~ Friends of Unity May 2021 Blog Hop ~

 Hello there crafty friend!

Welcome to our May 2021 Friends of Unity Blog Hop!! I can't believe that it's already May!! This year just seems to be zipping by! Our hop this month has a fun cue...

Flora & Fauna... which is basically plants and animals.

I decided to focus mainly on plants. I have been wanting to play with the April 2021 Whit Kit called Kindness is Magic ever since it arrived in the mail and I just haven't had time. But I made time so I could color this one up with Copic markers on Kraft... one of my favorite techniques that I should really do more often. I also used a white Prismacolor pencil to color the white daisies.

I used a wonky square die to die cut the focal image and mat it on Hibiscus Burst and Hawaiian Shores card stock from Papertrey Ink. I then adhered it to a Kraft card base measuring 10 x 5", scored at 5". I used the following Copic markers for this card:

Teapot House ~ RV06, RV17, RV21, B00, BG02, BG05

Plants / Flowers ~ G12, G14, G17, YG03, YG23, YG25, YG95, YG97, Y06, Y15, Y38,

YR15, YR20, YR68, R14, R27, V04, V09

Rocks / Ground ~ W00, W1, W3, W5, N2, N5

Background ~ BG000, BG01

It's Unity's 13th birthday and they're celebrating with a fun release and a big Birthday Sale!! This beautiful flower is a part of the fun new release and it's called You Go Girl by Graciellie Design for Unity! Isn't it beautiful?! I love when Unity releases new gorgeous flower stamps designed by Gracie Chavez... they are always so stunning and so fun to color!

My card is a simple design with the flower and sentiment stamped on a white card front. I die cut it with the In & Out Diagonal Stitched Rectangle dies from My Favorite Things. I added some white acrylic paint splatters and wrapped the two corners with some Ivory burlap string.

I used the following Copic markers for this card:

Flower ~ YR15, YR20, YR21, R22, Y06, Y15, Y35

Leaves ~ YG11, YG17, YG23

Background ~ B0000, B000, B00

My last card was a total experiment! Have you ever ink smooshed with black card stock?! I'm sure it's not a new technique, but I've never tried it for myself and I am in love with the result!! I used Peacock Feathers, Cracked Pistachio, and Picked Raspberry Distress Oxide inks. I started with Peacock Feathers and then did a little Cracked Pistachio, but you really can't see the Cracked Pistachio. I thought maybe the bright Picked Raspberry would work well and in real life you can see it pretty well, but it doesn't show too well in the photo. Now the gorgeous stamp on this card is the stunning new May 2021 Uniquely Unity member kit called Strive to Be... isn't it wonderful?! I love it!

I wanted a delicate light flower to contrast the dark background so I did very light coloring with a few pink Copic markers. I still had the white acrylic paint out so I also threw on some more splatter. The flowers and the sentiment are popped up on the card with foam squares. I used the following Copic markers for this card:

Flowers ~RV10, RV14, RV52, Y06, Y15 

Leaves ~ YG11, YG23

Well, that's it for my cards this month... before you head off to the next person in the hop I need to announce my winner from last month's hop.

Congratulations Denise Bryant!!

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

Prize must be claimed within two weeks. 

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.

Let's get to the hopping...

Crystal <--- you're here

up next ---> Dawn B. 

Eileen

Dawn F.

Bobbie Sue

Kim

Colleen

Rachel

Joyce

Amber

Robyn

Alaine

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 10 ~ Lift Me Up Birdies ~ 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 birdies from the Lift Me Up Birdies stamp set and the sentiment from the By Golly Be Jolly stamp set, both from Unity Stamp Co.

I cut my patterned paper layers from the Milk & Cookies paper pad from Doodlebug Design. I chose these first so that I could use colors from the papers to color up these cute birdies! For some reason I thought I saw yellow in these papers when I picked them out, but nope! I stuck with them anyways and still chose to color the birdies yellow. I think they pop on the card though. I pulled the green, pink and turquoise from the papers for their little hats! I knew I wanted them on the side a bit so the sentiment didn't cover that top birdie. So I had a fun idea to cut another piece of 2-5/8 x 4-1/4" white card stock and emboss it with a snowflake embossing folder. I used the Darice snowflake... I don't actually have the official name for it, but you could use any snowflake embossing folder. I die cut that left side of the birdies with a stitched border hillside die and then adhered my layers. To finish off the card I added those cute little Elf Cookie Sprinkles embellishments from Twiddler's Nook. I think they work perfectly with the dots in the papers!

I colored the adorable stack of birdies with the following Copic markers:

Birdies ~ Y00, Y02, Y15, YR15, YR21, YR68

Hats ~ C00, C2, RV10, RV21, R14, YG11, G14, BG0000, BG11, BG23

And finally here's a look at sketch 10... 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 altered the sketch to make it work for my card by making the focal piece taller for the birdies. I hope the sketch inspires you to pull out some of your holiday stamps and play along!

Well, that's it for me today... I hope you'll join us over in the Build Your Stash Holiday Cardmakers Facebook group and start building your stash of holiday cards along with us!

If you're interested in a bit more inspiration using this fun sketch, head over to the {BYSH} Cardmakers blog... we're sharing a few creations by the {BYSH} Cardmakers team!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

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{BYSHC} Sketch Challenge #9 ~ Spring into Christmas {BYSHC} Hop ~ Polka Dot Orchard

 Hello there crafty friend!

I am back with my last card for the Spring into Christmas 2021 {BYSHC} Hop card... I'm a little bummed that the hop is already coming to an end, but I'm so happy that so many have shared an amazing bunch of wonderful holiday cards!! We have seriously built our stash of holiday cards this week and I am ecstatic!! I hope you are too! Today is also the last day for the {BYSHC} Sketch Challenge 9 and I'm sharing a sweet gnome card using the adorable From Our Gnome to Yours digi stamp set from Sponsor Polka Dot Orchard along with the sketch!!

I went a little nuts with the white acrylic paint splatter for the snow but in my defense we are actually having a couple mid-90 degree days and I'm melting in my studio so snow sounds lovely!! Ha! The papers I chose are the Holiday Intrigue {paper pack} designed by the lovely Angie Blom from Sponsor Angie Blom Digital Designs and available at Sponsor Unity Stamp Co! Have I mentioned that I love our hop Sponsors! They are amazing humans!

I combined and resized the fun Christmas tree image and the gnome image in a Microsoft Document and print it off. I love the ease of the gnome digi because the sentiments are all ready on the sign and there's no need to get them just so! I then die cut it at an angle with a small stitched rectangle die. I die cut a piece of vellum card stock with the same die and set it aside. The sentiment is from the Magic of Christmas digi set also from Polka Dot Orchard.

I colored up the image with the following Copic markers:

Skin ~ E000, E11

Mustache / Beard ~ C00, C2

Hat ~ R000, R14, R27, YG11, G14, G17, C00, C2

Shirt / Pants ~ R11, R14, R27, B91, B95, B97, B99

Shoes ~ N0, N2, N4, N6

Sign ~ E51, E55, E57

Tree ~ E47, E49, E55, Y06, Y38, B00, B02, R14, R27

Snow ~ C00, C2

Sky ~ B39, B69

Here's a look at Sketch 9... today is the last day to enter this challenge!

I'm also entering this card in the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge, Anything Goes.

Today is the last day to play along with the Spring into Christmas 2021 {BYSHC} Hop!! I hope you can find some time today to create and join us in building our stash of holiday cards!! Be sure to stop by the {BYSH} Cardmakers blog to check out all the amazing inspiration being shared! So much fun! 

Stop by Polka Dot Orchard and check out the wonderful sale going on right now on all the digi stamps!! So many fabulous stamps at amazing prices!!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

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Spring into Christmas {BYSHC} Hop ~ Holiday Helpers ~ Unity Stamp Co.

 Hello there crafty friend!

I can't believe that we are nearing the end of the Spring into Christmas 2021 {BYSHC} Hop!! Time has seriously flown by... and I've really enjoyed all of the creations being shared! I hope that if you haven't been able to play along that you drop by the hop and check out all the wonderful cards being shared and maybe even give some love on the creations. I know I enjoy it thoroughly when I get a sweet comment on my cards. Anywho, today I am featuring an adorable stamp from Unity Stamp Co. that's called Holiday Helpers. I chose the little boy elf stamp for my card today.

Isn't he just the cutest?! I pulled my palette of colors from the papers that I used... the Twas the Night Before Christmas Vol. 2 paper pad by Echo Park Paper. Both layers of pattern paper are from that paper pad. The toy paper layer is die cut with a stitched rectangle die and then I adhered it to the polka dot paper. I then adhered the layers to a white A2 top fold card base.

I used the following Copic markers to color this cutie:

Skin ~ E000, E00, E11, R00, R20

Hair ~ E55, E57, E59

Shirt ~ W00, W2, R14, R27, R59, R89

Hat ~ R27, R59, R89, Y15, Y28

Jumper ~ G24, G29, G85, G94

Tights ~ R14, R27, R59, G85, G94

Shoes ~ R14, R27, R59, R89

Hammer / Nails ~ N1, N3, N5, E55, E57, E59

Truck ~ N1, N3, N5, Y15, G29, G85, G94

Ground ~ E51, E55

I die cut the cute elf and the sentiment with standard circle dies and then with a pencil ticked off little marks to trim off the one side of the circles. If you're a member of the Build Your Stash Holiday Cardmakers Facebook group, you may recognize this card design... it was for our 8th sketch challenge.

The challenge is over but it sure has been fun using some of the sketches that we've been playing with.

Tomorrow is the last day to play along with the Spring into Christmas 2021 {BYSHC} Hop!! I hope you can find some time today to create and join us in building our stash of holiday cards!! Be sure to stop by the {BYSH} Cardmakers blog to check out all the amazing inspiration being shared! So much fun! 

Stop by the Unity Stamp Co. website... there's a fabulous new release and a big Birthday sale.. both start later today!! 

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

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Spring into Christmas {BYSHC} Hop ~ Poinsettia Tea Cup ~ Graciellie Design

Hello there crafty friend!

It's day 6 of the Spring into Christmas 2021 {BYSHC} Hop and I have a lovely card featuring one of my favorite digi stamps from Sponsor Graciellie Design called Christmas Cheer!! I was itching to make another mini slimline card... it's been a while! lol I just love making this size of card!

I print off the sentiment and the image separately because I knew I was going to fussy cut the cup and saucer and set it on the fun Cozy Cup Coaster die from The Greetery. I just HAD to have this die when it released and this is the first time that I've used it! Do you do that too? I do it more often than I'd like to admit. Anywho... I colored up the cup and saucer with the following Copic markers:

Poinsettia ~ R11, R14, R29, G000, G12, YG67

Cup / Saucer ~ E30, E31, E35, E50

Hot Chocolate ~ E23, E25, E27, E51

I trimmed down the sentiment layer to 5-3/4 x 3" and mat it with a pretty piece of patterned paper from the Deck the Halls paper pad by Echo Park Paper. I adhered that to a white mini slimline card base measuring 6-1/2 x 6" scored at 3-1/4". I die cut the coaster from another piece of patterned paper in the same paper pad and then adhered it to the card. I fussy cut the Christmas Cheer cup and saucer leaving a skinny border around the image. I added a bit of gold metallic thread to the coaster before adhering the cup and saucer to the card. To finish it off, I added a little white gel pen to the berries. Love it!

There's just a few more days to play along with the Spring into Christmas 2021 {BYSHC} Hop!! I hope you'll join us in building our stash of holiday cards!! Be sure to stop by the {BYSH} Cardmakers blog to check out all the amazing inspiration being shared! So much fun!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

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Spring into Christmas {BYSHC} Hop ~ Magic of Christmas ~ Polka Dot Orchard

 Hello there crafty friend!

Today I am sharing another Christmas card using the Magic of Christmas digi stamp from Sponsor Polka Dot Orchard for the Spring into Christmas 2021 {BYSHC} Hop!! This digi stamp has a special place in my heart as it's the first ever digi stamp that I illustrated for Polka Dot Orchard. I just love it!

I wanted the digis to be the focal piece of this whole card so I made them pretty big. The hat was actually print separately from the boots. I colored the images and fussy cut the hat and then trimmed off a bit of the bottom so it would look like the hat was sitting right on the boots. I think it turned out pretty good. Here's a list of the Copic markers I used to color these up:

Hat ~ R000, R14, R27, C00, C2

Boots ~ N0, N2, N4, N6, C00, C2, Y15, Y28

Ground / Background ~ N2, N4, E0000, E00, E30

I die cut the boots with the Big & Little Chain Rectangle dies from Sponsor Gina Marie Designs. I mat the die cut panel on a 3-3/4 x 5" piece of Kraft card stock. I trimmed the sentiment and mat it to fit just inside of the die piercing... it's measures 3-3/16 x 5/8" with a 3-5/16 x 3/4" Kraft mat.

The papers in the background are from the My Favorite Christmas paper pad by Echo Park Paper. I think they work just perfectly with this sweet image. To finish off this card I added a little holly die cut that I had in my stash from a previous project. The dies I used are from the Wreath die set by Gina Marie Designs but it looks like that die has been replaced with a new Wreath die set.

That's it for me today! Go check out the fabulous sale over at Polka Dot Orchard... so many wonderful digital stamps!! Polka Dot Orchard also has fantastic stencils in different sizes AND some really cool laser engraved wood ornaments!! 

Have you hopped over to the {BYSH} Cardmakers blog to check out all the amazing inspiration being shared?! So much fab inspiration!! I hope you'll join us in building our stash of holiday cards!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

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Spring into Christmas {BYSHC} Hop ~ Christmas Shop ~ Angie Blom Digital Designs

 Hello there crafty friend!

Today I am featuring a beautiful digi stamp from Sponsor Angie Blom Digital Design called Christmas Shop for the Spring into Christmas 2021 {BYSHC} Hop!! I just adore this stamp so much! It reminds me of a sweet vacation we had once in Pennsylvania... there was this darling Christmas shop in the little town that we stayed in. I probably spent an hour or more just admiring all the lovely Christmas ornaments... loved that little shop!

I went with a simple design for this card using the pretty Deck the Halls paper pad from Echo Park Paper for the main layer on a white A2 top fold card base.

I used one of my favorite dies from Sponsor Gina Marie Designs called Pleated Lace Rectangles dies to die cut the Christmas Shop image that I colored with the following Copic markers:

Building / Lights ~ E30, E31, Y02, Y15

Roof ~ N0, N2, N4, N6, E29, E30, E31, E37

Wreath ~ G12, G46, R000, R14, R27

Windows ~ G000, G12, G19, G29, G46, Y02, Y15, R14, R27, R32, B00

Trees / Planters ~ G000, G19, G29, E29, E30, E31, E37

Background ~ BG0000, BG000

I added a bit of Glossy Accents to the windows and it really gives a great touch to the card.

I trimmed up the sentiment to set across the bottom of the image and added an enamel dot to each side to finish up this card. I just love it!

Go check out the Christmas Collection over at Angie Blom Digital Designs... they're 40% off... just add to cart!! I just love a great sale! Angie also just had a fun new release... so many beautiful new digi stamps. I hope you'll stop by her shop!

Have you hopped over to the {BYSH} Cardmakers blog to check out all the amazing inspiration being shared?! So much fab inspiration!! I hope you'll join us in building our stash of holiday cards!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

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