~ Friends of Unity July 2020 Blog Hop ~

Hello there crafty friend!

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

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

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

What do you think? Hee hee!! 

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

I colored up the scene with the following Copic markers:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Skin ~ E0000, E000, E01, E11

Hair ~ E50, E51, E53, E55

Halo ~ YG11, G24, G46

Flowers ~ YG11, G24, R0000, R14, R46

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

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

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

I appreciate it so very much!

Let's get hopping...

Crystal <--- you're here

up next ---> Kim

Eileen

Robyn

Dawn F.

Jeanie

Alaine

Joyce

Thanks so much for checking out my blog post!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

~ Friends of Unity June 2020 Blog Hop ~

Hello there crafty friend!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Prize must be claimed within two weeks. 

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

Let's get to the hopping...

Crystal <--- you're here

up next ---> Eileen

Dawn B.

Kim

Robyn

Dawn F.

Amber

Joyce

Thanks so much for checking out my blog post!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

~ Friends of Unity May 2020 Blog Hop ~

Hello there crafty friend!

Today is a fun day for a hop... it's National Scrapbook Day and even though I'm not a scrapbooker... I know all of us cardmakers and scrapbookers have a love of all things crafty!! So what better way to celebrate than with a blog hop!!

Today for our Friends of Unity blog hop we are sharing our Favorite Angie Girl or Guy!! So fun!! And naturally I'm going to start with my favorite kit... the one that got me hooked on Unity Stamp Company in the first place...

Dream of Being!! Isn't she gorgeous! I did a little No Line Coloring with this beautiful girl and I really love how it turned out. I made a video of me coloring and assembling this card, but I don't quite have it edited and ready to go so I will add it here when it's done and also share on Facebook. Until then... here's a list of the Copic markers I used to color this card:

Skin / Lips / Eye ~ E0000, E000, E00, E11, R00, R20, N0, N4, B16

Hair ~ E50, E51, E53, E55, N0, N1, N4, N6

Clothes ~ B0000, B000, B41, Colorless Blender

Cup ~ C00, C1, C3, N0, N1

I just HAD to use the Coffee Lovers paper along with this beauty... they were made for each other! My last little touch was some white enamel dots from Gina Marie Designs. 

Here is the video of the No Line Coloring with the Dream of Being Girl...

My second card is a fun technique that I love to do... Copic Coloring on Kraft card stock!! And again I paired it up with some Unity papers. The Vintage Textiles papers, unfortunately, are exclusive to one of the Whit Kit's... but I just loved the lacy floral paper and had to use it for this card!

I also used the papers to paper piece Jane Girl... she really pops! I added a little shadow to the patterned paper with some warm grey Copic markers. Here's a list of the Copic markers I used on this card:

Skin ~ E0000, E000, E00, E11

Hair ~ E09, E15, E97

Shadow on Shirt ~ W00, W2

Outline ~ B0000, B000

And to finish off this card, I added some Nuvo Gloss White Crystal Drops.

My last card features the absolutely gorgeous Daisy Girl... she's an absolute MUST HAVE for us Daisy lovers!! I love this kit so much!! And she is so much fun to paper piece! I also masked the image and did a little blending with Tumbled Glass Distress Oxide ink over the Wire Basket Stencil by Carta Bella and then a little Tattered Rose over the Mini Sketch Grid stencil by The Crafters Workshop. I love to mix and match stencils... it can change up your background every time!

I used the following Copic markers to color this beauty:

Skin ~ E0000, E000, E00, E11

Hair ~ E00, E11, E23, E27

Blouse ~ R00, R21, R32

Daisies ~ C00, C0, C1, C3, Y06, Y11, Y35

To finish up this card, I added a bit of white gel pen to the dots and also some Nuvo Gloss White and English Mustard Crystal drops. And that's it for me this time!! I hope that you've enjoyed the cards I've shared today!!

A few of my friends are having giveaways this month so be sure to check out all the fabulous creations along the hop and comment on each blog for a chance to win!! 

Thank you all so much for your continued support of our little hop... and for all of your lovely comments! I really, truly do appreciate each and every one of you!

Let's get to the hopping...

Crystal <--- you are here

Eileen

Amber

Bobbie Sue

Kim

Dawn F.

Joyce

Dawn B.

Robyn

Jeanie

Alaine

Thanks so much for checking out my blog post!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

Unity Stamp Company ~ Faith Not Fear ~ Fun with Digi Stamps!

Hello there crafty friend!

Today I'm sharing a card that I created using a couple limited edition digi stamps from Unity, along with a sweet butterfly from the April 2020 Kit of the Month called Hope in Uncertainty. Have you seen the fabulous digi stamps that Unity is offering during these uncertain times of social distancing and self quarantine?! They are absolutely gorgeous and such a crazy low price... you have to go check them out, but first let's check out my card for today.

I was trying to decide on my next card design when I happened to glimpse the Jesus & Germs digi set and then I remembered the gorgeous Faith Not Fear girl that I just created a card with... and BAM! Since these are digi stamps... I could resize the girl to fit in the frame from the Jesus & Germs digi set!! I resized the Jesus And Germs digi in a Word Document to fit almost an entire card front... 5 x 3.93 inches and then I resized the girl to 2.15 x 1.67 inches. I then placed the girl digi inside the frame and print it off. Easy peasy!

Now the fun part... coloring!! I used a whole bunch of copic markers so I'll just list them here:

Skin/Lips ~ E000, E00, E21, R00, R20

Hair ~ E21, E23, E25

Clothes ~ R00, R21

Flowers ~ R00, R21, R22, YR21, YR31, E93, E95, Y02, Y15, YG11, YG23, YG63

Butterfly ~ YR21, E93, E95

Background/Outline ~ B0000, B000

Here's a close up showing the dimension I gave the butterfly. I did this by just adhering the center of the butterfly with some liquid glue and gently folding up the wings.

I die cut the main panel with a stitched rounded corner die from Rubbernecker Stamps. I adhered it to a black card front, wrapped it with black twine, and tied a pretty bow. I then adhered the entire panel to a white card base. To finish off the card I popped up the sentiment that I trimmed and mat on black card stock. This turned out so lovely... I hope you like it too!

Be sure to check out the amazing digi stamps available at Unity for a limited time!!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky hugs,

Crystal

~ Friends of Unity April 2020 Blog Hop ~

Hello there crafty friend!!

It's my favorite time of the month... the first Saturday which means it's time to hop with a few of my friends who share an obsession of Unity Stamps!! Woohoo!

We're doing something a little different this month as you can see from the cue above... we're using this fun and simple sketch to inspire our creations this month!! I had fun making a couple cards to share with you all. Let's check those out...

I absolutely LOVE this sketch!! I just knew the coffee cup image from the new April 2020 KOM called Hope in Uncertainty was going to be perfect with this sketch!! I did turn the sketch here... I love that you can do that with a sketch! I did a little ink smooshing and splatters with Vintage Photo and Ground Espresso Distress Oxide inks on Tim Holtz Distress Watercolor card stock. I dried the panel with my heat tool and adhered it to a card front of True Black card stock measuring 4-1/4 x 5-1/2". I adhered that to a white card base and set it aside.

I colored up this gorgeous coffee cup with the following copic markers:

Cup/Saucer ~ BG01, BG45, BG49

Coffee/Beans ~ E23, E25, E27, E51

Spoon ~ N0, N2, N4

I fussy cut the image and even the two extra beans. I then popped them up on the card using foam squares. I trimmed the sentiment and popped that up on the card, as well. I really love how this card turned out!! 

Now my second card came together very quickly... I recently finished adding all my Itty Bitty stamps to Evernote!!! Celebrate with me!!! Yay!! If you have taken on that task, you have an idea of why I'm so excited! Lol! Anywho, while I was doing that it was like finding old friends... stamps that I HAD to have but haven't used and they've just been waiting to get inked up. This fun stapler stamp from the Keeping it Together set was one of them and I found the sentiment to be very fitting. I struggled a bit this week with the social distancing, quarantine, and the fear that has become associated with the goings on of the world right now and I had some rock star friends help lift me back up... namely the gals in this very hop!! I love and appreciate each one of them so much! So this card was totally created with them in mind!

I followed the sketch design for this one. I did a bit of ink smooshing and splattering with Black Soot Distress ink on this cool patterned paper I found in my stash from Art-C... it doesn't have a name on it, sadly... and I stamped the sentiment directly on the paper. I then adhered the patterned paper to a kraft card front. I set it aside and stamped the stapler with Memento Tuxedo black ink... it took me a long while to decide on a color to color this. My go-to is always turquoise and even though I think it would have looked awesome, I wanted to use another color so I went with a bluish purple. I used BV02, BV04, BV08, C00, C1, C3. I fussy cut the stapler and popped it up on the card front. And then... I had this fun idea to add some staples! Ha! My stapler didn't want to cooperate... it kept jamming, but I showed it who was boss and got it to work. And I love the added touch it gives to the design of the card! Such a fun and seriously addicting sketch to play with! I will definitely be using this sketch again and again.

So, I have a little business to take care of before we get hopping. I need to share my winner from last month's hop and the lucky winner is...

... Michelle Bridgewater!!! 

You have won a sweet and adorable Phyllis Harris stamp called No Bunny Compares !!! Congratulations!!  Please email me at crystalominkler@gmail.com to claim your prize. Prize must be claimed within two weeks.

A few of my friends are having giveaways this month so be sure to check out all the fabulous creations along the hop and comment on each blog for a chance to win!! 

Thank you all so much for your continued support of our little hop... and for all of your lovely comments! I really, truly do appreciate each and every one of you.

Let's get to the hopping...

Crystal <--- you are here

up next ---> Eileen

Dawn B.

Amber

Kim

Dawn F.

Robyn

Jeanie

Alaine

Bobbie Sue

Thanks so much for checking out my blog post!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

~ Friends of Unity March 2020 Blog Hop ~

Hello there crafty friend!!

It's my favorite time of the month... the first Saturday which means it's time to hop with a few of my friends who share an obsession of Unity Stamps!! Woohoo!

This month's cue is Designer's Choice which was so freeing... lol... but then hard to decide what to play with so... I got to thinking we have Easter coming up and Unity just released the latest Sentiment Kit featuring a beautiful Easter Lily!! It was a natural choice!!

So I die cut the stamped image from the Easter Lily Blessings Sentiment Kit with a pretty die called Eyelet Elegance Square from Gina Marie Designs. I then colored the image with the following copic markers:

Lilies ~ C00, C1, C3, Y06, Y15, YG11, YG23

Background ~ V0000, V06

I wanted the lilies to be white so I just used some cool grays to add depth to the already fabulous shading in the stamped image. A touch of yellow to the center of the flower and a bit of bright green for the buds and the leaves. I chose a lovely purple for my background to help make the flowers pop on the card.  

I then found a coordinating piece of purple card stock. I ran it through my big shot with the Wrought Iron Impression Plate from Papertrey Ink. I trimmed it down to 4-1/8 x 5-3/8" and tied a wide organdy ribbon around it with a pretty bow. I adhered it to a white card base and then popped up the main image with foam squares. I trimmed down the sentiment and cut the ends for a banner and adhered it to the card with some liquid glue. I think this turned out lovely.

Once my Easter card was done, I realized that another fun day was soon approaching and it has always been one of my favorite days to make cards for... St. Patrick's Day!! Do you make cards to send for St. Patrick's Day? I know not many people do.

I thought it would be fun to pair some of the brand new Deco Foil Card Fronts by Unity with a couple of fun stamps for some St. Paddy's Day cards!! And how perfect is this adorable owl from the Owl I Do Say Sentiment Kit... he's so cute with his little hat and bow tie!! He paired up so nicely with the Circles A Plenty card fronts!!

And I tied it all together with the cute Happy St. Patty's Button... I stamped this cute stamp four times using Cracked Pistachio Distress Oxide ink first and then Pine Needle Distress Oxide ink second... but I dabbed away some of the Pine Needle ink before stamping to let some of the Cracked Pistachio pop through. I die cut those with a circle die and set them aside.

So back to the foiling... I was able to make four cards using two of the Circles A Plenty card fronts. I ran them through my Royal Sovereign laminator with the beautiful Emerald Watercolor foil. I then blended some Cracked Pistachio and Pine Needle Distress Oxide inks over the foiled card fronts with a blending brush. The ink dulled the foil just a tad but I was able to wipe it off with a cloth and the foil was back to super shiny and beautiful!

Once my foiled card fronts were done, I cut them in half... so I ended up with two pieces measuring 2-1/8 x 5-1/2" and two pieces measuring 4-1/4 x 2-3/4". Fun little accents to add to my cards!!

Now it was time to color up all the adorable owls... I tried not to do them all the same. I wanted each of them to be unique, but I did use similar colors for the hat and bow tie just in different ways.

Here's a run-down of all the copic markers I used for the owl cards:

Owl 1 ~ N0, N1, N2, N5, Y06, Y21, YR15

Owl 2 ~ W00, W1, W3, W5, Y06, Y21, YR15

Owl 3 ~ C00, C1, C3, Y06, Y21, YR15

Owl 4 ~ E000, E00, E21, E23, E25, Y06, Y21, YR15

Hat / Bow Tie ~ Y06, Y15, Y21, Y28, YR15, YG11, G16, G19, N0, N1, N2, N5, N7

Once they were all colored, I die cut them with a stitched rectangle die and set them aside. I thought about using a pretty patterned paper for my backgrounds but I couldn't find one I liked that would work with the Circles A Plenty card fronts so... I decided to do some ink smooshing and splattering!! I used the same two greens I'd used to blend on the card fronts and for the sentiment... Cracked Pistachio and Pine Needle. I ink smooshed by dabbing the Tim Holtz Distress Watercolor card stock into the watered down inks on my Mixed Media Glass Mat. I love that I did this four times for each card and absolutely none of them look the same!! So fun!

I splattered the same two inks onto the card fronts in my splatter box... which is just an old shipping box that I layered a few paper towels in the bottom of the box. I trimmed down the card fronts to 4-1/8 x 5-3/8" and adhered them to a white card base. I then adhered the foiled card front pieces and the main images. And to finish off the cards, I popped up the Happy St. Patrick's Day sentiments with foam squares.

Here's a look at all four of the Owl St. Paddy's Day cards!! Love how they turned out!

Phew! I know that was a lot of photos and info, but I sure hope you've enjoyed my cards and that I've inspired you to get inky!

Before we get to the hop list, I'm having another giveaway this month... I have a sweet and adorable Phyllis Harris stamp called No Bunny Compares to share with one lucky winner!! I'll announce the winner during next month's hop. A few of my friends are also having giveaways so be sure to check out all the fabulous creations along the hop and comment on each blog for a chance to win!! 

Thank you all so much for your continued support of our little hop... and for all of your lovely comments! I really, truly do appreciate each and every one of your sweet comments. 

Let's get to the hopping...

Crystal <--- you are here

up next ---> Eileen

Amber

Kim

Dawn B.

Robyn

Dawn F.

Alaine

Jeanie

Joyce

Thanks so much for checking out my blog post!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal