{BYSHC} Sketch 51 - Merry Christmas

 Hello and welcome again to see what new and fun sketch {BYSHC} has for you! Sketch 51 will bring November to a close and this card is the inspiration for the sketch!

This little lovely was originally created about a year ago for the Falling for the Holidays Linky Party! This was created using mostly scraps! The background was stamped with the Linen background of the month stamp from Unity Stamp Co., but the patterned papers and even the tag were all part of my scrap collection. The reindeer is a no longer available stamp from Stampin Up. Tied with some red organza ribbon and some burlap twine. Green glitter enamel dots to finish it off!

New sketch loading! Starting December 1!

Growing in Unity - Final Day!

 It's amazing how fast a week goes by when you are having so much fun! Welcome to day 5 of my Growing in Unity Week! Thank you for each and every comment and kind word both here and on Facebook....I am truly thankful and humbled by each one!

If you "know" me, then you know how I am a hoarder.......of scraps! It's so fun to find things that go together, but aren't supposed to go together! LOL Between all the Christmas card making, birthday card making, Thanksgiving card making, etc. my desk is covered with scraps. All sizes, all occasions, some solid cardstock, some red and white peppermint stripe paper! Not only that but bits and pieces of things....sentiments not used, leftover circles from a die cuts, just a hodge-podge of stuff! So for the last day of my week.....it's all about the scraps!

This is the beginning ^ picture! Paper, sentiments, images, vellum, all the things! Let's get to work!

All in all I made 3 birthday cards, one friend card and 4 holiday cards (one not pictured going on my Friends of Unity post {stay tuned} :) I can honestly say that there is plenty more scrap cards to come, two factors contributed to there not being more.....I've been fighting a cold all week and Thanksgiving Prep and subsequent cleanup! LOL ;)

Through this process, I used a bunch of sketches that can be found either at {BYSHC} Facebook Page, or on Tawny Owl Paperie Facebook Page! I am a sucker for a good sketch! Sketches are there to "inspire not require!"

I hope you give your scraps some love! Remember you kept them for a reason! That reason is now! I so enjoyed my week with ya'll! See you again soon!!

I'll leave the commenting until Sunday afternoon-ish and then will start the random-prize-winner-choosing-process! :)

Growing In Unity - Day #4

Hi and HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

 Whew! Day 4 already? Well it's been a great and fun week!

Today's card took some time for me to get it just right. I stamped, and walked away, then came back and did a little inking, then walked away, came back and found the "right" patterned paper....all in all, this one took all day! But in the end, I absolutely LOVE it!

I started with white cardstock, and stamped A Faithful Letter with Vintage Photo Distress Oxide. It was actually the second stamping, so it's nice and light. To that I stamped on the flowers from Simply Blessed. I wasn't too crazy about the fact that I could see the words through the stamping so I water-brushed the words out of the vase mostly. I used some inks as watercolors and gently colored in the image. I used Gina K Designs Ocean Mist for the vase, then I used some tea dye and wild honey distress inks for the flowers, leaves were gina k grass green. 

Then I die cut the image using one of the scallops and arches nesting dies and added foam adhesive. The background paper is from the Jubilant Tapestry paper pack, the other two pieces are leftover pieces that were on my desk that I tore the edges. The ribbon was recycled from a gift my daughter received. 

Sentiment is from ...aging gorgeously, stamped in black then slightly ink blended to match the rest. I added a paperclip for a little extra touch. The translucent enamel dots are from Gina Marie Designs.

Come back tomorrow for a "scrap-tastic" final day! Also, don't forget to comment to have a chance to win one of two $20 gift certificates!

Growing in Unity - Day #3

Half way through the week! Whew, that was fast! Since discovering Unity, I have learned so many techniques. I have also learned a bunch of things on Pinterest. It's a great place to find inspiration for all the things! 

I have done this technique before...white embossing, ink blending....but I found this set of cards on Pinterest and thought I had to give it a go! I have a bunch of Birthday's kicking off my new year, so Birthday cards are on my mind!

This card started as a full sheet of watercolor paper. I cut it up into 4 - 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" panels. Since it happens to be "UNITY MEMBERSHIP MAKES," I grabbed a large mandala that happens to be from the February 2017 Kit of the Month. I purchased it second hand. I stamped this large stamp using VersaMark embossing ink and my Misti so that I could be sure the image was stamped fully and ready to accept embossing powder! White embossing powder and a heat gun, then on to the ink blending with some Salvaged Patina distress oxide. I then wiped the excess ink off of the embossing, then sprinkled some water on to give it depth. 

I then found a strip of patterned paper and added it to the edge, then a strip of black cardstock to divide the edge. Happy Birthday (from gotta love sentiments) was stamped with versamark and embossed with white embossing powder.

I added some white enamel dots from Gina Marie Designs and it's done! I plan on making more of these in different colors!

Don't forget to comment to have a chance to win one of two $20 gift cards to Unity!

Day number 2 - Growing in Unity!

 Welcome to day two of my week Growing in Unity! It's a busy week with Thanksgiving prep and all, but don't miss out on some fun and freebies! I discovered this video and it really hit home with me because of all the little stamps that come in kits that just get ignored because they ARE so small! I did make a card using this technique during the {BYSHC} Falling for the Holidays Linky Party, but today's card is using a stamp from the 2023 Advent Calendar! The 2024 Calendar is about to start so I thought this would be a great time to use one of the smaller stamps for this technique! The video is from Natasha Foote (video link here). 

I chose the poinsettia stamp from the advent calendar (day number 11). I colored with KingArt alcohol markers and fussy cut a bunch of them out. Next I took a piece of white cardstock cut to 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 and die cut with the scallops and rectangles nesting dies. I cut the outside and then a panel in the center. I took the same markers I used to color the flowers and created the pink top to add the flowers to. I failed to take a picture of that part! :/ Some washi or pink/mint take did the trick to make a line to color against. I added the flowers a few with liquid glue and two with foam adhesive.

The sentiment is stamped at the bottom with VersaFine Clair in Nocturne. Sentiment comes from the October 2024 KOM. Perfect size and font! I added more foam adhesive to the back of the center die cut panel and then some clear flat sequins for sparkle. I love using the tiny stamps! Give it a try! 

Don't forget to comment on all the days for a chance to be drawn as one of two winners of $20 store credit! Stay tuned for tomorrow! It's Unity Membership Makes day! Before you start on your Thanksgiving prep, stop here first! ;)

Welcome to my Week Growing in Unity!

 Hello friends! Welcome to my little corner of the blog-iverse! My name is Jenni Shamblin and I am the Growing in Unity Girl for this week! I have been crafting for just about as long as I can remember, so it is literally a part of me. It is my stress reliever and my safe space! I can pour myself into a project and shut out *some* of the stress if only for a little time!

I am a HUGE fan of the technique called "ink smooshing." The variety of backgrounds that can be created is endless! When I sat down to start working on my projects for the week, I just wanted to get inky! So that's what I did! I started with a couple pieces of watercolor paper that I cut to generally the size of an A2 card. I wanted to make  "winter" themed cards. I am working on broadening my card collection to include all those that celebrate during the holidays.....not just Christmas!

I grabbed some speckled egg, broken china and stormy sky distress oxides and literally smooshed each one, one at a time, onto an acrylic block then spritzed with water. I then took a piece of acetate and dabbed into the ink, then dabbed onto the panel. Over and over again until I liked the coverage. With the leftover ink on the block, I used the other watercolor paper and then a scrap of white cardstock to sop up what was left. I now have two additional backgrounds to use!

To that I then added the snowflakes from the September 2024 KOM {wander and wonder} using Versa Mark embossing ink and some silver embossing powder from Nuvo. The panel was all well and good, but just wasn't grabbing me....it needed something more. So I die cut it with one of the scallops and circles nesting dies. The white die cut panel with the washi tape was not used on a previous project and was perfect to go with this beautiful snowy piece!

I die cut the snowflake from some silver shimmer paper using a die set from Waffle Flower called Winter Crystal Die. I then glued everything together. The sentiment (also from the same KOM) was stamped with versamark ink and white embossing powder was used on it. I stapled it to the die cut piece with some blue staples. Used some foam adhesive on the entire piece and then added some flat clear sequins to give it some pop! This was 1000% influenced by Unity Design Team Member Tenia Nelson! I just love her style!

Thanks for visiting and be sure to comment for a chance to be one of two winners that will be randomly drawn at the end of my week. $20 Unity credit! Lots of great things to come!!

{BYSHC} Sketch 51 - Cozy Winter Vibes

 Sketch 51 at {BYSHC} goes until the end of the month. It's the last big push to complete cards to be ready for the big holiday mailing!

This cute card kind of had a mind of it's own! I had printed a bunch of the images from the Angie Blom Digital Designs set called Christmas Joy Mugs. I colored with King Art Alcohol Markers and then fussy cut. The papers are scraps that were left on my desk (shocking) from a pad by Photoplay Gnome for the Holidays! I die cut the created panel with the scallops and rectangle nesting die set by Unity Stamp Co. and also the tag with the make a tag die set. I added some foam adhesive onto the back of the cup and add it to the tag. I added some red/white/green twine. The sentiment is from the Unity Sentiment Kit ...shake your flakes (December 2022).

It's really cute and colorful!