Throwback Thursday ~ Otter Nonsense with January 2026 KOM ~ Unity Stamp Co.

Hello there crafty friend! 

Today I'm sharing a fun custom birthday card I made using a mix of old and new stamps from Unity. I mentioned on my post earlier this month that I was wanting to start using some of my retired Unity stamps now that I'm getting them cataloged. Might as well start now with a Throwback Thursday post.

First off, I totally CASEd this card from the one I made last month for our Friends of Unity CASEd cue. Here's a link if you want to check it out... Where Butterflies Wait card. 

I used papers from the Oh Hey! It's Your Day {paper pack} for my background layer on a white A2 top fold card base. I stamped the gorgeous flowers from the January 2026 KOM on white card stock and stamped the otter from the retired Otter Nonsense on a scrap of white card stock. I die cut the flower panel using a die from the Scallops & Arches {nesting dies}. And then I got to coloring with my Copic markers.

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

Otter: W0, W1, W3, W5, N1, N3, N5, R00, R20

Pink: RV10, RV02

Red Flowers / Heart: R20, R14

Yellow Flowers: Y11, Y35, R20, R14

Butterfly: BG10, BG01, Y11, Y35

Greens: YG00, YG11, YG23

Background: B000

The awesome sentiment is from the Extended Celebration {Front & Center stamps}. I stamped and trimmed the sentiment and adhered it to the die cut panel and then I added foam tape to both pieces and popped it up on the card. Whatcha think?

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Inky hugs,

Crystal

50th Birthday Card ~ Mix Tape ~ Hero Arts

Hello there crafty friend! 

I made a fun 50th birthday card for my best friend with a touch of gold. 

I used the cool Mix Tape dies from Hero Arts. I wanted to use gold because it represents a 'golden jubilee' milestone, symbolizing success, prosperity, and achievement. And purple is her favorite colors so I had to throw that in there too.

I die cut the '50 Best Hits' using the Alphanumeric Label Thinlits dies from Tim Holtz and Sizzix. The 'happy birthday' sentiment is from the Chic Script Salutations {die set} from Unity.

I ink smooshed a simple background with some Villainous Potion Distress Ink. The background was die cut with the Slash Stitched Rectangle dies from Gina Marie Designs. Such a fun card to make custom for my bestie and she loved it!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Inky hugs,

Crystal

Fall Themed Thank You Cards ~ Friends of Unity Bonus Cards ~ Unity Stamp Co.

Hello there crafty friend! 

So I went a little overboard with the makes for the Friends of Unity Color Challenge in the Unity Show & Tell Facebook group. I'm sharing the rest of my cards today. These are also custom cards that I made for an order. My friend wanted Fall themed thank you cards so these are the three I made for her.

I wanted to play with a new stencil I got from A Colorful Life Designs. It's the Dotted Leaves stencil... so fun. First I ink smooshed Carved Pumpkin and Candied Apple Distress Inks on Kraft card stock. I then blended Gathered Twigs Distress Ink over the stencil. I love it!

I die cut the background using the largest die from the Scallops & Rectangles {nesting dies}. And then I die cut the background with the 'thank you' sentiment from the Say It Big dies {not currently available}. I wrapped a piece of Natural May Arts Burlap String around it and tied a bow. I die cut a piece of dark brown card stock with the thank you die again. I adhered the panel to a dark brown card base and then adhered both of the die cut thank you to the negative space. I probably didn't have to die cut the background but I had intended on leaving that space open. Changed my mind and wanted to give the card some texture with the sentiment raised.

This card is very similar. Instead of using a stencil for the background I stamped the background with the Rustic Foliage BG stamp with Gathered Twigs Distress Ink.

I used the same technique for the sentiment. If I was to make this one again, I think I would use Vintage Photo Distress ink for the BG stamp. The sentiment would probably pop a little more if the brown in the background was a little lighter.

And my third card again is similar. Only this time I ink smooshed on white card stock and I switched out Candied Apple for Lumberjack Plaid Distress Ink. The colors are a little brighter because of the white card stock. 

I stamped the background with the gorgeous Pumpkin Patch {border backgrounds} stamp. I did change this one up and instead of the string, I used a few red enamel dots. These cards were so much fun to make! I sure hope you're inspired to play along with our Color Challenge in the Unity {show & tell} Facebook group. One lucky winner will win a $50 Store Credit to Unity!! And if you need a custom card made, let me know!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Inky hugs,

Crystal

Happy Boo-thday ~ {Boo} to You ~ Unity Stamp Co.

Hello there crafty friend! 

I was asked to make another custom birthday card with a Halloween theme. The focus was a ghost and pumpkin with teal and purple. I think she mentioned orange too but I couldn't quite work that in.

I started with my background. I went looking through my sketches. I keep all of them in a drawer at my desk so I can just shuffle through them and find what peeks my interest and this fun one was perfect so I could use a bunch of different papers. 

Here's the past TOP Inky Inspiration Sketch I used. Isn't it fun?! It's one of my favorites. If you're interested in seeing more inspiration for this sketch you can check it out in my Tawny Owl Paperie Inky Inspiration Facebook group. 

The papers I used are from Ink N' Splatter and they're called Spooky Nights. I don't see them on their website, unfortunately. I used the measurements on the sketch to cut my papers and adhered them to a black A2 card base.

I stamped the adorable ghost from the {Boo} to You stamps with Memento Tuxedo Black ink. This is one of the Clearly Unity stamps that are made from photopolymer. I believe it's also available in red rubber. Actually, that's all I'm seeing on the website. The pumpkin is from the September 2025 KOM called Harvest to Holiday. I colored up the pumpkin with BG10, BG72, BG13, BG75, E21, E25. For the ghost I just used C0, C2 to give it some shading. And for the purple pumpkin I used V01, V06, V09. All of the sentiments in the set are for Halloween so I found a fun font and printed it off of my computer. Easy peasy.

I continued the design inside the card. I stamped the other ghost inside and colored it up with just a few Copic markers. I used V01, V06, V09, YG11, YG09 on the hat; C0, C2 for the ghost; and BG10, BG13 for the little pumpkin. This was such a fun card to make! If you need a custom card made, let me know!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Inky hugs,

Crystal

Frightfully Good Birthday ~ Holidays Are a Nightmare ~ Kindred Stamps

Hello there crafty friend! 

I was asked to make a custom birthday card with a Nightmare Before Christmas theme. I adore Nightmare Before Christmas so this was not a hard task and I had just the stamp set to use. I used the retired Holidays Are a Nightmare stamp set from Kindred Stamps.

I started with my background. I knew that I wanted a black and white card... almost grayscale actually. So I ink smooshed a piece of white card stock with Black Soot Distress Ink. To tame down some of the white in the background I decided to scrape my ink pad across the panel. I did this from both directions all the way across the panel. I really like the added texture it gives to the background. I trimmed it down and adhered it to a black A2 top fold card.

I wanted to include the hill so I roughly drew it with pencil on black card stock and cut it out. I die cut a frame for my little scene using two nesting dies. I wanted a simple moon so I just die cut two circles. If I made this again, I'd probably do with out the mat for the moon. I thought it would make the moon stand out a bit more but I don't think it was completely necessary. I added some splatters to the moon and adhered the hill and moon to the frame.

I stamped the fun characters from Holidays Are a Nightmare and colored them with just a few Copic markers: N0, N2, N4. I fussy cut them on the line and colored the edges with a Memento Tuxedo Black marker. TIP: Be sure to color the edges with a brush tip and do it from the back of the image just in case your marker slips. I adhered Sally and Jack to the card and then popped up Zero with foam tape.

The sentiment was fun to put together for a birthday card. I masked the 'Have a Frightfully Good Holiday Season' by covering 'Holiday Season' with a post-it note when I inked up the stamp. I removed the post-it note and stamped. This took a few times to get a nice crisp sentiment but it was worth it. I die cut birthday two times using the retired Chic Script Salutations {die set} from Unity. I die cut the shadow from white card stock so the sentiment would pop. I added foam tape to the back of the sentiment and popped them up. Such a fun card to make! If you need a custom card made, let me know!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Inky hugs,

Crystal