{BYSHC} Sketch Challenge 71 ~ Beautiful Poinsettia and Extra Grinchy ~ A Colorful Life Designs

Hello there crafty friend!

I'm sharing two last cards for the {BYSHC} Sketch Challenge 71 hosted in the Build Your Stash Holiday Cardmakers Facebook group! I got done with my first card and while I was putting away the stencils I had an idea pop in my head for another card so I whipped the second one up real quick. In all I used 6 fabulous stencils from our wonderful Sponsor A Colorful Life Designs.

I blended over the Beautiful Poinsettia Stencil with Mustard Seed, Barn Door and Mowed Lawn Distress Inks. I added a touch of highlights to the center of the poinsettia with white pencil. And I distressed the edges of my panel with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.

I blended Vintage Photo Distress ink over the  awesome Cozy Knit Stencil for my background layer. I also distressed the edges of the kraft card base with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.

I blended Gathered Twigs Distress Ink over the sentiment from the Layered Mixed Wreath Stencil on kraft card stock. I fussy cut it and popped it up on the card to finish it off. I love the vintage vibe on this one.

I love the Grinch so when I saw my collection of Grinch stencils I just knew I had to ink one of them up! I blended Mowed Lawn Distress Ink over the Extra Grinchy Stencil on New Leaf card stock from Papertrey Ink. I die cut the Grinch panel using a die from my stash.

With the same distress ink I blended the tree background using the Simple Christmas Trees Stencil directly over the front of my New Leaf card base.

And then on white card stock I blended the same green ink over the sentiment from the Grinch Season Stencil. I trimmed the sentiment and adhered all of my layers directly to the card base. Easy peasy!

Here's a look at {BYSHC} Sketch Challenge 71 for the month of July. 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} 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} Christmas in July 2026 Linky Party ~ {BYSHC} Sketch Challenge 71 ~ Snowflake Deer ~ A Colorful Life Designs

Hello there crafty friend!

I'm back with a little inspiration for the {BYSHC} Sketch Challenge 71 hosted in the Build Your Stash Holiday Cardmakers Facebook group AND it's day 2 of the {BYSHC} Christmas in July 2026 Linky Party! Today I'm sharing an endearing Christmas card featuring two fab stencils from our amazing Sponsor A Colorful Life Designs! This month's prize for the sketch challenge is a $25 gift code to A Colorful Life Designs! Woohoo!

I love working with Kraft and White for the holidays! I used the beautiful Snowflake Deer Stencil from A Colorful Life Designs for my focal image. I did cut it down a bit using a circle die - it's more of a snow globe shape. 

Adding a touch of love to my background with the HeartFlakes Stencil. I adore these heart snowflakes!! I think they compliment the deer so nicely. I used Sugar Cube White Pigment ink from Sponsor Taylored Expressions over the two stencils on Kraft card stock from Papertrey Ink.

The sentiment is a cut apart sentiment from Sponsor Unity that I believe was a freebie with an order last Christmas. I finished off the card with a few White Glossy Card Bling confetti pieces from A Colorful Life Designs.  

Here's a look at {BYSHC} Sketch Challenge 71 for the month of July. 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! I went a little rogue with my design using a circle in place of the square or rectangle and then I moved the sentiment. It just didn't look right on the other side of the card.

Join us for the {BYSHC} Christmas in July 2026 Linky Party!! Start building your stash of holiday cards and who knows... maybe you'll win a prize!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Inky hugs,

Crystal

{BYSHC} Sketch Challenge 71 ~ Christmas Postmark ~ A Colorful Life Designs

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 sweet Christmas card featuring a few fun stencils from our wonderful Sponsor A Colorful Life Designs! One lucky winner will win a $25 gift code to A Colorful Life Designs!! Woohoo!

I started with my background and just couldn't resist the cuteness of the Layered Gingerbread Men Stencil. I blended over the gingerbread men with Vintage Photo Distress Ink. And then I blended Candied Apple Distress Ink for the buttons and faces. I wanted to add a postage vibe to the card so I pulled out the Marvelous Masks Postage Stamp Stencils and blended around the edges with Walnut Stain Distress Ink.  I blended a bit of Vintage Photo around the edges to give it a vintage look.

I blended over the Christmas Postmark Stencil with the Candied Apple Distress Ink again. I was a little heavy handed with this one so it's much darker than the gingies. I blended over the mask from the Marvelous Masks Postage Stamp Stencils again with Walnut Stain Distress Ink. I distressed the edges with Vintage Photo Distress Ink to keep the vintage vibe going. And then I adhered the layers to a red A2 card base.

I did absolutely no stamping for this card. I found a cut apart sentiment in my stash that I thought would work nicely with the stencils I had used. There was a lot of empty space under the Christmas Postmark Stencil so I moved the sentiment to the other side. I popped it up with foam tape to finish off this card.

Here's a look at {BYSHC} Sketch Challenge 71 for the month of July. 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

Checking on Ya ~ Talk of the Coop ~ Unity Stamp Co.

Hello there crafty friend! 

Checking on my favorite hen today with a fun chicken card I made using the cutest new stamp from Unity called Talk of the Coop. I am just smitten with these fun hens!

I inked up the cute Talk of the Coop hens with Black Amalgam ink and colored them up with Copic markers. It's hard to see but I gave the chickens pretty green, blue, or purple eyes. I fussy cut the hens leaving a white border around the edges.

Copic Markers used:

Feathers: C0, C2

Beaks: YR20, YR15, YR27

Wattles / Combs: R00, R14, R27

Tongues: R00, R14

Eyes: C0, C2, YG11, V12, B00

I die cut a panel of white card stock using the largest die from the Deckle & Stitches Nesting Die Set. I masked the edges with iCraft Pixie Tape and then I blended over the Cumulus Clouds Stencil with a blending brush using Tumbled Glass Distress Ink. I kept my blending soft and light.

I adhered the die cut panel to a white A2 top fold card base and then I adhered the hens to the card with Tombow XL Mono Multi Liquid Glue. I die cut the sentiment with a circle die from my stash and popped it up on the card with foam tape. Love how this one turned out!

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

~ Friends of Unity February 2026 Blog Hop ~

Hello there crafty friend!

It's time for our Friends of Unity Blog Hop for February 2026!! Woohoo! I'm excited for this month's cue... 

Today we are sharing Sassy inspiration! Haha... yay! I made 3 fun cards to share with you all today.

My first card features the sassiest little leprechaun kitty from Zero Luck Given. Isn't it just too cute?! I had so much fun coloring him up with my Copic markers.

Copic markers used:

Kitty: YR20, YR15, YR27; plus some white gel pen

Eyes: C0, C2

Hat: YG00, YG11, YG09, N0, N1, N3, N5, Y15, Y28

Clovers: YG00, YG11, YG09

White Clover: V12

Stems / Grass: YG00, YG23

 

I actually started with my fun background for this card. I ink smooshed a panel of white card stock with Twisted Citron and Lucky Clover Distress Inks. And then I stamped the clovers from the awesome new February 2026 KOM called A Gentle Plot Twist. These gorgeous clovers are also available separately in The Luck of Knowing You stamp kit. I colored over the clovers with Copic markers to help them pop a bit more on the panel. I used YG00 and YG09.

I die cut the ink smooshed background using a stitched die from the Zig-Zag Rectangles {nesting dies}. My mat of True Black card stock from Papertrey Ink was also die cut using the slightly larger zig zag die from the same set. I adhered these layers to a card base of  Tropical Teal card stock from Papertrey Ink. I fussy cut the cute kitty leaving a white border and popped him up on the card with foam tape. I trimmed the sentiment and popped that up with foam tape too.

I went with a coffee theme for my second card. I inked up my favorite chicken from the October 2025 Uniquely Unity membership called Don't Cluck with My Coffee. She's my fave because I requested her and BAM, Ang delivered. Isn't she wonderful!? She's definitely got my coffee vibe going on. And that sentiment... hahahaha!!! Love it!

I wanted a simple one layer card for this one so I pulled out a couple stencils and created a fun, yet subtle, coffee background directly on my card base. I blended Antique Linen Distress Ink over the Falling Dots stencil from A Colorful Life Designs. And then I decided to color the last dot on each row with white Prismacolor pencil. Why? I'm really not sure... it was a whim. I like it on the top portion of the card but it's a little too much on the bottom. IMHO. The creative ideas don't always work! Whatcha going to do?! I then blended Vintage Photo Distress Ink over the Mini Coffee stencil from The Crafters Workshop. I could have sworn I had a stencil from Unity with a coffee theme, but I could not find it. Maybe I'm mixing it up with a die. Anyone know?!  

I stamped the chicken with Black Amalgam ink on Stampers Select white card stock from Papertrey Ink and colored her up with Copic markers. I found a scrap of Kraft card stock from Papertrey Ink in my stash that I used to ground the chicken. I distressed the edges of my card and the scrap using Vintage Photo Distress Ink. I adhered the sentiment directly to the card and added a couple scraps behind the back of the chicken {head, body & mug} so she'd lay flat on the card.

Copic Markers used:

White: C0, C2

Head / Tail Feathers: Y11, Y15, R22

Curlers: R20, R22, YR68

Glasses: Y11, Y15, Y38

Beak / Feet: YR20, YR16, YR27

Wattles: R20, R14, R27

Mug: BG10, BG34, E21, E18

Ground: E000, E21

My last card is a mix of old and new... I've been cataloging my Unity stamps in Google Sheets. So I finally had an opportunity to mark some of my retired stamps. I use a color system using circle dots. It's a whole thing. Maybe I'll share one day when I get closer to done. Anywho... my whole point was that now that I'm getting to know which stamps are retired, I plan to use them each month for our hop. At least one if I have one that works with our cue... AND I remember. Haha! Because it's also a good chance that these stamps haven't seen ink yet. And that's a shame so I'm going to try to fix that. I paired up the sweet and slightly sassy owl from Strange Bird with the awesome Thinkin' Out Loud stamps.

The pattern paper in my background is from the Rainbow Wishes {paper pack}. I adhered it to a white A2 top fold card base. I stamped the sweet owl from Strange Bird on a panel of white card stock using Black Amalgam ink. I colored up the owl with Copic markers and then decided to add some splatters. So I stamped the bird again on a post it note and fussy cut it making a mask. I die cut the panel using a die from the Postage Stamp {nesting dies}. I used iCraft Pixie tape to tape the edges and applied my mask and then I splattered the background with some Uncharted Marine Distress Ink. I also did a tiny bit of Apple Barrel black acrylic paint. Way more splatters than I intended, but it is what it is!

Copic markers used:

Owl: E21, E23, E25

Beak: YR20, YG15

Hat: Y11, Y15, Y38, G000, G82, YG21, YG91, YG93

Cliff: C0, C1, C3, C5, B95

I wrapped the top corner of the die cut with May Arts Black Burlap String and then tied it into a bow on the bottom corner. I added a bunch of foam tape to the back of the panel and popped it up on the card. And then I stamped the Thinkin' Out Loud word bubble and sentiment on a scrap of white card stock. I used an acetate grid sheet to make sure the sentiment was straight-ish. And then I popped it up on the card {tilted - haha!} using foam tape. I finished the card off with a few pieces of White Glossy Card Bling from A Colorful Life Designs.

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...

... Wilma DeG!! Congratulations, Wilma!!

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

Please claim the prize before March 4th, 2026. 

Well, that's it for me this time! I sure hope you'll hop along and enjoy some more inspiration! I can't wait to see how our friends 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 ---> Amber

Jenni

Rachel

Toni

Doreen

Dawn

Thanks so very much for supporting our little hop!

We appreciate you so much!!

Inky Hugs,

Crystal