{BYSHC} Sketch Challenge #9 ~ Sugar Cookie Christmas ~ Prima Marketing

Hello there crafty friend!

Happy Friday!! I am back with my weekly Christmas card and this time I'm using some sweet Vintage style ephemera and papers from Prima Marketing!! My go-to item for any card that I need in a hurry is ephemera... and I couldn't resist the gorgeous Sugar Cookie Christmas collection from Prima Marketing. The soft pinks and blues and those fabulous vintage images... oh my heart!!

Isn't this just precious?! I chose the papers first with the sketch in mind, of course, and then I had to decide which ephemera pieces to use. The 'acme soap' piece was perfect for the slanted focal piece and that deer was an obvious choice since I already had this paper picked out!

I did end up switching around the background papers though. I originally had the deer paper under the focal piece, but you couldn't see any of the deer so I flipped the double sided papers and voila! Love it! I mat the 'acme soap' ephemera piece and the delicate leaves paper with Sweet Blush card stock from Papertrey Ink... coordinates perfectly!! I adhered the mat layers together and then wrapped it with the beautiful Tinsel Trim just taping the ends to the back of the card stock. I added a gorgeous Say It In Crystals embellishment with just a little Ranger Multi Media Matte to help it stick over the Tinsel Trim and then added two more near the top. I popped up the deer ephemera with foam squares. I cut a diagonal on the left side of the Merry Christmas sentiment and added a couple layers of scrap card stock to the bottom portion behind the sentiment so it'll sit flat on the card. All done! I love it!

Here's another look at the fun {BYSHC} Sketch 9. I'll be back next week with another Christmas card using this fun sketch! I hope you'll come check it out.

Speaking of checking things out, drop by the {BYSH} Cardmakers blog... we're featuring a mix of creations shared by the {BYSH} Cardmakers team and a fun card randomly chosen from the challenge entries in the {BYSH} Cardmakers Facebook group.

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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Pattern Paper Scene ~ Spring Mouse ~ Unity Stamp Co.

Hello there crafty friend!

Today I'm sharing a sweet little card using an adorable new release from Unity Stamp Co. called Spring Mouse and I've created a fun little pattern paper scene with one of my favorite paper packs from Unity... Pretty Polka's!! I love polka dots! And the colors in this paper pack are so pretty!! I love them!

The sweet little Spring Mouse and sentiment are stamped with Gina K. Amalgam black ink and heat set with my heat tool. I trimmed the sentiment, mat it on Kraft card stock, and set it aside. I then watercolored the sweet little mouse with ZIG Clean Color Real Brush markers. Once it was dry I trimmed it to 2-5/8" square to fit nicely with the Kraft stitched square mat.

I trimmed a piece of the blue polka dot paper for my sky that measured 4 x 5-1/4" but as you can see in the video below I had to trim it slightly to straighten the focal piece. I had two strips of the green polka dot paper that were roughly 2-1/4" and 2" in height and 4" wide. I die cut the tops of both of these with a Grassy Border die from Lawn Fawn. I adhered all the layers together and then wrapped the burlap string around and tied a little double bow. I adhered the pattern paper scene to a Kraft A2 top fold card base and then popped up the sentiment with foam squares. Such a sweet little scene!

As mentioned above, I have a little video sharing how I created a Pattern Paper Scene for this sweet little mouse. You can check that out here... Pattern Paper Scene | Spring Mouse.

I just adore this sweet new stamp... and such a great sentiment too!

Stop by Unity Stamp Co. and check out all the wonderful new releases... I'm hoping to be back in a couple days with a fun set of cards that I have planned to work on today with another of the new releases!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

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Happy Easter ~ Woodland Cuties {Easter Moose} ~ Polka Dot Orchard

 Hello there crafty friend!

Wishing you a very Happy & Blessed Easter! I'm sharing another quick last minute card featuring another fun Easter digi set from Polka Dot Orchard called Woodland Cuties {Easter Moose}. Digi stamps are the way to go if you need a last minute card! This cute digi stamp is on sale, along with all the Easter digi stamps.

I resized and combined the digi stamps in a Word document and then print them off. Time to color! 

I colored up this cutie with the following Copic markers:

Moose ~ E21, E23, E47, E79, N2, N3, N4, N6, B000, B00, B04

Eggs ~ B000, B00, RV10, R20, G000, G14, Y06, Y11, YR15, YR68, V01, V04

Ground ~ YG17, YG23, G14

Sky ~ B0000, B000

I die cut the colored image with a stitched rectangle die and then layered it on a scalloped die cut piece from the pretty Perfectly Plaid Spring papers by Lawn Fawn. Both dies are from the Blueprints #20 from My Favorite Things. I then adhered my panel to a kraft A2 top-fold card base. To finish up the card I added a few white enamel dots from Gina Marie Design and added a few touches of white gel pen for highlights here and there. I think it turned out pretty cute and it was quick, aside from the coloring of course. That can take time, but it can also be done very simply.

Well, I hope that you have a lovely Easter with your family and friends!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

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~ Friends of Unity April 2021 Blog Hop ~

 Hello there crafty friend!

Welcome to our April 2021 Friends of Unity Blog Hop!! Happy Easter to you all!! I hope that you have a blessed Easter with your family and/or friends. Our hop this month isn't Easter themed, but I think it is spring themed...

Birds & Bees!!

So many possibilities with this cue! I decided to play around with a couple new stamps from the April 2021 Kit of the Month... such a fun-filled kit!! If you have this sweet membership, I just know you're going to love it!

My first card is a simple Distress Oxide blended background with Cracked Pistachio, Mustard Seed, and Picked Raspberry with the beautiful bird silhouettes stamped in black ink. And yes, it's another mini slimline... lol! I am loving this card size so much!

I did a little black acrylic paint splatter over the background too! The sentiment... simply stamped, trimmed and adhered directly on the card... is so awesome!! Such a pretty card and so quick!

My second card features the adorable little chickens from the KOM along with a sentiment from the What's Up stamp set. A simple CAS slimline card with just a little coloring. I used the fun Big and Little Chain Slimline dies from Gina Marie Design. 

I added a bit of black acrylic paint splatter to the kraft card base... it reminds me of a speckled egg! I like the added touch it gives to the card. I used the following Copic markers ~ C00, C2, R14, R27, YR15, E55, and E57.

Well, that's it for me this time! Please hop along and enjoy some more inspiration from the Friends of Unity. I'm sure that some of my friends are having a giveaway so be sure to comment as you hop along. My giveaway wasn't claimed last month so I'm also going to do another giveaway!

Let's get to the hopping...

Crystal <--- you're here

up next ---> Eileen

Alaine

Dawn B.

Colleen

Dawn F.

Rachel

Joyce

Robyn

Thanks so very much for supporting our little hop!

We appreciate you!!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

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Quick Easter Card ~ Purr-fectly Lovely Easter ~ Polka Dot Orchard

 Hello there crafty friend!

Do you have all your Easter cards done? Well... I thought I did, but I found myself in need of a couple more cards. Digi stamps to the rescue!! I found this cutie pie Easter kitty in my files of Polka Dot Orchard digi stamps and knew that I could make a quick mini slimline card pretty quick! 

I resized the kitty from the Purr-fectly Lovely Easter digi set to 2.27 x 5" in a Word document and then inserted the sentiment and resized it to 0.29 x 2.5". Typically when I resize digis I pick the main size I want to focus on... for instance, I knew I wanted to make a mini slimline and have the focus be the cat so I set the height to 5" and the width was automatically adjusted within the program. I hope that makes sense... if you have any questions about working with digi stamps, feel free to ask below in the comments. I'm happy to help!

I printed the digis on a 110lb white card stock... I use Georgia-Pacific Premium card stock. No particular reason except it works well with my printer. I then colored up the kitty with the following Copic markers:

Kitty ~ N0, N1, N3, N6, C00, C2, R20, RV10, YG11, YG25

Bunny Ears ~ R20, R32, RV10

Grass ~ YG11, YG17, YG25, N1, N3

Sky ~ B000, B00 

Since I was going for quick and easy I trimmed the colored panel to 2-7/8 x 5-1/2" and I adhered it to a piece of pretty plaid patterned paper {say that four times fast! lol} rightfully named Perfectly Plaid Spring paper pack by Lawn Fawn measuring 3-3/8 x 5-7/8". For the base, I cut a kraft card stock base to 7 x 6" and scored it at 3-1/2". To finish off the card I added a few pretty enamel dots from Gina Marie Designs. Done! And I think it turned out pretty cute. 

Stop by Polka Dot Orchard and check out their Easter digi stamps!! They are perfect for those last minute cards! I'll be back on Sunday with another cute last minute Easter card.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

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{BYSHC} Sketch Challenge #9 ~ Mittens in Winter ~ Unity Stamp Co.

 Hello there crafty friend!

It's time for a new sketch challenge over at the Build Your Stash Holiday Cardmakers Facebook group and I'm sharing the card I created using the sweet penguin from the Mittens in Winter stamp set along with the Winter Wishes sentiment from the Stay Warm stamp set... both from Unity Stamp Co.

Oh my goodness... isn't that little penguin just too stinkin' cute?! I have had this stamp for quite some time now and I think this may be the first time that I've inked it up! I have to say, inking up all these neglected stamps has really been a surprise benefit to making a Christmas card a week.

I colored the adorable penguin with the following Copic markers:

Penguin ~ W00, W2, YR15, YR68, N1, N3, N6

Hearts ~ R14, R21, R27

Hat / Mittens ~ RV21, RV23, C00, C2, B0000, B00

Sky ~ B0000, B00

Snow ~ BG0000, BG000

And finally here's a look at sketch #9... I can't wait to see what you all create with this sketch! Please don't feel limited by the measurements in the sketch. I actually didn't use them for my card since the penguin was a little big and I changed up the sentiment a bit too by adding string. I hope the sketch inspires you to pull out some of your neglected holiday stamps and play along!

Oh, I almost forgot to mention the papers I used for this card. I used the cute Christmas Town papers by Doodlebug Designs and mat them with Hibiscus Burst card stock from Papertrey Ink. The card base is Kraft card stock, also from Papertrey Ink. And that fun string is the Ivory Burlap string that I got at Unity Stamp Co. but it looks like it's out of stock again.

Well, that's it for me today... since the start of the April sketch has landed on a Thursday, I won't be back tomorrow with another Christmas card. I will be back next Friday, April 9th with a fun Christmas card and I hope you'll stop by to visit. And I invite you to join us over in the Build Your Stash Holiday Cardmakers Facebook group and start building your stash of holiday cards along with us!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal