{BYSHC} Sketch Challenge 12 ~ Santa's Lil Helper Cuddlebug ~ Unity Stamp Co.

 Hello there crafty friend!

I'm back with my weekly card using the fun {BYSHC} Sketch Challenge 12 along with an adorable stamp from Unity Stamp Co. called Santa's Lil Helper Cuddlebug. I love this sweet deer and his little birdie friends!! I've had this adorable stamp in my collection for some time and I don't think I've inked it up until now.

I started by picking my pretty Christmas papers... I went with the beautiful A Perfect Winter paper pack by Echo Park Paper. Love the combinations of grey, blue and red in these papers! So beautiful!

I stamped the sweet deer with Memento Tuxedo black ink and colored it with the following Copic markers:

Birdies: BG000, BG01, BG10

Collar: R000, R14, R27, Y06, Y35

Deer: R00, R20, E21, E25, E27, E51, E55

Once I had the deer colored, I fussy cut it and set it aside. And then I stamped the sentiment that's included with the deer in the set... only I decided to trim it so it wasn't too long.

Here's a look at the fun {BYSHC} Sketch 12 for the month of July!

I hope you'll join us and play along with the sketch! If you're interested in seeing a bit more inspiration, check out the {BYSH} Cardmakers blog! I'll see you next week with another fun Sketch 12 card!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky hugs,

Crystal

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{BYSHC} Sketch Challenge 12 ~ My Favorite Christmas ~ Echo Park Paper

 Hello there crafty friend!

I'm back with a little more inspiration for the {BYSHC} Sketch Challenge 12... I actually have four cards to share today! I used some fun Christmas papers by Echo Park Paper called My Favorite Christmas... the cut apart pieces made these cards come together SO quickly! I love when that happens!

Card #1 ~ isn't Santa on this penny farthing bicycle just too cute?! I paired up this cut apart with the poinsettia papers! I absolutely love the colors in these papers!

Card #2 ~ Another cute Santa cut apart! I paired him up with adorable Santa papers and that little strip of reindeer paper was a leftover piece that worked perfectly with this one!

Card #3 ~ I love the mix of fonts on this cut apart. I paired it up with similar colors in the paper pad. And brought in the white enamel dots to add a bit of white to compliment the white in the cut apart.

Card #4 ~ Love this cut apart!! It's so cute with the mug and sentiment... I had to use it! I paired it up with the plaid and red papers from the paper pad! I also used green enamel dots to compliment the green on the cut apart piece.

Four pretty simple cards done and added to my stash! So happy!

Here's a look at the fun {BYSHC} Sketch 12 for the month of July!

I hope you'll join us and play along with the sketch! If you're interested in seeing a bit more inspiration, check out the {BYSH} Cardmakers blog! I'll see you next week with another fun Sketch 12 card!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky hugs,

Crystal

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March 2021 KOM ~ Nose Wiggles & Bunny Wishes ~ Unity Stamp Co.

 Hello there crafty friends!

I just couldn't get enough of the Friends of Unity sketch for our March cue... I had to make another card using the sketch but turning it a bit to work for my design. Have you seen the adorable bunny in the March 2021 Kit of the Month?! Omgeee!! It's too cute! I just had to ink it up and color this cutie!

I used pretty patterned papers called Hello Easter by Echo Park for my layers and the banners.

So cute! I used the following Copic markers to color up this cutie:

Bunny ~ W00, W2, W5, R20, C00, C2, Colorless Blender

Flowers ~ YG11, YG23, R00, R20, RV14

I have a process video to share for this card. 

You can check it out here... Nose Wiggles & Bunny Wishes.

Not technically an Easter card, but I'm considering it my first Easter card for 2021! 

What do you think about that bunny? Too cute, right?!

I invite you to hop with our Friends of Unity blog hop and check out our March sketch cue!

You can start hopping here on my blog by clicking on the header above and scrolling down to the previous blog post or you can just click here... Friends of Unity March 2021 Blog Hop.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

{BYSHC} Sketch Challenge #6 ~ All About the Patterned Papers!!

 Hello there crafty friend!

I'm back with my weekly Christmas card and this time it's all about the patterned paper!!

This card literally took me 10 minutes and that includes the time for picking just the right sentiment, papers and dies to make this card. The actual 'cardmaking' was SO fast!

So you can see a little in the photo... I chose the wonderful Twas the Night Before Christmas Vol.1 papers. All of my layers for this card, aside from the sentiment, are from the paper pack. The snowflake navy papers for my mats, the houses and the gold flag paper... all from the one paper pack! I just love how easy this card came together! The sentiment I chose is from the October 2017 Kit of the Month from Unity Stamp Co. called Conspiracy of Love. One of my favorite KOMs!!

I die cut the little circles from the patterned papers behind the sentiment... a fun trick I like to use when I can. I also added some Nuvo Glitter Gloss Aqua Shimmer to the snow around the houses in the die cut circle. Sadly, you can't see that shimmer in the pictures. 

I am really loving the current {BYSHC} Sketch!! I can make such a quick card using this sketch and I'm making a dent {a very tiny one... lol} in my hoard of Christmas papers! You can check out the sketch challenge here... {BYSHC} Sketch Challenge #6!!

Another cute Christmas card for my stash... I did happen to find a handful of Christmas cards that I had somehow missed in December. Score!! That means I'm ahead for Christmas 2021!! Haha... well, I'll be back next week with another Christmas card!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal 

{BYSHC} Sketch Challenge #5 ~ Warm Wishes ~ The Greeting Farm

 Hello there crafty friend!

I'm back again today to share a little last minute Christmas card inspiration using the {BYSHC} Sketch Challenge #5 sketch!! This sketch can make such a quick card just by utilizing all of those pretty Christmas patterned papers that we all have in our stash!!

I just had to use this cute little bear from The Greeting Farm... he's in the Warm Wishes stamp set. Isn't he just THE cutest?! I love him! I also stamped the cute little mug from the Cozy With You stamp set, also from The Greeting Farm. Anywho, since I already had him picked out for my card I had to find a cute patterned paper to compliment him. I chose the adorable I Love Winter papers from Echo Park.

I stamped the little bear with Memento Tuxedo black ink and colored him up with the 

following Copic markers:

Bear ~ W00, W2, R00, R20, N1, N7

Hat/Scarf/Mug ~ B0000, B41, N0, N2, N3

Sweater ~ R000, R14, R27

Here's a quick look at the sketch... you can check it out in the Build Your Stash Holiday

Cardmakers Facebook group.

I'm also entering my card for the Coffee Loving Cardmakers National Cocoa Day Guest Designer search... I'm such a huge fan of the Coffee Loving Papercrafters group and of a yummy mug of cocoa.

I stamped the sentiment with Powder Blue ink from Gina K. Designs but then decided to go darker since the background paper is a dark blue. So I stamped right over the Powder Blue ink with In the Navy ink also from Gina K. Designs. I fussy cut the bear and mug and then I trimmed down the sentiment cutting a flag at the end. I adhered them all together and then popped them up with stampin' dimensionals. Such a cute card and it didn't take long at all! I hope I've given you a little inspiration for those last minute Christmas cards!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

Scrapping for Less ~ Teresa Talks Fall ~ More Fall Inspiration!!

Hello there crafty friends!

I have another Fall card to share with you today in lieu of our monthly Flavor of the Month card kit blog hop. Sadly, some items for the card kit were delayed so the kits are delayed. But when they do arrive, I will be a cardmaking ninja and get some cards created to share with you all!! 

For today, though... we're revisiting an old friend, The Teresa Talks Fall stamp!! Isn't she lovely?! When I was searching through my stash of Fall themed stamps for a sentiment to go with my Tumbleblossom Cluster card a couple of weeks ago, I found this beauty... and since she was already on my desk, I thought I'd ink her up and make a card!

I stamped the girl on a scrap of white card stock and colored her in with the following Copic markers:

Skin ~ E000, E00, R00, R20

Hair ~ E37, E47, E79

Clothes ~ B91, B95, B97, BG70, BG72, BG75, N0, N3, N5

Mug ~ N0, N3, YR0000, YR15, YR21, YR68

Ground ~ N0, N3

I fussy cut her out and set her aside. I then stamped the sentiment using some Stampin' Up! markers (Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie, Really Rust, and Chocolate Chip) and my Stamp Platform. It took a few tries to get the colors just how I wanted and the Stamp Platform made that so much easier! I die cut the card stock using a scallop stitched border die from My Favorite Things. I positioned the girl just so on my card stock, removed her and then colored in the "ground". I then adhered the girl to the panel. I had already picked out the gorgeous Fall Breeze papers by Photo Play... I love the rich, beautiful colors in this paper pad!! Can't help but use it every chance I get! I adhered the trimmed piece of diagonally striped patterned paper to a mustard card front measuring 4-1/4 x 5-1/2". I then adhered that piece to a white card base. I adhered a strip of the same mustard card stock to the side of the white focal panel and then adhered the focal panel to the card. 

I craft-lifted fellow design team member Lynnea's idea to stick the pumpkin stickers onto white card stock and fussy cut them like stamped images, also adding a few of the leaves from the Autumn Pumpkin stickers by Sticko. To finish off the card, I added a few enamel dots from Echo Park's Celebrate Autumn collection. I just adore how this card turned out! I hope you like it too!

Be sure to stop by the Scrapping for Less blog for the reveal of the September 2019 Flavor of the Month card kit called Fall is Coming!! I'm so excited to get inky with this kit and share with you all!!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

Polka Dot Orchard ~ Magic of Christmas & Reason For The Season ~ Christmas in July

Hello there crafty friends!

I'm here today with one last Christmas in July post sharing a few more creations using the digi stamps I created for this coming Christmas season. Both of these digi sets are available at Polka Dot Orchard.

My first card is using the sweet kneeling Santa with baby Jesus from the Reason For The Season digi set... I just love this scene! I also added the digi star for this card... like the star was Santa's guide to Jesus. I paired these images up with the perfect paper called Wise Men Still Seek Him by Echo Park. I love the regal colors of the paper and the brighter colors of Santa and baby Jesus pop on the card.

Supplies used for this card:

Copics:

Santa ~ N0, N2, N3, N4, C00, C1, C3, R000, R14, R20, R27, E000, E00, E21

Manger/Straw ~ E55, E57, Y15, Y21

Baby Jesus ~ E23, E25, E55, B0000, B02, B14, E00, E21

Ground ~ E30, E31, E33

Star ~ Y000, Y15

Lawn Fawn Everyday Sentiment Banner die

My Favorite Things Blueprints 15 dies

My second card is a fun card to send a friend during the month of July... but since it's a digi stamp you could alter this sentiment and have it just say Happy Christmas. I really love the combination of papers I used with the colored image from the Magic of Christmas digi set... so bright and cheery!

Supplies used for this card:

Copics ~ N0, N2, N3, N4, C00, C1

Uniball Gold gel pen

Echo Park A Perfect Winter paper pad

Carta Bella Santa's Workshop enamel dots

Taylored Expressions Stitched Rectangle Stacklets

Lawn Fawn Stitched Hillside Borders

My last creation to share today actually isn't a card, it's a gift that I've made and will put in a 6 x 6" frame... just a little funny Christmas decoration that can be hung up in the house. I know just the right person to give it to... I know she'll love it!! I knew that I wanted to add a layer of patterned paper to the main image so I made sure not to make the digis too big. If you're familiar with the Magic of Christmas digi set, you may have noticed that Santa's hat is flipped in the other direction well... digis are awesome that way!! You can rotate them, flip them, resize them... so many possibilities!! 

I colored the images with the following Copic markers:

Santa's Hat ~ R000, R14, R27, C00, C1

Santa's Boots ~ N0, N2, N3, N5, C00, C1

I trimmed down the main panel and some how my top left corner got messed up so I had to find something to fix it and I decided to go with a corner punch. I then mat the piece on True Black card stock and wrapped some pretty silver ribbon on either side. I tied a little bow and used a glue dot to add it to the panel. I set that aside and got my base done. I thought this Santa paper from the Celebrate Christmas paper pad by Echo Park was a perfect backdrop for the main panel... I trimmed it down to 5-3/4 x 5-3/4" and mat it with a 5-13/16 x 5-13/16" piece of True Black card stock. I just wanted a skinny black mat. And then my final layer is a Real Red 6 x 6" piece of card stock. I adhered all those layers together and then popped up my main panel with foam tape. I love how this turned out and I'm so excited to have a Christmas gift done already!! Isn't that crazy!! Lol!!

Here's a close up of the sparkle on Santa's Hat... I used the Sakura clear stardust gelly roll pen. Oh, and for the buckles on Santa's Boots I used the Uniball Signo silver gel pen... though in the picture it looks white. It's just the shine on the silver gel pen. 

That's the last of my Christmas in July creations for this year! 

I've had so much fun getting ahead on my Christmas cards and projects! 

Some of the wonderful Polka Dot Orchard Design Team members joined me in our very first Instagram Hop on July 25th sharing all kinds of beautiful Christmas in July creations... if you haven't had a chance to hop yet, be sure to check it out. Here's a link to get you started at the Polka Dot Orchard Instagram. Or you can start on my Instagram ---> here or there's also a link at the top of my blog to my Instagram if you want to scroll back up there. Be sure to check it out though... there's prizes up for grabs and today is the last day to enter!!

Thanks so much for checking out my blog!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

Growing in Unity ~ Day 5 of My 5 Favorite Things

Hello there crafty friends!

Well... it's the final day of my Growing in Unity week. It's amazing how fast the time flies! I just want to say real quick that I have seriously enjoyed every single comment on my blog, on Facebook, and on my Instagram! This has been a fabulous week and I truly appreciate each and every one of you so... thank you!! Thank you so very much!!

Now, for my last day of My 5 Favorite Things I just had to go with the very first line of stamps that got me hooked on Unity Stamp Company... Angie Girls!! The Angie Girl line is amazing... there's a girl in there for anyone and everyone! And I know some people are put off because the girls don't have faces and in all honesty, that did put me off for a short while, BUT once I came to the realization that I could use the same faceless stamp for my niece, my neighbor, my friend, my sister and imagine that the stamp is her! OMG! The possibilities are truly endless... and to top it all off, the Angie Girls come with the most wonderfully, empowering, and just fabulous sentiments!! I love them!!

So, as a little challenge to myself, I decided to use a couple Angie Girls that I had not yet inked up... you have a few in your collection too, right?! Lol... I know I'm not the only one!! I also wanted to encourage any of you that are in the Unity Show & Tell FB group to pull out your Angie Girl stamps {or any stamp} with Empowering sentiments and enter your card in this month's Empowerment Challenge or enter your card in the new Perfect Paper Mini Challenge... which also inspired my cards for today because well... I have a plethora of pretty patterned papers!! I'm a paper hoarder and I'm not ashamed to say it!!! BUT I'm also a paper hoarder who wants to make room for more pretty papers so I must use some of these pretty papers I've been hoarding and that is exactly what I did!!

Let's get to it, shall we?

My first card is using the beautiful Erica Girl and those pretty flowers made it so easy for me to pick out some paper to coordinate with this stamp! I used the Echo Park I Am Mom paper pad... which I actually opened up to use just for this card. I had bought it around Mother's Day and hadn't used it so this was a perfect opportunity to cut into the paper!! While I was deciding what to do for todays post, I also thought it would be fun to use another sketch and just change it up here or there so you'll notice all the cards have a similar design. So back to my card... I started by stamping Erica Girl and the sentiment on a 4-1/4 x 5-1/2 piece of white card stock with Gina K's Black Amalgam ink. I then colored the stamped image with the following Copic markers:

Skin ~ E000, E21

Hair ~ C1, C2

Clothes ~ N0, N1, BG11, R00, R01, R22, Colorless Blender

Flowers ~ BG11, R01, R14, R22, Y06, Y11, N10

Since I had my papers already picked out, it was so easy to pick my colors to color this image... just a little tip to remind myself to do that more often! My original plan was to adhere a strip of patterned paper along the edge of the focal panel but... I thought it would be fun to use more of the pretty papers in the paper pad so I die cut a bunch of different papers with my banner die and played around with placement and there you have it! Not my typical placement... especially with the ones going up the card, but I really like it!! I hope you do too! To finish off these cards, I stapled the trimmed banners and adhered my layers to a white card base, popping up my main panel.

 Love how this turned out!

So, I did it again... with Kimmie Girl!! Eeep! I love this stamp and I can't believe that I've never inked her up... or at least, I don't remember inking her up. :) This card is the very same design using Echo Park Coffee papers... but this time my bottom layer {with the coffee beans} was actually just a scrap piece that was cut into a frame from a previous project. It was perfect though for this card. I adhered the main panel to the framed piece of paper and then popped up the entire panel with foam tape. Of course, I adhered and stapled the banners before that step.

Isn't she cute?!? And I adore that sentiment! So for this card I used the following Copic markers:

Skin ~ E000, E00, E21

Hair ~ E55, E57, E59

Clothes/cup ~ B95, B97, B99, R83, R85, BG10, BG23

Ground ~ N0, N1

And my last card for today and for my Growing in Unity week is probably the most fitting one... this is me and I love all things Unity!!! This is actually the Planner Gal Kit: Unity Unies created by the fabulous Angie Blom for all the Unies in the Unity Show & Tell group. I love this kit!! There's lots of little crafty stamps included in this kit, but since I was in a rhythm and working with one design... I stuck to that. BUT I paired this fabulous stamp and sentiment with the wonderful Echo Park I'd Rather Be Crafting paper pad... perfect, right?! They are perfect together!! The only difference with this design is I was able to use a smaller stitched rectangle die so you can see more of the bottom layer of paper... which I love... those scissors and pencils and paint brush!! Love it!!

I even colored her to look like me with my silver streaks and all, holding my latest Unity order... so much fun! I used the following Copic markers for this card:

Skin ~ E000, E00, E21

Hair ~ E55, E57, E59, N0, N1, N3

Clothes ~ R01, R22

Unity Pkg/Watch ~ N0, N1, BG10, BG23, Colorless Blender

Be sure to leave a comment on each of my GIU blog posts for a chance to win one of two fabulous grab bags of 25 stamps from Unity Stamp Company!!! You have until Sunday to comment and I'll be picking two winners bright and early Monday morning!!

You can check out my other GIU days:

Day One

Day Two

Day Three

Day Four

Thanks so much for checking out my blog!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

Polka Dot Orchard ~ Magic of Christmas ~ Believe

Hello there friends!

I have some super exciting news and if you follow my crafty page (link above... just under my blog heading) you may have already heard but I've designed my very first digi set and it's available just in time for Christmas in July!!! Eeeek!! It's called Magic of Christmas and I truly hope that you like it! A huge thank you to Jessica Burnham of Polka Dot Orchard for her encouragement and for helping to make this dream come true! You can check out the whole digi set right here ---> Magic of Christmas!

For my first card I resized and combined Santa's Belt with the Believe in the Season sentiment. I also cropped the Believe in the Season sentiment so that I could separate the sentiment into two parts. Such a fun way to give more variety to the already crazy amount of sentiments included in this sweet digi set! Once I had the images all compiled on my Word Document, I printed it off and cut the card stock into 4 card fronts... setting aside the other 3 for another time. And then I started coloring and there's just something about coloring an image that you created... it was so awesome. Anywho, I used the following Copic markers to color Santa's Belt ~ N0, N2, N4, N7, Y06, Y15, Y26, YR23, E27.

I cut my panel down and mat it on True Black card stock and then I found some cute Christmas papers... 'Twas the Night Before Christmas Volume 1 by Echo Park. I trimmed those down and mat them on Scarlet Jewel card stock and then adhered it to a 5-1/2 x 4-1/4" piece of True Black card stock. I wrapped some True Black ribbon around the card front and then adhered it to a white card base. I popped up the main panel using foam tape and there you have it... my first card!!

My second card was just as easy... in fact, it was also on the same Word Document as Santa's Belt. So it was already printed and waiting to be colored next. I had a blast coloring this one too! I used the following Copic markers for Santa's Hat ~ N0, N1, N3, R000, R14, R27, R46.

Once I was happy with my coloring, I die cut the panel and set it aside. I went searching through my Christmas papers again and loved this beautiful red plaid from Echo Park's I Love Christmas paper pad. I trimmed it down to 5-1/2 x 4-1/4" and adhered it directly to a white card base. I popped up the main panel and off set it a bit... love the interest it gives the card. And my final touch was a holly and berry mix of sequins! Love it!

Happy Christmas in July friends!! Thanks so much for checking out my blog post!

I hope that maybe my cards have inspired you to get a jump on your Christmas cards this year! I've got two done already... woohoo!! Lol! If you'd like to check out the Magic of Christmas digi set, you can do that right here... Magic of Christmas digi set!!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

Scrapping for Less ~ Lawn Fawn ~ Lovable Legends 3 Ways

Hey there crafty friends!

I'm here today with a trio of cards using Lawn Fawn's Lovable Legends stamp set! 

I thought it might be fun to share a trio of cards starting with a simple design and then building from that design to a slightly more involved card design.

My first card started with a simple stenciled background using the Echo Park Good Vibes Stripe stencil along with the Tumbled Glass Distress Oxide ink that I blended over the stencil. Once my background was done, I die cut it with a wonky rectangle die. I then cut a 1" strip of the beautiful Watercolor Foil paper from Pink & Main and fussy cut the little flag end on one side. I adhered it to the panel and then trimmed off the excess. 

I stamped the super cute sentiment directly on the panel and then adhered the entire panel to a white card base. I stamped the bigfoot character three times and decided for my card design... he'd be a cute yeti so I colored him very simply with the following Copic markers ~ N0, N1, N2, B0000, B00, Colorless Blender. I fussy cut my cute yeti and popped him up on the card.

So this is my first card design... pretty simple, right?! But still adorable!!

For my next card, to add a little somethin' somethin' and bring it up a step from simple,  I decided to blend the background using distress oxide inks. I used Tumbled Glass, Stormy Sky, and Salty Ocean Distress Oxide ink. I then blended Tumbled Glass distress oxide ink over the same Good Vibes Stripe stencil that I used on the first card. I love the subtle stripes it made on the background! I die cut the panel with the same wonky rectangle die and adhered it directly on a white card base.

I adhered a strip of the Watercolor Foil paper just like the first card, but this time I stamped the sentiments on scraps of white card stock. I used a banner die to cut out the 'Have An' sentiment and fussy cut the 'Unbelievable Birthday'. I adhered both sentiment directly to the card. I popped up the cute yeti and to finish off this card I added a couple of trees that I stamped from the same set using green inks in my stash. I love how the Watercolor Foil paper breaks up the stripes of the background and the foil in the paper adds a pretty shine for interest.

Are you ready for the third and final card... ?!

Whatcha think?! I'm a little partial to the background on this one because I love splatter!! I created the background the very same as the second card, but I added water and white acrylic paint splatters. I adhered the strip of  Watercolor Foil paper and the top sentiment directly to the card, but I popped up the bottom sentiment using foam tape. I adhered more trees to surround Mr. Yeti... huh, just decided to name him... LOL! I also popped up the two trees on the far right. My final touch to finish this card was to add some random dots to the trees using a white gel pen... almost like snow falling on the trees from the splatter in the background.

Here's a picture showing all of the cards together. I had a bunch of fun making these cards to share with you... I hope that you've enjoyed seeing the different steps in adding interest and dimension to the cards! I hope this inspires you to try different levels of cardmaking!!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

Scrapping for Less ~ Coffee Lovers Spring I Summer 2019 Blog Hop

Hey there crafty peeps!

Today, I'm featuring products from the January 2019 Perk Up & Start the New Year 

card kit from Scrapping for Less. A fabulous card kit filled with coffee themed products that 

is sadly no longer available.

But for those of you lucky enough to have this kit, I thought I'd share a quick card using some 

of the products. I wanted to try to use up some of the papers in the kit. One of my goals for 

2019... using up some of those smaller pads of paper. Anywho, I layered the checkered papers to 

a white card base also adding a black strip of the black paper from the same paper pad collection called Coffee by Echo Park. I added another scrap of checkered paper to a piece of white card 

stock and adhered that on my card base. 

And to finish off the card I mat the journaling card from the kit to a piece of black card stock and popped it up on the card. Very simple, but I like the offset journaling card... I think it brings interest to the card. I just love that sentiment too! So fun!

Have you checked out the Spring/Summer Coffee Lover's Blog Hop yet? You really should!

Thanks for checking out my blog post for today!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

~ Friends of Unity April Blog Hop ~

Hello there! It's time for another hop with Friends of Unity and I can't wait to see all the fabulous inspiration for this month's hop. Why?! Well, because our cue for this month is Rainy Days and I absolutely love the rain!! So, my stamp pick for this hop was super easy... Rain or Shine. 

Perfect, right?!

I adore this stamp and I thought it would be so fun to create a scene using some paper that I've been trying to finish off  *GASP*… I know, I know! This paper hoarder is trying to finish off a paper pad, but really it's all thanks to my friend and fellow Friends of Unity hopper Bobbie Sue!! She put out a little challenge to use up those papers and I've been really trying to. I focused on just a couple paper pads to start and I'm doing pretty well. Anywho… enough about that, let's get back to the card I created. Shall we?

To create the background scene, I used the Lawn Fawn Stitched Hillside Borders to create the hills. I then adhered the cloud paper and the hills to a piece of thin white card stock. I was then able to die cut the entire panel with a stitched rectangle die. I adhered the background scene to a pink piece of paper from the paper pad and then I adhered the entire panel to a white card base.

Now for the fun part! I stamped the cute image on white card stock and then stamped the different parts of the image (umbrella, dress, pants, etc) on the scraps of paper I had set aside to paper piece this image. I then fussy cut all the pieces and colored the edges of the cut pieces with my Memento tuxedo black marker so the edges would look nice and clean. I colored some parts of the image with the following Copic markers:

Guy's shirt ~ BG01, BG15

Ribs of Umbrella ~ G82

Girl's Legs ~ E000, E00

Guy's shoes ~ E55, E57, E59

And then I adhered all the paper pieced items to the image. I even colored directly on the patterned paper of the umbrella to add some dimension to the ribs of the umbrella. All that was left was fussy cutting the entire image out. I decided to leave a little bit of a white border around the image to help it pop off the card. I used a Fiskars Fingertip Craft Knife to cut out the white pieces between the guy and the girl. Talk about scary! I was so worried my hand would jerk and I'd cut into the image. Phew! But, alas, nothing bad happened. 

Once it was all trimmed down I popped it up on the card and got to work on the sentiment. I went back and forth on where to place it and how... do I cut it into a banner? No. I just decided to go simple... I stamped it on white card stock and mat it with the same pink paper from the Echo Park Everyday Eclectic paper pad that I mat the scene with and then I adhered it to the card. I didn't even pop it up! I wanted the main focus to be on the sweet image of the couple. That's it! This card was a great way to use up some of those papers!

I sure hope that you've enjoyed my card!

There's a few giveaways throughout our hop, as usual, so be sure to hop along and comment on each blog for your chance to win some fabulous Unity Stamps!

On to the hopping... 

~ Blog Hop List ~

Crystal <--- you're here

Eileen

Jeanie

Bobbie Sue

Dawn

Joyce

Kim

Robyn

Thank you friends for checking out my blog post!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal