Making a Fun Background ~ That's a Wrap ~ Unity Stamp Co.

Hello there crafty friend! 

Today I'm sharing a fun holiday card I made with the awesome new That's a Wrap stamp from Unity. 

I love this new ribbon stamp! It would be great with pattern papers, too! I thought I'd make a fun background since we have the Creating a Background Challenge going in the Unity Show & Tell Facebook group... why not play along with a fun holiday card!

You can check out my process video here... Making a Fun Background | That's a Wrap | Unity Stamp Co. or click on the video below.

A little ink smooshing, ink blending, ink swiping, water spatters, and water stamping, plus regular stamping all happening to create this background. SO fun to  make! I used the beautiful Linen background stamp and Christmas Over Again background stamp. And I used Candied Apple, Lumberjack Plaid and Barn Door Distress Inks.

I stamped the beautiful That's a Wrap ribbon and sentiment on white card stock. I colored the shaded parts of the ribbon with a little Copic marker {C0 and C2}. I die cut the sentiment using a tag die from the Scalloped Tags die set. I fussy cut the ribbon leaving a white border. I share a fun trick for cutting inside the loops on my video.

It's like the card is a gift! I just love how this whole card turned out. Hope you've been inspired to play along with the Creating a Background challenge. We'd love to have you join in the fun! 

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Inky hugs,

Crystal

Snow Day ~ Mini-Remix Winter ~ The Greeting Farm

 Hello there crafty friend!

Today I 'm sharing a sweet snow day card. A fun no layer card using stencils from my stash and cuties from a sweet Mini-Remix stamp set.

I'm continuing to use some of my TGF stash that has yet to see ink and these two cuties from the Mini-Remix Winter stamp set caught my eye. So I thought I'd make a fun wintry card for them. Unfortunately, these cuties aren't currently on the website. But if you'd like to add this sweet stamp set to your collection, you can check out the Farmers Market and submit a request via email... maybe it'll be available for the next Farmers Market. Fingers crossed!

First I created a fun background using Christmas Tree Edger stencil and a fun Heartflakes stencil from A Colorful Life Designs for my scene that were both placed over a fun Watercolor Wash Rectangle stencil from My Favorite Things. I just used residual ink on my brushes for the blue of the sky and green for the trees. I went around the edge of the watercolor wash stencil with a tiny bit of Hickory Smoke distress ink. Once the background was dry, I spattered some white acrylic paint for my snow. 

I inked up this sweet couple with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and colored them up with Copic markers. I fussy cut them on the line and then I used a Memento Tuxedo Black marker to color the edges of my fussy cutting. This makes the fussy cutting look nice and neat. I adhered both of them directly to the card and then I added a bit of a shadow underneath them with the C2 Copic marker.

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

Skin: E000, E00, E21, R00, R20

Anya's Hair: E70, E71, E77

Anya's Hair Barrette: RV10, RV02, RV14

Anya's Scarf / Boots: BV00, BV02, BV17

Anya's Sweater: RV10, RV02, RV14

Anya's Skirt: N2, N4, BV00, BV17

Ian's Hair: Y21, E43, E44

Ian's Coat: BG10, BG34, C0, C2

Ian's Shirt: B000, B00

Ian's Jeans: B93, B95, B97

Ian's Shoes: N2, N4

I stamped the sentiment from the Snow Day stamp set. I thought it worked well for my snowy scene. I trimmed it and adhered it directly to the card. I sure hope I've inspired you to get inky! Have a wonderful day!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

~ Friends of Unity November 2025 Blog Hop ~

Hello there crafty friend!

It's time for our Friends of Unity Blog Hop!! This month's cue is another fun one! 

Our cue this time is Creating a Background! So fun! And even more fun because we're hosting another fun challenge in the Unity {Show & Tell} Facebook group! Be sure to hop along with us to see inspiration for the challenge. I sure hope that you can play along with us. Three lucky winners will each win a $25 gift card to Unity! Yippee!!

For my first card I created a fun wintry background for the new deer stamps from the November 2025 KOM called Tinsel, Toasts & Truth (the website should be updated with the new KOM on Monday). It's also available separately in the Where Treetops Listen stamps. 

I started the background by ink smooshing Salty Ocean Distress Ink. And then I swiped the ink pad down the card front leaving fun streaks of ink. I dried the panel with a heat tool. And then I heat embossed the Grit & Glint Snowflake background stamp using white pigment ink and white embossing powder. Such a fun background! It was hard to cover any of it up. 

I had used this technique back in August with the fun Ghastly Gourds stamp. It's a really quick way to add color to your background. You can check out the details for this card here... Have a Spooky Day card. You can see more of the ink smooshed background in this one.

I cut a simple hill from white card stock to ground the scene. I fussy cut the trees and deer leaving a white border around them and adhered them to the card. And then trimmed the sentiment and adhered it too. Love how this turned out!

My second card also has some ink smooshing. Ink smooshing is my go-to technique for backgrounds! This time I used Candied Apple and Lumberjack Plaid Distress Inks. Once I was happy with the ink smooshing, I blended some more Candied Apple over the panel to cover all the white spots. I did a bit of water spatters by spritzing some water in the palm of my hand and clapping over the panel. I dried the panel completely with a heat tool.

 And then I did some stamping! I stamped the ink smooshed background with the Linen background stamp using Candied Apple Distress Ink. Can you see the texture in the background? I love it! I then stamped the background with the Buffalo Plaid background stamp using Black Soot Distress ink. I love the technique of using two background stamps together. I've shared some fun cards with this technique in the past. You can check them out here... Fun with Background Stamps {there's also a video}. I die cut the background using the largest die from the Scallops & Rectangles {nesting dies} and adhered it to a black A2 card base.

I stamped the cute Santa from The List Guy stamps and colored him up with Copic markers. I fussy cut him on the line {except around the fur trim and pom pom where I left a white border}. I adhered Santa to the card covering up the edge of the scallops on the bottom right corner. To finish off this card, I heat embossed the sentiment, trimmed it and adhered it to the card.

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

Skin: E000, E00, E11

Beard / Mustache / Fur Trim / Pom Pom: C0, C2

Hat / Coat: R20, R14, R37

Belt: N0, N2, N4

Buckle: Y11, Y15, Y28

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...

... Meghan Kennihan!! Congratulations, Meghan!!

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

Please claim the prize before November 26th, 2025. 

Well, that's it for me this time! Be sure to hop along and enjoy some more inspiration from our friends! I can't wait to see how they all 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 ---> Doreen

Amber

Jane

Dawn

Toni

Rachel

Jenni

Joyce

Thanks so very much for supporting our little hop!

We appreciate you so much!!

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

{BYSHC} Sketch Challenge 62 ~ Joy of the Season ~ Gina K. Designs

Hello there crafty friend!

I'm back with one last card for the {BYSHC} Sketch Challenge 62 hosted in the Build Your Stash Holiday Cardmakers Facebook group! Celebrating Blue Christmas with this one! My mom loved that song by Elvis Presley. She played it all the time! So naturally, I love it because it reminds me of her.

Anywho, I had a lot of fun making this card! I started by heat embossing the beautiful trees on white card stock with white pigment ink and white embossing powder. I wanted to be sure the trees would stay a nice, bright white. The beautiful trees and deer are from one of my favorite Gina K. Designs stamp sets, a collaboration with Simon Says Stamp for STAMPtember back in 2018 called Joy of the Season. Good news though... the trees are available in the Tall Pine stamp set. I don't see the same deer on the website but there's a pretty deer silhouette in the Holiday Silhouettes stamp set and a similar one in the Season's Greetings stamp set.

Once my trees had cooled off, I started ink smooshing with Salvaged Patina, Chipped Sapphire and Black Soot Distress Inks. It's not super easy to ink smoosh with heat embossed images. The raised images tend to keep the paper from reaching the ink pools, so I do tend to do more ink and a bit more water so the pool of ink is a little deeper. Once I was happy with the ink smooshing, I started blending with the inks until I was happy with the background. Lastly, I spattered the background with white acrylic paint that I thinned with a spritz of water. And then I ended up trimming the background way down to fit the sketch. That actually hurt after all that work on the background. But I made another background and adhered it to a black A2 card base. I trimmed the tree panel into three segments following the design of the sketch and adhered it to a black mat. I popped it up on the card base with foam tape.

I heat embossed the sentiment from the Christmas Cheer stamp set on black card stock again with white pigment ink and white embossing powder. I die cut it using the coordinating Christmas Cheer die set, and then I popped it up on the card with foam tape. I stamped the pretty deer using the three distress inks. I started with the lightest, Salvaged Patina, and worked my way down with the Chipped Sapphire and then Black Soot inks. Hint: to keep from getting harsh lines between your inks use a blending brush along the edge of the ink on your stamp. It's a wonderful way to stamp silhouette stamps!

Here's a look at {BYSHC} Sketch Challenge 62 for the month of October. 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

Happy Halloween Everyone ~ Trick or Treat 2 ~ The Greeting Farm

 Hello there crafty friends and Happy Halloween Everyone! Today I'm sharing one last Halloween card with you all before the big day tomorrow! 

I went a little nuts with this one building a fun scene using stamps and a digi stamp set. I inked up a few fun trick or treaters using the Trick or Treat 2 and Trick or Treat 3 stamp sets. Unfortunately, I don't see either of these sets on the website currently. But if you'd like to add either of them to your collection, you can check out the Farmers Market and submit a request via email... maybe they'll be available for the next Farmers Market. Fingers crossed! If you don't want to wait, you can check out the Trick or Treat 4 digi stamp set and/or the Trick or Treat 5 digi stamp set. Lots of fun trick or treaters in these sets!

I inked up the adorable trick or treaters with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and colored them up with Copic markers. I fussy cut them on the line and then I used a Memento Tuxedo Black marker to color the edges of my fussy cutting. This makes the fussy cutting look nice and neat. I adhered a couple of them behind the scene and popped up the others with foam tape.

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

Skin: E000, E00, E11

Brown Hair: E51, E23, E25

Green Hair: YG00, YG11, YG23

Mouths: R00, R14

Ghost: YG00, YG11

Moon Bucket: V12, V06, Y11, Y15

Monster: C0, C2, V000, V12, V06, YG00, YG11

Wonder Woman: Y11, Y15, Y28, R00, R14, R37, B00, B02, B28

Scientist: C0, C2, N2, N4, YR20, YR15, V000, V12, V06

Glass Beaker: YG00, YG11, C2

Batman: N0, N2, N4

Clouds: C0, C2

Moon: Y11, Y15, C2

Tree: E23, E57, E18

Pumpkin: YR20, YR15, YR68, Y11, Y15

Bush: YG11, YG23, YG67

House: N0, N2, N4, E21, E23, E25, R00, R14, R37, V12, V06, Y11, Y15

I inked smooshed my background with Stormy Sky, Chipped Sapphire, and Seedless Preserves Distress Inks. I then blended over the background with Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink. I trimmed the background to 6-3/4 x 4-3/4" and then I blended some Black Soot Distress Ink around the edges. I adhered a strip of black card stock across the bottom and then adhered the background to a black A7 card measuring 7 x 10"; scored at 5". I combined a few digis from the Halloween Nite digi stamp set to create my scene.

The fun sentiment is a digi stamp from the Hallo Sentiments digi stamp set. I printed it off with the other digis, trimmed it, and popped up the sentiment with foam tape to finish this one off. A spooky cute Halloween card for my stash! I sure hope I've inspired you to get inky!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

~ Friends of Unity October 2025 Blog Hop ~

Hello there crafty friend!

It's time for our Friends of Unity Blog Hop!! This month's cue is SO MUCH FUN because you're all invited to play along with us! 

The Friends of Unity are hosting a fun Fall themed Color Challenge in the Unity {Show & Tell} Facebook group!! Yay! I sure hope that you can play along with us! One lucky winner will win a $50 Store Credit to Unity!! Wow! What an awesome prize!

I went a little crazy making cards, but I'm only sharing two today. I didn't want to have the worlds longest blog post today! LOL! Anywho, I created a fun background using the Geometric Leaves stencil from A Colorful Life Designs. I blended Carved Pumpkin, Candied Apple and Gathered Twigs Distress Ink over a Kraft card front measuring 4-1/4 x 5-1/2". I trimmed it to 4 x 5-1/4" and wrapped it with three pieces of natural May Arts burlap string. And then I adhered it to a Kraft A2 top fold card base.

I stamped the super sassy chicken from the October 2025 Uniquely Unity membership called Don't Cluck with My Coffee! I'm just tickled with this stamp. I showed Angela a fun meme and asked for this stamp and voila! Love it! I couldn't wait to ink her up! I die cut the sassy chicken using a die from the Make a Tag {die set}. I chose to do it at an angle since the stencil I used had a geometric theme. I also die cut a mat from Kraft card stock using the largest die from the set.  

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

Chicken: E21, E23, E25

Eyes: C0, C2

Waddle: R00, R14, R27

Beak / Feet: YR21, YR15, YR27

Curlers / Tail Feathers: Y11, Y15, YR15, 

Cup: Y11, Y15, Y28, E23, E25

Glasses: Gold Uni-ball Gel Pen

This sassy chick is also available as a one-time purchase if you're not interested in signing up for the membership. I once again couldn't decide on a sentiment so I ended up using two. Both of them are die cut using dies from the Scalloped & Stitched Sentiment Nesting Dies. The chicken panel and the sentiments are all popped up on the card with foam tape.

For my second card I did some ink smooshing and blending. I used Carved Pumpkin, Candied Apple, and Gathered Twigs on Kraft card stock. I blended a bit more of the orange and red here and there until I was happy with the background. And then I dried it completely with a heat tool.

I prepped the card stock with anti-static powder and then inked up the beautiful Array of Fall stamps with clear embossing ink. I sprinkled the wet ink with my really old gold embossing powder from Stampin' Up. It worked really well. It's SO shiny! I love the gold on these background colors! I also heat embossed the sentiment.

I couldn't find any gold card stock in my stash so I had to make my own mat by embossing the edges of a 4 x 5-1/4" piece of Kraft card stock. It's not perfect but I like the texture in it.

I smooshed my Candied Apple and Carved Pumpkin Distress inks on acrylic blocks and added some more color to the flowers using a water pen. I think it helps the flowers pop just a bit more. I adhered my layers onto a dark brown A2 card base. What do you think of the heat embossed gold on this one? Too much? I'm kinda liking it.

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...

... Denise Bryant!! Congratulations, Denise!!

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

Please claim the prize before October 29th, 2025. 

Well, that's it for me this time! Be sure to hop along and enjoy some more inspiration! I can't wait to see our friends makes for the Color Challenge! I'm 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! AND there's an additional giveaway on Dawn and Amber's blogs so be sure to hop all the way through to the end to see all the details on their blogs.

Let's get to the hopping...

Crystal <--- you're here

up next ---> Toni

 Dawn

 Jenni

Doreen

Jane

Rachel

Kari

Amber

Thanks so very much for supporting our little hop!

We appreciate you so much!!

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

One Of A Kind ~ One Of A Kind Big Kit ~ The Greeting Farm

 Hello there crafty friend!

 Today I'm sharing a sweet card featuring one of the cuties from the One of a Kind Big Kit from The Greeting Farm! How stinkin' cute is this sweet bean dressed up as an owl?! Love her! It's not currently available in the store but you can always request it in the Farmers Market. 

I heat embossed the cute little flower with white pigment ink and white embossing powder on white card stock. And then I did a bit of ink smooshing and blending with Kitsch Flamingo, Picked Raspberry, and Festive Berries Distress Ink on a white card front. 

I inked up the owl bean and another flower with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and colored them with Copic markers. I fussy cut her on the line and then I used a Memento Tuxedo Black marker to color the edges of my fussy cutting. This makes the cutting look nice and neat.

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

Skin: E000, E00, E11

Hair: Y11, E43, E44

Owl: W0, W2, W3, W5

Owl Beak: YR20, YR15, YR27, N2, N4

Owl Eyes: YG00, YG21, YG11

Flower: RV10, RV02, Y11, Y15

I die cut the ink smooshed panel with a pretty rectangle die from Poppy Stamps called Double Stitch Scalloped Rectangle Frames. I masked the top portion of the sentiment because it wouldn't all fit and then I stamped the sentiment with the Festive Berries Distress Ink.

I popped up the cutie bean with foam tape. I hope I've inspired you to get inky! Have a wonderful day!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

Thanks ~ Miss Anya with Love ~ The Greeting Farm

 Hello there crafty friend!

Today I'm sharing a sweet thank you card featuring Miss Anya from the recently released Miss Anya with Love from The Greeting Farm! 

I paired up the beautiful Miss Anya with some pretty papers in my stash called Painted Crush from Ink N' Splatter. I've been pretty good about picking out my papers first and then coloring my stamped images but I colored this one first. So I found myself searching through my papers to find something that would work and I think these papers work very nicely.

I inked up Miss Anya with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and colored her up with Copic markers. I fussy cut her on the line and then I used a Memento Tuxedo Black marker to color the edges of my fussy cutting. This makes the cutting look nice and neat.

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

Skin: E000, E00, E11, R00, R20

Hair: Y21, E43, E44

Heart: R20, R14

Dress / Shoes: B000, B00

Brick: E11, E15, E97, E09

I die cut a circle from white card stock using a die from the Scallops & Circles {nesting dies} from Unity. It was a little too much white space behind Miss Anya so I blended some Kitsch Flamingo Distress Ink focusing on the center of the circle and leaving white space around the outer edges. I adhered Miss Anya to the circle, along with the sentiment that I colored with R20 and R14. I popped up the circle and Anya with foam tape.

I finished off the card with a few glittery purple enamel dots. I love the touch of glitter and a bit more purple. I hope I've inspired you to get inky! Have a wonderful day!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

Inky Paws Challenge 241 ~ Sunny Days Theme Challenge {Week 1}

 Hello there crafty friend!

Who's up for a new challenge?! It's time to get our paws inky with a fun theme challenge! I always love the theme challenges! So many possibilities! You have until Friday, June 27th to get your entries in for the #241 Sunny Days Theme Challenge and a chance to win a $20 store credit to Newton's Nook Designs!

Inky Paws Challenge #241 - Sunny Days

I am SO excited to see all the fun entries for this challenge!

I started with my background for this card. I blended some Vintage Photo Distress Ink using the edge of the hill stencil from the Hills & Grass Stencil. I traced the edge of the hill on a scrap of card stock, I cut the edge and used it to mask the hill and then I was able to blend my sky with Tumbled Glass Distress Ink. I blended a little bit of Salty Ocean Distress Ink for an illusion of water. I blended some white pigment ink over the clouds from the Petite Clouds Stencil for my sky.

I die cut the panel using the largest die from the Frames & Flags Die Set. I adhered my panel to a Kraft A2 card base. You can't have a sunny day without a sun... so I die cut a cute sun using the sun die from the Sky Scene Builder Die Set.

Now that my background was ready, I stamped a bunch of images from the Summer Moments Stamp Set. So many cute images to play with! I inked them up with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and colored them up with Copic markers. I die cut all of the images using the coordinating dies from the Summer Moments Die Set. I adhered all of the images to my background. I stamped, trimmed and adhered the sentiment to finish it off.

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

Skin: E000, E00, E11

Hat: E00, E53, BG000, BG10, BG15

Book: C0, C2, C3

Yellow Towels: Y11, Y15

Striped Towel: C0, C2, Y11, Y15, BG10, BG15, RV10, RV02, RV04

Flip Flops: RV10, RV02, RV04

Shells: RV10, RV02, RV04, BG000, BG10

Sand Dollar: E00, E11

Bag: C0, C2, C3, BG000, BG10, BG15

Suntan Lotion: E11, E04

Sunglasses: C0, C2, C3, RV02, RV04

Sand on the Background: E11, E04

Now it's your turn to get your paws inky with your Newton's Nook Designs products and create a project using this fun theme. Be sure to link up to the Inky Paws Challenge! Can't wait to see your projects!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

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