Jingle All the Way ~ Minkie Jingle ~ The Greeting Farm

 Happy Christmas in July crafty friend!

Today I'm sharing some fun holiday inspiration with a fab mix of clear stamps and digital stamps from The Greeting Farm. The adorable Minkies are putting on a Christmas play and everyone's invited!

This was such a fun card to design. I stamped the adorable Minkies from the Minkie Jingle stamp set and a couple Minkies from the Minkie Christmas stamp set. I colored them up with Copic markers, fussy cut them all on the line, and colored the edges of the fussy cutting with a black marker. While I was fussy cutting, I also cut out the windows on the bus. I wanted some of the background to show through.

I created a fun stage for this production using the table from the Build a Craft Room digi stamp set and the trees from the Happy Winter digi stamp set.

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

Skin: E000, E00, E11

Hair: Y11, E21, E23 

Mouths: R000, R20

Black: N2, N4, N6

Red: R20, R14, R27

Green: YG11, G24, G46

Brown: E21, E23, E25, E57, E29

White: C00, C2

Bus: BG000, BG01, BG72, C00, C2

Star: Y11, Y08

Reindeer Bell: Y08, Y28

Stage: E21, E23, E25, N2, N4, N6

I ink smooshed a fun background using Frayed Burlap and Stormy Sky Distress Inks and then I blended Chipped Sapphire over portions of the panel and Black Soot Distress Ink around the edges. I dried the background with a heat tool and spattered it with white acrylic paint. Once the spatters were dry, I trimmed the panel to 6-3/8 x 4-3/8" and adhered it to a 7 x 5" card base of black card stock.

I'm playing along with the Christmas in July 2025 {BYSHC} Linky Party and I'm so happy that The Greeting Farm has joined us for this event as one of our fabulous Sponsors! Today is the last day to participate so grab your Christmas or wintry stamps and papers and create a brand new card or tag (or any paper project really) to enter in the fun. The linky party closes at 11:59pm PDT. You can check it out at the link above.

I stamped the sentiment, trimmed it, and adhered it to the card. I wrapped the tree with a bit of burlap string for a bit of texture. I had a blast making this card! I hope I've inspired you to get inky!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

Quick Splatter Background ~ Sending Christmas Smiles ~ Unity Stamp Co.

Hello there crafty friend! 

I'm back with one more card for Unity's latest release. I can't get enough of all the sweet holiday stamps!! The Sending Christmas Smiles snowman is just too cute!! I love it!! This cute stamp is also available in photopolymer... {Clearly Unity} Sending Christmas Smiles. I love the options of either red rubber or clear photopolymer!!

I stamped the cute snowman and sentiment using Black Amalgam ink from Gina K. Designs and then I colored up the snowman with my Copic markers. I then fussy cut the snowman on the line, except for his arm. I left a bit of a white border so the arm wouldn't get lost in the dark background.

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

Snowman: C00, C1, C3

Nose: YR21, YR15, YR68

Hat: N2, N4, N6, B000, B00, B91, B23

Scarf: B000, B00, B91, B23

I thought I'd share the card that inspired my card for today. Do you ever CASE your own cards?! CASE stands for Copy And Share Everything. I thought it would be fun to CASE my snowman card from last year. I've been asked several times how I made this card last year so I thought it was a perfect excuse to do it again and record my progress.

This is such a simple card design! I love how quick it comes together! And it's perfect for the big stamps like the new Sending Christmas Smiles snowman and last year's Something About Christmas snowman. It would even work well with The List Guy. The only difference between the two cards, other than the card stock and the stamp, is that I didn't splatter the snowman on the Something About Christmas card.

You can check out my process video for this card here... Quick Splatter Background | Sending Christmas Smiles | Unity Stamp Co.

I adhered all of my layers together and called this one done! Love how this turned out! I hope you have an inkredible day! 

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky hugs,

Crystal

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Membership Wednesday ~ Halloween Card ~ August 2024 KOM Thanks in All the Things ~ Unity Stamp Co.

  Hello there crafty friend!

Today I'm sharing a fun no-layer ink blended Halloween card featuring the cool moon and bats stamp from the August 2024 Kit of the Month membership from Unity called Thanks in All the Things. I think this is my third or fourth card using this awesome kit. It's safe to say that this has been my MOST favorite kit! I love it! I'm just bummed I didn't get to the sweet fawn or the flowers!

I started by ink blending Squeezed Lemonade Distress Oxide ink in a circular motion near the top center of my card base. And then I blended a little Mustard Seed Distress Oxide ink in a circular motion around the lighter yellow. Once I was happy with that blend, I went back over the center a tiny bit more with the Squeezed Lemonade Distress Oxide ink. And then I blended Carved Pumpkin Distress Oxide ink around the rest of the front of the card base. I blended around the yellow just a smidge with Mustard Seed to give it a nice blend with the orange.

I'm playing along with the Color Hues Challenge today! Orange and Yellow are so perfect for a Halloween card! This fun challenge is open until August 29th, if you want to play along! 

I probably should have dried the oxide ink, but I was already late making dinner so I just decided to go for it! I stamped the moon and bat stamp and the sentiment with Black Amalgam ink. I did use an acetate grid to double check my placement for the bats and the sentiment. I quick cut two post-it notes to place over the bats and sentiment and then I went a little nuts with the black acrylic paint splatters.

That was it! A super quick Halloween card... I think it took me 10 minutes tops! AND I still had dinner ready by 6pm. LOL! 

 

Here's a quick look at this month's Kit of the Month membership! LOVE it SO MUCH!!

Well, that's it for me today! I hope you've been inspired to play with your membership stamps! 

Hope you have an inkredible day!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

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Membership Wednesday ~ May 2023 Uniquely Unity and Background of the Month ~ Unity Stamp Co.

  Hello there crafty friend!

Today I'm sharing a mixed media card using the lovely stamp from the wonderful May 2023 Uniquely Unity membership along with the May 2023 Background of the Month membership from Unity. I just had to pair up these two membership kits.

So, yesterday I shared a couple of one layer CAS cards using the Distress Crayon Background technique. Well, I had so much fun with that technique I wanted to play a bit more.

This time I used Spiced Marmalade, Mustard Seed, Fossilized Amber, Wild Honey, and Dried Marigold Distress Crayons for my background. I stamped my background using VersaFine Onyx Black ink.

I added a bit of black acrylic paint splatter to the background. I die cut the background using the second largest die from the Postage Stamp {nesting dies}. These dies were just restocked over at Unity, too! I heat embossed the sentiment. I love how the white pops on the black card stock. 

You can check out my process video here... Mixed Media Card | May 2023 Uniquely Unity & Background of the Month | Unity Stamp Co.

Here's a look at the beautiful Uniquely Unity stamps for May!! So gorgeous! This membership is available for only $16.99. That includes shipping! 

And here's a look at the awesome Background of the Month stamp for May!! Love it! This membership is available for only $18.99. That includes shipping! Included with both of these memberships is a wonderful inspiration sheet with pictures and step-by-step instructions for two cards so you can easily recreate the cards yourself. And now when you sign up you have the ability to pause, skip or cancel your subscription within your Unity account. So awesome!!

That's it for me today! I'll be back next week with inspiration for the May 2023 Whit Kit!! Have you seen this month's card kit! I'm so excited to play!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

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Christmas in July 2022 {BYSHC} Linky Party ~ Up On the Rooftop ~ Brutus Monroe

 Hello there crafty friend!

I'm back for day 5 of the Christmas in July 2022 {BYSHC} Linky Party and today I'm sharing a sweet card using a stamp from return Sponsor Brutus Monroe called Up On the Rooftop!! Oh my goodness... I just love the detail in this beautiful stamp! One of my many weaknesses when it comes to Christmas stamps is Santa stamps and I just love this one! Sadly, I'm not seeing this stamp on the Brutus Monroe website anymore but I did see a whole bunch of fab new releases for Christmas in July!! 

I stamped the image with Memento Tuxedo Black ink on Stampers Select white card stock from Papertrey Ink. I like to use Memento black ink for clear stamps because it's cleans off very nicely. I did use my Stamp Platform to stamp this image... I find sometimes with clear stamps you have to be sure not to have air bubbles under your stamp otherwise the stamp doesn't give you a clean crisp image. It did take me a few tries to stamp this image but boy was it worth it! Love it!

Here's my quick list of Copic markers that I used to color up this sweet Santa card:

Skin ~ E00, E11, E04

Hair ~ C00, C2

Santa Suit ~ C00, C2, R20, R14, R27

Santa's Bag ~ R20, R14, R27, Y35 {ribbon}

Chimney ~ E23, E19

Trees ~ YG11, G24, G46

House ~ E23, E25

Snow ~ C00, C2, C3

Sky ~ B0000, B00, B91, B93, B95, B97, B99

Once I was done coloring I splattered a bunch of white acrylic paint all over the image for some snow. At first I had only done some in the sky for stars but then I got to thinking it's Christmas... who doesn't love a white Christmas?! So I went a little nuts with the snow. But I think it adds to the card!

I die cut a piece of white card stock with the Wonky Stitched Rectangle die from Gina Marie Designs. I then trimmed the Santa panel to fit just inside the wonky stitched lines of the white layer. I adhered the two layers together and then adhered them to a True Black card front measuring 4-1/4 x 5-1/2". I adhered my entire panel to a white A2 top fold card base and set it aside. I stamped the sentiment on True Black card stock from Papertrey Ink with Clear Embossing ink from Brutus Monroe and melted some Alabaster White embossing powder, also from Brutus Monroe. I trimmed it up and popped it up on the card with foam tape. Done! Love it!

Before you leave, be sure to stop by Brutus Monroe to check out the new Christmas in July release!! Woohoo!! And they also have some beautiful Christmas products in their Clearance section! If you haven't already, stop by the Christmas in July 2022 {BYSHC} Linky Party to check out all the wonderful Holiday inspiration being shared!! I am really enjoying all the wonderful creations... so many beautiful cards and so inspiring! I hope you'll join in the fun and play along! Let's build our stash of holiday cards this week!!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

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DIY Pattern Paper ~ De Fleur Daisy {Stamp & Stencil} ~ Unity Stamp Co.

 Hello there crafty friend!

I'm so excited to share my projects with you today!!! I had so much fun making my own DIY pattern paper using the wonderful De Fleur Daisy stencil from Unity Stamp Co.!! I have a lot of pictures to share so I'm going to keep my writing to a minimum. I hope you'll scroll through to the end to see all the pretty cards I made from one 9 x 12" piece of homemade pattern paper.

I die cut the DIY pattern paper with the Make a Tag {die set}. I also used some burlap ribbon that I think I got from Unity but I don't see it on the website anymore. I tied the ribbon with some white baker's twine.

I use the same sentiment for all 5 cards that I'm sharing today. I used a super cute birthday sentiment from the new Extended Celebration {May 2022 Sentiment Kit}. I love all the amazing sentiments in this kit!! The sentiments are all stamped with Sugar Cube Pigment ink from Taylored Expressions on True Black card stock from Papertrey Ink and then I heat embossed some Alabaster White embossing powder from Brutus Monroe.

I used the pretty stitched scalloped tag as a guide for me to cut my own tag card base. You can see my process in creating the pretty DIY pattern paper and I also share how I made the Make a Tag Card here... DIY Pattern Paper | De Fleur Daisy Stencil | Unity Stamp Co.

My next card is a mini slimline measuring 6-1/2 x 7"; scored at 3-1/2". And it uses a 6-1/4 x 3-1/4" piece of the DIY pattern paper.

I added a bit of black metallic thread underneath the sentiment by applying some Tombow Mono Permanent Adhesive and then twisting the thread to make circles. 

I secured it in place even more by popping up the sentiment with foam tape over the thread.

For my next card I die cut a piece of the DIY pattern paper with the largest scalloped stitched rectangle dies from the Scallops & Rectangles {nesting dies} from Unity.

I adhered it to a True Black card front measuring 5-1/2 x 4-1/4" that I then adhered to a white A2 card base measuring 11 x 4-1/4"; scored at 5-1/2".

The sentiment is trimmed and then adhered directly to the card with Tombow Mono Multi liquid glue.

For my fourth card I die cut a piece of the DIY pattern paper with the largest die from the Postage Stamp {nesting dies} from Unity.

I adhered it to a True Black card front measuring 4-1/4 x 5-1/2" that I adhered to a white A2 top fold card base measuring 4-1/4 x 11"; scored at 5-1/2".

I trimmed the sentiment fussy cutting a fishtail for the left side and popped it up on the card with foam tape.

My last card is pretty CAS {Clean and Simple}... I used the leftover piece from the other mini slimline card to make another mini slimline card. 

I adhered the 1-7/16 x 6-1/4" DIY pattern paper panel to a slightly larger True Black mat measuring 1-5/8 x 6-3/8" and then I adhered it to the mini slimline card base {same dimensions as the first mini slimline}.

I trimmed the sentiment. I adhered two scraps of card stock underneath the right side of the sentiment so that it would lay flat on the card and then I adhered the sentiment to the card. Not only does this trick help the sentiment lay flat, it also gives the card a bit of dimension.

Here's a pic of all 5 cards!! I just love how these turned out!!

Here are the supplies I used for the DIY pattern paper:

De Fleur Daisy stencil

Canson XL Watercolor Paper 140lb

Squeezed Lemonade, Mustard Seed, Picked Raspberry, Spiced Marmalade, 

Twisted Citron, Mowed Lawn, and Tumbled Glass Distress Oxide inks

Linen Layering Stencil from Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous

Stitches Layering Stencil from Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous

TE Blender Brushes from Taylored Expressions Purple Tape and Pixie Tape from iCraft Apple Barrel Black Acrylic paint American Crafts Plastic Palette Kid's paint brush Mini Wagner Precision Heat tool

Small Water Spray bottle

I hope I've inspired you to pull out those stencils and get inky!!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

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Stellar Galaxy Birthday ~ Out of This World ~ Polka Dot Orchard

 Hello there crafty friend!

Today is a day of celebration... it's my youngest son's 12th birthday and I thought I'd share the card that I made for him using the Out of This World digi stamp set from Polka Dot Orchard. This fun set is extra special because I designed it from a special illustration that I created for my son's birthday last year. He loved the original design and I think he'll love this one too.

So since I was using a digi stamp I planned out the design in a Word document. I combined and resized all the images, even the sentiment in the same general area. I then print it on copy paper using the Draft print quality so as not to waste a lot of ink to see that the placement of all the images would work for the card design. I had to adjust the images just a smidge, but it looked good. So I copied each of the images and placed them on the same Word document but in the lower portion of the paper so that I would have clean images to color, as well. Now, I knew I was going to make a galaxy background so I did my ink blending before I print my images onto the blended background. I knew the general area of the images thanks to my draft print so on my card stock I blended the Twisted Citron, Salty Ocean, Seedless Preserves, and Black Soot Distress Oxide inks. 

I print my images on the blended background and added some water splatter and some white acrylic paint splatter. I set that aside to dry and did a little coloring on the astronaut, stars and the sentiment.

Astronaut ~ C00, C2, C4, B0000, B000, B00, Colorless Blender

Stars ~ Y02, Y06, Y15, Y35

Sentiment ~ B0000, B000, B00, Colorless Blender

Once my background was dry, I die cut it with an A2 Layers Die from Waffle Flower. I fussy cut each of the stars and the astronaut and cleaned up the edges with a Memento Tuxedo black marker. I then adhered them to the background and trimmed the excess off of the astronaut image. I adhered the background to a black card front measuring 4-1/4 x 5-1/2". I trimmed the sentiment and mat it with a strip of black card stock and then adhered it to the card front. I think it turned out pretty cute.

Here's a look at the whole digi stamp set... so fun! It's on sale now at Polka Dot Orchard!

That's it for me today!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

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Monochromatic Slimline Cards ~ Layering Tulips Stamp & Stencil ~ Unity Stamp Co.

 Hello there crafty friend!

I'm back with a fabulous set of Monochromatic Slimline cards using the gorgeous new Layering Tulips stamp & stencil bundle from Unity Stamp Co. Oh my gorgeousness... you have got to check out this amazing bundle!! The Slimline Layering Tulips is a huge and beautiful stamp all on it's own, but when you combine it with the fabulous Layering Tulip stencil... it's a game changer!! Seriously amazing!

Check out this fun set of Monochromatic Slimline birthday cards that I made using the Slimline Layering Tulips stamp and the Layering Tulip stencil!! They turned out better than I even imagined!!

First I chose four main colors of card stock and the coordinating inks, along with four more slightly darker card stocks and inks to compliment the cards. For this first card, I used Lemon Tart card stock and ink along with the Summer Sunrise card stock and ink. I stamped the Slimline Layering Tulips stamp with the Lemon Tart ink on the Lemon Tart card stock.

I then blended Lemon Tart ink over the petals and leaves portion of the stencil to 'color' the tulips. Such a super easy and fast way to color this huge stamp! Don't pass up this stamp and stencil bundle if you don't like to color... the stencil seriously makes it easy to color without actually coloring!

For my second card I used Sweet Blush and Hibiscus Burst card stocks and inks.

I used the darker inks over the third portion of the stencil to give the tulips some shading and contrast.

I die cut each of the panels with the Essentials Slim Cuts die from PinkFresh Studio.

For my third card I used Aqua Mist and Hawaiian Shores card stocks and inks.

I stamped the sentiments with Wow Clear Embossing ink and then melted Alabaster White embossing powder with a Mini Wagner heat tool. I trimmed the sentiments and used a hexagon punch to cut the flags on the left side.

I splattered the panels with a bit of white acrylic paint that I spritzed with water to thin it out.

For my last card I used Lilac Grace and Amethyst Allure card stocks and inks.

I adhered all the layers together with Tombow Mono Multi Liquid glue.

And then I adhered the 3-1/2 x 8-1/2" slimline panels to slimline white card bases measuring 7 x 8-1/2", scored at 3-1/2". I have a video sharing my process in making these cards. You can check it out here... Monochromatic Slimline Cards | Layering Tulips.

A beautiful set of Monochromatic Slimline birthday cards!! I just love how these turned out!

Be sure to stop by Unity Stamp Co. and check out their fabulous new releases and the current sale!!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

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