Membership Monday ~ May 2022 UU You've Got You ~ Unity Stamp Co.

 Hello there crafty friend!

I am back with another Membership Monday post featuring the beautiful Uniquely Unity membership from Unity Stamp Co. The May 2022 Uniquely Unity stamp called You've Got You is a fabulous silhouette stamp!! I had a fun idea to see how it would look with white embossing and black embossing... kinda like a black vs. white embossing showdown. LOL!

Now in retrospect I kinda wish that I had heat embossed with white on black card stock. The white get's lost on the white card stock. I think if I had heat embossed with white on black it would be more prominent. But at the same time the ink blending would have been totally different. Maybe if I have time I'll give it a try for another day.

I just love these colors ink blended together! Even the colors left on the stencil reminded me of a beautiful sunset. I ink blended Saltwater Taffy, Seedless Preserves and Chipped Sapphire Distress Oxide inks for this one.

Unfortunately, I only have one black embossing powder in my stash and that's a very old one from Stampin' Up that's honestly contaminated with glitter and bits of this and that. If you have a wonderful detailed black embossing powder please enable me... I definitely need to get some!!

The color combo on this one reminds me of water. I desperately need to clean my blender brushes but I was so excited that I finally found them in a box that I recently unpacked so I couldn't wait to use them!! It's been so frustrating using one little blending brush for all my colors. I was not looking forward to trying to do that with all the colors I used for these two cards. The struggle is real! LOL!

Here you can see some of the shine of the white embossing on the card front. I really had planned for these cards to be no layer cards, but I always seem to forget how much heat embossing can warp card stock. So after melting the embossing powder for both of these I had to change my plan and cut the card front to slightly smaller panels and adhere them to white A2 top fold card bases.

I wanted to go with a smaller print for the sentiment so the ink blending and silhouette image could be the focus. I chose one of the cute birthday sentiments in the Aging Gorgeously {July 2020 Sentiment Kit}. It's simply stamped with Gina K. Designs Black Amalgam ink. 

You can check out my process video for these cards here... Membership Monday | May 2022 Uniquely Unity You've Got You | Unity Stamp Co.

Such a beautiful stamp! I'm seriously having a hard time deciding which card I like more... do you have a favorite?! I love how bold the black is on the first card but the pop of white on the second card is so striking! I don't know that I can pick. Let me know in the comments which is your favorite. You can check out the Uniquely Unity membership over at Unity Stamp Co.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

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{BYSHC} Sketch Challenge 22 ~ Bunny Sweetness ~ Unity Stamp Co.

 Hello there crafty friend!

I'm back with my weekly Christmas card and this time I used a really cute stamp that I just discovered on the Unity website not too long ago. It's amazing to me how many stamps Unity has... that even after shopping and perusing the website for six plus years, I am still discovering stamps I've never seen before. This cutie has been waiting patiently on my desk for a while and I just couldn't wait to ink it up!! It's the Bunny Sweetness stamp from Unity! And it's on sale during their amazing Birthday Sale!! 

I wanted to go with traditional Christmas colors with just a pop of pink. I paired up the stamp with the Simple Vintage Country Christmas papers from Simple Stories. 

Keeping with my traditional Christmas color theme of green and red I also wanted to go with a more traditional paper. I thought the plaid was a great backdrop for the bunny and the polka dots worked well with the polka dots in the bunnies clothes.

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

Bunny ~ W00, W1, W3, W5, R00, R01, R20

Bunny's Clothes ~ RV10, RV21, RV14, C00, C2, YG11, G24

Candies / Holly ~ C00, C2, R20, R14, R27, YG11, G24, G46

Blanket ~ C00, C2

I fussy cut the bunny leaving a tiny white border around the image. I stamped the sentiment on a scrap of white card stock and then trimmed it with a little flag on the right side. I adhered the sentiment to the back of the fussy cut bunny and then popped them both up with foam tape. To break up all that empty space in the top right corner I added a couple red enamel dots from the Cozy Flannel Gloss enamel dots from Gina Marie Designs. I think these tie in all the polka dots with the bunny's clothes and the papers.

Here's a look at the {BYSHC} Sketch 22 for the month of May!

I hope you'll join us and play along with the sketch! 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'll be back next Friday with my regular weekly Christmas card using this fun sketch!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky hugs,

Crystal

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Quick Birthday Card Set ~ 2-Step Wreath ~ Unity Stamp Co.

 Hello there crafty friend!

Today I'm sharing a quick set of birthday cards that I made using the new 2-Step Wreath from Unity Stamp Co. I've been in serious need of birthday cards lately and I thought this wonderful stamp set would be perfect for some quick cards... and I was SO right!

I thought about making them all the same but I wanted to play with some different colors and see what I liked more. I chose 4 green distress oxide inks along with a purple, a yellow, a pink, and a red.

For my first card I used Bundled Sage and Shaded Lilac Distress Oxide inks. My card stock mat is Almost Amethyst from Stampin' Up.

For my second card I used Mowed Lawn and Mustard Seed Distress Oxide inks. My card stock mat is Dandelion Delight from Stampin' Up.

For my third card I used Twisted Citron and Worn Lipstick Distress Oxide inks.

My card stock mat is Pretty in Pink from Stampin' Up.

For my last card I used Rustic Wilderness and Festive Berries Distress Oxide inks. My card stock mat is Real Red from Stampin' Up.

I stamped the leaves first with the green inks and then stamped the flowers with the other colors. I stamped the sentiment from the Hello Sweetheart Bouquet {May 2020 Sentiment Kit} with Black Amalgam ink from Gina K. Design. I trimmed the card fronts to 3-13/16 x 5-1/16" and then I mat them with coordinating colors of card stock measuring 4 x 5-1/4". I adhered the panels to white A2 top fold card bases. Super simple cards that could be jazzed up with ribbon, enamel dots, or rhinestones. But I think they turned out pretty just how they are.

You can check out my process video for these cards here... Quick Birthday Card Set | 2-Step Wreath | Unity Stamp Co.

Unity's huge Birthday Sale is still happening!! Head over to Unity and see all the fab new releases... including the 2-Step Wreath!! That's it for me today... I'll be back tomorrow with my weekly Christmas card.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

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Membership Monday ~ May 2022 BOM Around We Go ~ Unity Stamp Co.

 Hello there crafty friend!

I am back with another fun card for Membership Monday!! This time I've played with the new May 2022 Background of the Month called Around We Go from Unity Stamp Co. When I saw this new background the first thing that came to mind was tree rings... so I thought I'd go with an earthy brown and green card with a tree as my focal piece but I still wanted the cool background to shine.

I ink smooshed a 4-1/4 x 5-1/2" piece of white card stock with Tea Dye, Vintage Photo, Ground Espresso,  and Mowed Lawn Distress Oxide inks. I dried it a bit with my mini Wagner heat tool and then set it aside. I stamped the cute tree from the Angie's Tree stamp kit with Vintage Photo Distress Oxide ink on a piece of vellum card stock. I dried it with my heat tool.

Once it was totally dry, I flipped it over and very simply colored up the tree scene with the following Copic markers:

Tree Trunk ~ E35, E59

Leaves ~ YG23, YG17

Hearts ~ R14, R27

Sky ~ B00

Grass ~ YG23

I could have colored up the pretty tree just on white card stock but I love the softness it gives the image when it's colored on vellum. I trimmed the vellum piece to be just slightly smaller than the front of the card base being sure that the tree was on the right side. I die cut the Around We Go background with a circle die from the Additional Circles dies from Waffle Flower. I chose a circle die to compliment the circles in the background. I adhered the background piece over the vellum piece on the card base. I wrapped the front of the card a few times with Ivory May Arts Burlap string and tied a pretty bow. I stamped the sentiment with Wow Clear embossing ink on Close to Cocoa card stock and melted some Alabaster White embossing powder with my Mini Wagner heat tool. I trimmed the sentiment and added some foam tape to the top and bottom of the sentiment and popped it up on the card.

Such a fun background stamp! I just love how my card turned out! You can check out the Background of the Month membership over at Unity Stamp Co.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

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Follow Your Dreams Gnome Matter What ~ Graduation Gnome ~ Unity Stamp Co.

 Hello there crafty friend!

So super excited to share a cute graduation card with the latest gnome... the Graduation Gnome from Unity Stamp Co. This cutie was just released over at Unity for their big 14th Birthday Sale!! Woohoo! I love this time of year! The Unity Birthday sale is always so awesome!!

I started this card by stamping and coloring up the adorable Graduation Gnome. I then die cut him with the largest stitched scalloped die from the Make a Tag {die set} also from Unity. While I had the die out I also die cut a piece of True Black card stock. Since it was the largest die I wouldn't be able to die cut a tag for a mat but I could offset the same size die behind it which gives it some dimension. 

For my background I die cut a piece of white card stock with the Falling Stars {background die} from Unity. My original plan was to actually use the die cut background as a stencil. I blended Squeezed Lemonade, Mustard Seed and Wild Honey Distress Oxide inks in an ombre style blend over the makeshift stencil but I didn't like how bright the background was... there was too much white. It just wasn't right for the card. When I placed the tags on the yellow ink blended star background though... Bam! It popped! So I went with it and set the stenciled background aside for another day. I adhered the star background to a 4-1/4 x 5-1/2" True Black card front.

I used the following Copic markers to color up this adorable Graduation Gnome:

Skin ~ E000, E00, E11

Beard ~ C00, C3

Graduation Cap ~ N1, N3, N6

Tassel ~ Y06, Y15

Shoes ~ N1, N3, N6

Diploma ~ C00, C3, R14, R27

Grounding ~ N1, N3

To tie in the white of the tag I stamped the sentiment on white card stock and cut it so it wasn't quite centered. I used a couple of the die cut stars as an accent. Since they were die cut before I did the ink blending I just dabbed them in the Squeezed Lemonade and Mustard Seed ink pads to give them a little bit of color. I adhered the trimmed sentiment to a slightly larger strip of True Black card stock and then adhered it to the card front. I adhered the black tag to the back of the gnome tag at an offset angle and then I popped up both with lots of foam tape. So cute and I think this card could be made with any combination of school colors for the graduate in your life.

Have you stopped by Unity to check out the fab new releases and amazing Birthday sale? Oh my gosh... so many new goodies! I was able to get a few fun stamps that have been on my wishlist too!! Yay!

Well, that's it for me today... I'll see ya tomorrow with a fun card for Membership Monday.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

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~ Friends of Unity May 2022 Blog Hop ~

 Hello there crafty friend!

It's one of my favorite times of the month... time for the Friends of Unity Blog Hop!! Our cue this month is a fun one! It's similar to a couple of other blog hops that we have done before that were a lot of fun and I even went back and had a look to see the creations we all shared before. I can't wait to see all the new creations shared by our friends today! So let's get to the cue...

... Things with Wings!! Yay! 

This cue has so many possibilities... butterflies, dragonflies, bats, bees, birds, ladybugs, angels, fairies, and dragons. There are SO many things with wings! And Unity has an amazing assortment of stamps just perfect for this cue! So many that I was overwhelmed with what to use! LOL!

And then I saw this cutie for the amazing new release over at Unity! I just HAD to ink these two up from the One Kind Word stamp kit! Normally I wouldn't be a fan of worms but this has got to be the cutest worm ever! And those big eyes on the bird... love him!!

Here's a quick list of the Copic Markers that I used to color up this little scene:

Bird ~ Y06, Y15, BG10, BG01, BG34, E55, C00, C3

Worm ~ R01, RV10, RV21, RV14

Grass ~ YG11, YG23, G24

Sky ~ B0000, B000, B00

I die cut the colored up scene with the new Make A Tag {die set} and then I die cut a cute paper to coordinate with my coloring. I used the pretty Flutter Away {paper pack}... love these gorgeous papers! I trimmed my sentiment and then I placed it on my die and lined up the tag die over both. I used some Washi tape to secure it in place over the sentiment and then I die cut the sentiment too. I cut two 1/8" strips of black card stock and adhered the sentiment along with the black strips to the tag. I die cut the circle in the top of the tag and used my Crop-a-dile to cut out the hole on the pattern paper. This gave me a place to adhere the cute stitched circle die cut. I found some cute ribbons in my stash and tied them off with some twine that perfectly matched the colors in the tag... done! So cute!!

Another fab new release from Unity's big Birthday Sale... the Endlessly Beautiful stamp kit!! I'm a huge fan of the butterfly stamps available at Unity!! I pretty much have to have them all!! This one with the hot air balloon of butterflies is so unique and beautiful. I love it!!

Here's a quick list of the Copic Markers I used for this pretty card:

Clouds ~ B0000, B00

Butterflies ~ V000, V12, V15, V17, Y06, Y15

Basket ~ E51, E35, E39

Background ~ B0000, B00

Here you can see some of the dimension in the card. I popped up the butterfly hot air balloon along with the cloud underneath it and then I also popped up the bottom cloud. I put a scrap of card stock underneath the bottom cloud to give it a tiny bit more height than the hot air balloon. I also popped up the one mostly yellow butterfly! So much pretty dimension on this card!

I blended some Tumbled Glass Oxide ink over the Cloud & Wave Stencil that I had secured over a 4-1/4 x 5-1/2" piece of white card stock. I used three sides of the Cloud & Wave Stencil so that the clouds would be a bit different. I trimmed the cloud background and adhered it to a blue piece of card stock that I had die cut with the largest of the Postage Stamp {nesting dies}. I trimmed the sentiment and mat it with the same blue card stock. I adhered the sentiment and a few clouds to the cloud background. And then I popped up the hot air ballon, a couple clouds and the butterfly as I mentioned above. I adhered the entire panel to a white A2 top fold card base. If I was to remake this card, I would probably use purple card stock for the postage stamp die layer for a bit of contrast to all the blue and I think it would also help the butterflies pop. But all in all... I like how the card turned out.

For my last card I inked up the adorable Delightful Flutterbys stamp kit... I saw a card shared in the Unity Show & Tell a while back and just HAD to add this cute set of stamps to my collection. This adorable Queen bee is so stinkin' cute!! I paired her up with the sweet Little Princess 6x8 paper pad from Simple Stories. I actually remembered to pick out my papers first for this one and decided to color up her crown with yellows to coordinate with the paper so I thought it would be fun to color up the bee pink... I bet there's a bee out there somewhere in the world that would love to be pink! LOL!

Here's a quick list of the Copic Markers I used to color up this adorable pink bee:

Crown ~ Y06, Y15, Y28, RV10, RV21, RV14

Bee ~ RV10, RV21, N1. N3, N6

Cheeks ~ RV10, RV21, RV14

Wings ~ B000, B00, B02

If you follow my blog and/or my weekly Christmas card posts, you may recognize this card design... it's the current sketch for the Build Your Stash Holiday Cardmakers for the month of May. I thought it was the perfect design for a cute little birthday card. I cut my pretty papers and adhered them to a 6x6" card base that I scored at 3". I die cut the ric rac using a die from My Favorite Things and had to cut it in half to fit on the card but it's hidden under the popped up Queen bee. I trimmed up the sentiment and adhered it to a piece of pretty paper from the paper pad. I trimmed up the mat for the sentiment and then adhered it to the card. Woohoo! I really love how this mini slimline card turned out! So cute!

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 package and that lucky winner is...

... Mom2Two (Jenni)!! Congratulations, Jenni!!

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

Prize must be claimed within two weeks. 

Well, that's it for me this time! Please hop along and enjoy some more inspiration from the Friends of Unity... 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! I'll announce the winner next month! ***Google/Blogger is acting weird lately so please include your name in the comments just in case the comment is posted as anonymous we'll still be able to know who commented.***

Let's get to the hopping...

Crystal <--- you're here

up next ---> Amber 

Eileen

Dawn F.

Rachel

April

Bobbie Sue

Colleen

Kim

Joyce

Dawn B.

Robyn

Thanks so very much for supporting our little hop!

We appreciate you!!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

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{BYSHC} Sketch Challenge 22 ~ Christmas Cookies ~ Tim Holtz

 Hello there crafty friend!

I'm back with my weekly Christmas card using the current sketch over at the Build Your Stash Holiday Cardmakers Facebook group and this time I'm using some very neglected Tim Holtz products in my stash. As I've mentioned here and there, I'm still slowly unpacking my studio and I reorganized my pattern papers last week. Woohoo!! Now I know what is where and can find what I need more easily! YAY! I was also tickled pink to find my Tim Holtz Christmas papers! I set them aside to make a future card... while I was cleaning off my desk I found the super cute Christmas Cookies dies from Tim Holtz that my sweet and awesome friend, Robyn, gave me for Christmas. Thanks, Robyn!! It was just natural to use these adorable dies with the papers I had set aside.

First I decided I wanted to use the cute snowflake cookie... so I looked through all the pretty papers in the Tim Holtz 8x8" Christmas Paper Stash paper pad and chose two papers. There's just something about plaid for Christmas!! Love the pretty colors in this plaid paper!! I also chose the snowflakes to kinda coordinate with the snowflake cookie.

I cut my pattern papers and adhered them to a True Black card front measuring 6-1/2 x 3-1/2". I also cut a 1/8" strip of True Black card stock from Papertrey Ink and adhered it over the spot where the two pattern papers meet. I adhered the card front to a 6-1/2 x 7" white card base scored at 3-1/2".

I set the card aside and die cut the snowflake cookie. I die cut the cookie base two times from Crumb Cake card stock from Stampin' Up. I colored around the edge of the cookie base with E35 and then blended it with E51. It made the edge a bit darker than I had wanted but I still used it. I die cut the light blue frosting three times from Soft Sky card stock from Stampin' Up. I colored around the edge with BG000 and BG0000. I die cut the snowflake from Stampers Select white card stock from Papertrey Ink four times. I wanted the snowflake to be raised even more than the frosting. I colored the edge of the snowflake with just a tiny bit of C00 and C2. I ended up adding back some white with a Sakura white gelly roll pen.

I adhered all the layers of the cookie together... it's so cute and looks just like a yummy cookie! LOL!

Now I did plan to add some Glossy Accents to the frosting but totally forgot to do that before I took photos so just imagine it's all glossy and shiny and delicious looking!! The sentiment is a Tim Holtz Idea-ology Christmas Remnant Rubs that I applied over a scrap of True Black card stock. This was basically a sentiment sticker that you peel the back off of and use the little stick and rub it on. I've had these in my stash forever and just now finally used one. It's very easy to use and super cute! I trimmed the sentiment and adhered the left side to the bottom of the snowflake cookie and then popped up both the sentiment and cookie with foam tape. Cute!!

Here's a look at the fun {BYSHC} Sketch 22 for the month of May!

I hope you'll join us and play along with the sketch! 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'll be back next Friday with my regular weekly Christmas card using this fun sketch!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky hugs,

Crystal

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