{BYSHC} Sketch 65 - Happy Holidays

 Hello and welcome to 2026! Join {BYSHC} in 2026 to fill your Christmas Card stash all year long! Each month is a new sketch and a new sponsored prize! Let's start the year strong! The sponsor for Sketch 65 is Not2Shabby!

My card today features a mix of papers. The background green is from Graphic 45. It's a NON Christmas pad called Ephemera Queen, and the stripes are from a Unity Stamp Co. pack called I'll be home for Christmas. The sentiment is also from Unity Stamp Co., set is called Simply Holiday. I added some red twine from MayArts Ribbon behind the sentiment and added some foam tape to pop it up a bit. The clear flat sequins add just a hint of sparkle.

Don't forget to create away all January and add your cards to the Sketch 65 Album on the {BYSHC} Facebook group for a chance to win a Not2Shabby prize!

~ January 2026 Friends of Unity Blog Hop ~ Case'd

 Hello and welcome to the new year! Thank you so much for taking the time to visit my blog which is part of the Friends of Unity Blog Hop! Each month is a new prompt and each month we feature the amazing products from Unity Stamp Co.!

The prompt this month is called "CASE'd." What this means is Copy and Share Everything! It refers to the practice of creating a card or project based on inspiration from others. Including elements from the original design while making personal changes. You will be giving credit or "props" to the original artist while expressing love for their work by creating something of your own inspired by their original! The Unity Stamp Co. Design Team is a wealth of inspiration! I am inspired every day by them! My camera roll is full of screenshots of their amazing talent!

This first one is inspired by the sweet Angela Magnuson! She posted this beauty a few months ago and I absolutely love the simplicity and elegance of this one!

I didn't have a heart stencil, so I made one! I used the Stitched Up Hearts nesting dies and a sheet of acetate. The die set appears to be no longer available, but I believe Angela used the Heart of the Matter - Stencil. I used Antique Linen and Vintage Photo Distress Oxides to ink blend around the heart. Next I inked up A Faithful Letter with Tea Dye Distress Ink and stamped over the stencil. The beautiful floral is from the July 2025 KOMpanion stamp set called Meadow of Memory which I inked up with VersaFine Clair in Nocturne. I die cut this panel and another solid (came from a Tim Holtz pack) using the Deckle & Stitches Nesting Die set. I splattered on a watered down tea dye using a water brush over the entire panel. The birthday sentiment is from July 2021 {Front and Center Stamps}...tree of love. Lastly I added some clear dew/water drops and some natural colored twine!

Angela's card for reference.....hard to photograph but you can find the tutorial here on YouTube!

Next up is the amazing talent of Crystal Minkler and April Sarandrea! Always inspired by these amazingly talented ladies! I'm going to change up the occasion of the card and make another birthday card but followed closely the coloring of the image. I make Christmas cards all year, but the birthday cards sometimes sneak up on me! LOL ;)

Started with the Chirps & Cheer (UU 4/25) set which I stamped onto white cardstock with VersaFine Clair and colored with KingArt Alcohol Markers. In looking at April's coloring on the listing samples, I added what looked to me to be white gel pen on the edges of the flower petals too. I then die cut the tag with the Make a Tag nesting die set and the square the image is on with Scallops and square nesting die set. The little tab was die cut with a tag punch from Stampin Up. The papers I chose are from Oh Hey! It's Your Day!  The ribbon on the tag didn't originally pan out as expected so I had to "fix" the top of the tag and try again! :)

I assembled all the pieces on the cardbase and then added the Birthday sentiment from July 2020 {Front and Center Stamps} ...aging gorgeously and some red enamel dots from Gina Marie Designs!

Crystal's original that inspired me! 

I have sooooooo many screenshots saved that I just had to make one more! Now this one didn't start out as a "Unity" CASE'd card, but I made it that way! LOL

I saved this shot mid-December from a Stampin Up post. I am always on the lookout for ways to use up scraps. I liked this layered weaved look, and I know I have plenty of scraps because I save EVERYTHING! LOL

Scraps are from Country Loving, I used Meadow of Memory again, but the other floral image. I also utilized the digital cut file! Colored the image with my KingArt Alcohol Markers. I then stamped the sentiment onto another piece from the Country Living pack and embossed with clear embossing powder.

original card that inspired my card!

Thank you for following along with us this month! Please visit my friend Jane, she is next on the hop! If you would like to start back at the beginning to be sure you didn't miss anything amazing, visit my friend Crystal!

{BYSHC} Sketch 64 - Gift for you

We have made it to the end of 2025 and about to welcome 2026! I am blessed to be a part of this design team and to have the ability to create! God has blessed me beyond measure….and for that I am forever grateful!

My last card of the year was given as a birthday card a few weeks ago! It was perfect for gift giving to a friend.

Again I would like to say thank you for the opportunity to share my cards with you! Happy New Year and see you in January for sketch 65!

~ December 2025 Friends of Unity Blog Hop ~ Mood Board

 Welcome to the last Friends of Unity blog hop for 2025! That's crazy to say!! I first want to thank everyone that has visited or commented on my posts this year. I am always blown away by the wonderful things that people share! I am truly humbled!

Secondly, I want to acknowledge the fact that the Friends of Unity Blog Hop celebrates 8 years this month of December! WOW! Thank you for keeping this amazing hop going!

The prompt for December is this fantastic "Mood Board!" So just as the name implies, it's whatever your mood feels while looking at this inspiration photo. To be 100% honest, I had a hard time getting into this month! As with every one of you, it's a busy time of year! My brain has 700 tabs open at once!  But I finally nailed down what I would share based on this amazing image!

I have been wanting to get some gift tags completed for this year, but hadn't had a chance as of yet, so what better time than the present (no pun intended)! All the different images, colors and textures led me to create a smaller project!

I have a template that I created to print "to: from:" spaced just so to be cut up and used for tags. I took some sheets of kraft and white and printed some. To those I added, to the other side, some stamping!

I started with the kraft pages first. This tag above was created using the three snowflakes from the November 2023 KOM called {festive flair}. I stamped them all over the panel with ink on 3 embossing ink, then sprinkled gina k. white embossing powder over and heated! I used one of the make a tag die set to cut them out. I wanted to utilize the sketch from the mood board (I see now that my stripes are going in the opposite direction! LOL). I cut strips of red cardstock at 1/8" and added them to the front of the tag. The "christmas delivery" stamp is from the 2023 Unity Advent Calendar! It appears that I am missing the smallest circle from the scallops and circles nesting die set so had to use a different set. Lastly I added some natural burlap twine from may arts ribbons!

I used the Merry Christmas and branches from the October 2024 KOM called {sweet bliss of christmas}. 

Merry Christmas from October 2024 KOM {sweet bliss of christmas} and on the edges is the pinecone and pine bough bunch from the November 2023 KOM {festive flair}.

Wanted a subtle background to stamp over, so I used the pinecone and pine bough bundle from the November 2023 KOM and stamped it with ink on 3 embossing ink and let it dry. Creates a tone on tone effect. Next I stamped over that the Merry Christmas and branches from the October 2024 KOM {sweet bliss of christmas}.

Next onto the white pages! While I was stamping the white snowflakes above, I grabbed some speckled egg and hickory smoke distress oxides and did the same thing to the white pages, trying to utilize the grey/cream color on the mood board. Die cut them as well with the make a tag die set. 

The "joy" stamp is from the 2020 Unity Advent Calendar and the snowflake is from the 2024 Unity Advent Calendar! I used lumberjack plaid distress oxide for joy and white pigment ink and shimmer glitter embossing powder for the snowflake.

I also wanted to showcase the warm fuzzy sweater knit in the upper right corner as well as the cozy mug of goodness in the bottom left corner! These two things go hand in hand in my book!

I stamped the ...woven warmth November 2023 BOM with antique linen distress oxide then die cut with the make a tag die set and distress inked the edges with vintage photo. The cute mug overflowing with marshmallows is from the 2021 Unity Advent Calendar and the sentiment, which I cut into smaller pieces, is from Cherished Holly {Front & Center November 2021}. Stamped, then fussy cut and attached. 

When I had the original thought about making tags, I thought I would need to make more things.....certainly "tags" wouldn't be enough to fill an entire blog post! :| WOWOW was I wrong! Seven sets of gift tags ready to be attached to gifts going every which way!

I want to take this opportunity to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a happy holiday season! Come back and hop with us in January!

To start from the beginning, please visit Crystal's blog. If you are ready to move on.....hop on over to my friend Rachel's blog!

{BYSHC} Sketch 64 - Ho Ho Ho!

 We've made it to December! This is where all of the hard work you've put in all year pays off! If you have been creating with us all year, your card stash should be pretty good! Personally, mine is overflowing! :)

I created this card with scraps that were on my desktop. I had created a few advent calendars and these were the pieces that were left after that! Paper is from Miss Kate Designs and is from the Holly Jolly collection. The "die cuts" are from the coordinating sticker sheet! Did you know that if you add some talcum powder or in my case, corn starch, to the back of any sticker it takes the stick away?!? You probably did, but that's what I did and was able to add foam adhesive to the HO HO HO to pop it up!

{BYSHC} Sketch 63 - Let's Be Merry!

 Hello again and welcome back! Now that Thanksgiving is done, it's officially crunch time! LOL If you have been following along with us all year, your card stash should be full!

Today's card is once again brought to you by way of this month's sketch sponsor Angie Blom Digital Designs . The set is called Let's Be Merry. I printed the image and sentiment, colored with King Art Alcohol Markers and measured and cut according to the sketch. Background plaid paper from Unity Stamp Co. Season Starter paper pack. Button trio from stash!

One last Hurrah!!! Creative Scrapbooker Magazine final bow!

 I personally did not know about creative scrapbooker magazine until sometime in 2021 or 2022. Some of my “online” card and scrappy friends were posting about being published in this magazine!!! So I had to check it out! I submitted a bunch of cards in April 2022 and was published, three cards, in the December 2022 issue! Here we are three years later and I am so sad to say this is their final issue! 

I have had an absolute blast being included in many (all but one since December 2022) issues since! What an honor!! Sincere thanks to the staff and editors who helped make this little dream of mine become a reality! 

Your “retirement” will leave a big empty space for soooooo many people!