{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! 

Newton's Nook Designs Inky Paws Sketch Challenge #246 - Bring on the Merry

 I love this stencil so much, I had to make another one! LOL Newton's Nook Designs Inky Paws Sketch challenge #246 and I used the Argyle Stencil on this background!

Also used the Fancy Edges Tag Die set and the retired Christmas Trimmings stamp set and matching dies. After I created the argyle background, I die cut with Unity Stamp Co. largest scallops and rectangles nesting dies, then ink blended over the edges with Vintage Photo.

Newton's Nook Design Inky Paws Sketch Challenge #246 - Happy Blooming Birthday!

 What does one do when they are procrastinating and not doing the housework that she should be doing.....why making cards of course! LOL

I am a sucker for a sketch so when the Newton’s Nook Designs Inky Paws Challenge sketch popped up on my feed, I immediately had to make something! LOL I'll include a picture of the sketch below.

This started with a piece of plain white cardstock and the argyle stencil set from Newton's Nook Designs. I used Gina K. Designs Inks in Peach Bellini and Ocean Mist to stencil this amazing design with some blending brushes!! So crisp and so fun! I then added a strip of teal paper which the manufacturer is unknown to me. I then die cut the entire panel with a Unity Stamp Co. scallops and rectangles die. I then cut the orange polka dot tag using the fancy edges tag die set. The image is from a set called Loads of Blooms, which happens to be retired now. I didn't get the matching die set so fussy cutting is what needed to happen! I colored her in with my KingArt Alcohol Markers and added her to the tag along with some burlap and natural twine. I attached the tag with foam adhesive and then added some enamel dots from Echo Park to finish it off.

The challenge runs through the end of the month!

~ November 2025 Friends of Unity Blog Hop ~ Creating a Background

 Hello again and welcome to November! It's crazy how fast this year has flown by! This month's theme is creating a background!

This is something that I feel most of us, especially myself, do quite often! I follow a lot of different techniques and love to try new things.

My first card today features a technique that I found on Pinterest a while back. I have made a bunch of these backgrounds for several projects and have had a lot of people ask how it's done. While I cannot find the original video, I am working on my own! :) 

I will share once it's finished!

It starts with a bunch of scraps! Cut strips of cardstock into 1/2" to 3/4" strips. 

Glue them in any order or randomly, horizontally, on a sheet of copy paper or some other thin medium. I like to leave a tiny gap between the strips to let the rows be seperate. If your scraps have "directional" print, be sure to keep them all going in the same direction. One of my scraps says "happy birthday" and another has balloons....I had to pay attention to which way the strips were laid out. 

Once all glued down, cut this sheet of paper in the opposite direction to create more strips!

Next grab another sheet of copy paper or other thin medium and glue the strips to that. I like to start corner to corner, but you can do whatever makes you happy! 

Like I mentioned above, if you have a directional print, be sure to arrange them with the words of print going in the right direction. Normally I can flip them and arrange whatever way (like the Christmas one below), but this one I had to be careful! 

I like to die cut the panel to clean up any ragged edges and also to mash it all together! I die cut this panel with the largest of the scallops and rectangle nesting dies. After I was finished with the actual card base panel, I had some extra pieces left over. Both what was cut off the edges and one entire strip that didn't get used....couldn't let it go to waste! I made a tag with the remnants! I used the scallops and banners nesting dies for that one! :)

I used the Pastel Party Parade for the Birthday card and North Pole Collections: Papers for the Christmas one. This "happy birthday" die was purchased from Unity, but I don't see it any longer. The "merry christmas" die is still available! 

The next technique I used, I sort of showed what the start of it looked like already, and Lisa Arana posted this how-to video on the Unity Blog, but this was so fun and turned out so pretty, I thought I would share the finished card! 

This is how it started! ^

This is how it ended up! ^ Once I cut up the sheets into A2 panels, this one stuck out because it looked like the ocean to me. After it was die cut with the largest of the scallops and rectangles nesting dies, I then grabbed an older Whit Kit set called Just Keep Swimming from 8/2021. Like Lisa's video I added some words and distressing to the background with a couple other set pieces. Stamped with versamark and embossed with white embossing powder. I did the same with the turtles. Stamped onto vellum with versamark and embossed with white embossing powder, then fussy cut them both out. I added some clear dew drops.....it looks like water right?! LOL

So what's better than a blog hop!?! A blog hop that announces a challenge! :) The Friends of Unity are sponsoring a challenge over on the Unity Show & Tell Facebook page! 3 Unity gift certificates for $25 each are up for grabs!!!

To start the hop from the beginning, you can start with Crystal's blog here. Otherwise, you can head over to Joyce's blog here.

Thanks for joining us all year! Be sure to come back in December for a MOOD BOARD!!!

{BYSHC} Sketch 63 - Merry Christmas Bear

 Hello and Welcome to November! :| How did we get here so fast!?! Well it's definitely crunch time so glad that {BYSHC} has helped me get my Christmas card supply full and ready to get cards out!

Today begins Sketch 63! This sketch lasts throughout the month of November and our awesome sponsor this month is Angie Blom Digital Designs! I love using digital images! You have so many options! Change sizes, move things around on the page, it's amazing!

My first card for the month features this sweet set called Beary Nice, the sentiment is from Ho Ho Ho Merry Christmas. Printed the image and sentiment, colored the bear using King Art Alcohol Markers. Plaid background paper and green "tree" strip are from Echo Park Snowed In. I added some enamel dots from Gina Marie Designs and stapled the sentiment to the base.

{BYSHC} Sketch 62 - Ho Ho Ho

 Hello again! Welcome back! Sketch 62 is what we are working on this month! Christmas and Holiday card giving will be here soon! We are here to help you be ready for the busy season! Our sponsor this month is Gina K. Designs! I love her!

This card features a technique I learned from a Gina K video! It's not new, but it's new to me! Inked an embossing folder and ran the cardstock through it.  The embossing folder is Stampin Up Cable Knit, the ink I used is Gina K dye ink in Red Hot.  The image is from Angie Blom Digital Designs, called Christmas Joy Mugs.  Tag die cut with one of the make a tag die set from Unity Stamp Co. Enamel dots from Gina Marie Designs.

This card, while it may not be my favorite, is still a handmade card. Made by me, one of a kind and created with love! They don't all have to be masterpieces to be appreciated! :)

{BYSHC} Falling for the Holidays 2025 Linky Party - Happy Holidays!

 This will have to be my last entry for the {BYSHC} Falling for the Holidays 2025 Linky Party! I have a Halloween Party to get ready for tonight....and it's my last prepared card base! ;)

What an amazing week! I created so many cards and had a blast doing it! Pretty sure my messy desk is worse now that it was when I started! ;) 

I followed {BYSHC} Sketch 45 for this one! Cute reindeer and sentiment from Taylored Expressions Fluffy Friends - Holiday, tag cut with Unity Stamp Co. Make a Tag Nesting Dies, twine from May Arts Ribbons, enamel dots from Gina Marie Designs, papers are from Stampin Up, colored with King Art Alcohol Markers! Whew.....and that's a wrap! 

{BYSHC} Falling for the Holidays 2025 Linky Party - Holiday Hugs

 Well maybe one more! Today is the final day for the {BYSHC} Falling for the Holidays 2025 Linky Party and today is usually the day that I try to get in as many cards as possible! LOL

I had die cut and stamped these images and sentiments the other day from Taylored Expressions Fluffy Friends - Holiday so just colored what I had! Grabbed a background I had made using scraps and followed {BYSHC} Sketch 55 to get it done! 

Anyone else feel like this kitty cat looks?!?! I know I do! 

{BYSHC} Falling for the Holidays 2025 Linky Party - Spirit of Christmas

 {BYSHC} Falling for the Holidays 2025 Linky Party ends at midnight! This is the time that I usually start freaking out and make a bunch of more stuff! We'll see what happens! Either way, be sure to have any and all entries posted to the blog before the clock strikes 12! ;)

This die cut tree has been in my stash for probably 15+ years! Always holding on to it to use on a scrapbook page, but when I saw it, it felt like a solemn sort of image. Sometimes the holidays are not always happy, for some it is a very difficult time of year. This card is for those who may be struggling with the season.  

This was created with a gold piece of cardstock that was once whole, but cut in half to use on something else.....that didn't happen! So I stuck it back together and added the plaid piece which was a piece of cardstock in a thank you bag from Unity Stamp Co! As I said the tree is so old, I may have gotten it at a vendor event, not really sure. The sentiment I printed on my computer and die cut with the Postage Stamp Nesting Dies from Unity.  Subtle pearls are from Gina Marie Designs.

There may or may not be more cards posted by me, time will tell!