even pressure on my Misti while stamping. This tool really comes in handy when my hands are hurting. I colored the fun images with Copic markers. I fussy cut each of the images on the line, colored the edges with a Memento Tuxedo Black marker, and then adhered them together. I added foam tape to the portions of the images that laid in the center of the card and then I used iCraft UltraBond Adhesive from Therm O Web for the handle and bottom portion that sat on the frame. The sentiment is also from the same stamp set. I finished off the card with some White Glossy Card Bling from A Colorful Life Designs. 

I hope you'll stop by the Christmas in July 2025 {BYSHC} Linky Party to check out all the wonderful Holiday inspiration being shared! I've been inspired by so many of the cards! I sure hope you'll stop by and check it out! Have an ink-tastic day!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

Tawny Owl Paperie Inky Inspiration Sketch 34 ~ September 2024 KOM Wander and Wonder ~ Unity Stamp Co.

 Hello there crafty friend!

Today I'm sharing some fun inspiration for the Tawny Owl Paperie Inky Inspiration Sketch Challenge 34 in the Tawny Owl Paperie Inky Inspiration Facebook group. I found this sweet stamp already inked up and sitting on my desk so I thought I'd color it up. It's from the September 2024 Kit of the Month called Wander and Wonder from Unity.

My process:

• The pumpkin was stamped with Black Amalgam ink and colored with Copic markers
• Die cut with a square die from the Scallops & Squares {nesting dies}
• The papers are scraps from the Autumn Vibes Paper Pad from Not 2 Shabby
• I trimmed the lengths of the scraps to 3-7/8" and 4"
• Adhered the scraps to a Kraft A2 top fold card turned on it's side for a landscape card
• Trimmed the sentiment and distressed the edges of the sentiment and pumpkin square with Vintage Photo Distress Ink
• Adhered the sentiment to the pumpkin square
• Added foam tape to the back of the sentiment and the pumpkin square and popped it up on the card
• Finished it off with a few glitter enamel dots

Here's a look at the fun sketch for Tawny Owl Paperie Inky Inspiration Sketch Challenge 34. 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 adjusted my design this time by turning it.

Copic Markers used:

Pumpkin: BG000, BG11, BG01, BG15, E21, E25

Bird: YR20, YR23, YR15

Ground: W0, W1

I am so ready for Fall and the cooler temperatures it brings. I hope you can find time to play along with the sketch challenge. Have an INKtastic week!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

Spring into Christmas 2025 {BYSHC} Linky Party ~ Purrs & Cocoa ~ Not 2 Shabby

 Hello there crafty friend!

I'm sneaking in one last card for the Spring into Christmas 2025 {BYSHC} Linky Party! I had one more stamped image colored up from Spring Break and thought I'd make a quick card using a past Tawny Owl Paperie Inky Inspiration Sketch.

I stamped the adorable cocoa kitty from the Purrs & Cocoa stamp set from Sponsor Not 2 Shabby using Memento Tuxedo Black ink and colored it up with Copic markers. I fussy cut the cocoa kitty leaving a white border around the edges.

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

Kitty: RV10, R20, N0, N2, N4

Marshmallows: C00, C2

Cocoa: E21, E23, E25

Mug: R20, R14, R27

Tree: YG11, G24, G46

I paired up the cute kitty with the retired Knit Picky 6x6 Paper Pad from Sponsor Lawn Fawn. I die cut the background layer using the largest die from the Scallops & Rectangles {nesting dies} from Sponsor Unity Stamp Co. I trimmed the banner layer and green paper. I cut a fishtail for the one end and then used a corner rounder punch for the green paper.

My card was inspired by TOP Inky Inspiration Sketch 4. I love the CAS vibe of the sketch! I was going to leave my background white for more of a CAS card, but decided to use up some of my older papers. I've had these Lawn Fawn papers for years now. Time to finish it up!

I adhered all of my layers using iCraft UltraBond Adhesive from Sponsor Therm O Web and then adhered the panel to a white A2 top fold card base. I popped up the cocoa kitty using 3D Foam Squares, also from Therm O Web. I finished off the card with three confetti pieces from the Hologram Red Card Bling from Sponsor A Colorful Life Designs.

I have had SO much fun playing along with the Spring into Christmas 2025 {BYSHC} Linky Party! I hope that you'll stop by the Linky Party and check out the cards that have been linked up. Lots of fabulous inspiration!! Don't forget the Linky Party ends at 11:59pm PST tonight. Get those entries in! Have an ink-tastic day!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

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