BYSHC Falling for the Holidays 2026 - Card 8

    Here’s my eighth card for this fall’s Linky Party! Wow… never made this many in a row! Join in the fun this last day for a chance at winning a prize from a sponsor! Check it out here:

BYSHC 2026 Linky Party

So, been meaning to try this out with watercolors and finally had the time to do it. Basically, I used the inside ring of a used Scotch tape refill to lightly “stamp” circles on a leftover piece of Arches watercolor paper. For each circle, I laid down on a flat mat the watercolor paint I wanted, dipped the ring into the paint and tranferred it to the paper. I then used the paint from my palette to loosely paint the ornament. I added a darker hue color on each ornament to add depth. I sprinkled a little bit of Schminke gold powder on the mat and using the wet brush I picked up the powder and added gold drops here and there into the wet paint of each ornament. I repeated this twice to create the other 2 ornaments. Hard to see but there are gold blobs in each ornament. 

I painted the tops of each ornament and the string/wire holding each. I used a brown pen to outline and firm up the edges. Not wanting to stop there, I decided to use a good metallic pen to add decorations on each ornament. I then used paint and brown and white pen to add shadows and highlights. Obviously I wasn’t going for realism here… just impressions of ornaments. I spattered paint around the paper. Here’s a mid-process capture of my efforts to see what I was working with… obviously I kept fussing with it.

I looked through my stash of Christmas patterned papers for a background I could use to create a card. I found a Unity paper I thought was the loose style I was looking for from the pack Quiet Christmas Morning. To match the paper color, I loosely watercolored in a matching background behind the ornaments and added shadows. 

Finally, I found a sentiment that I could use from Unity’s Festive Flair kit. I embossed it using a Seth Apter powder onto a paper from Unity’s Frostborne pack (what can I say… colors matched). I backed everything with a brown patterned paper I had and called it done. The card base is an unusual size I had on hand that worked.

I think it turned out pretty festive and liked the loose watercolor style. I’ll be trying this again to make more cards. What do you think… did it work? Thanks for stopping by!

BYSHC Falling for the Holidays 2026 - Card 7

   Here’s my seventh card for this fall’s Linky Party! Join in the fun for a chance at winning a prize from a sponsor! Check it out here:

BYSHC 2026 Linky Party

Final card using Paper Rose’s  Mistletoe Market collection, maybe? Again, I used leftover scraps on this one with postage dies to create the 2 focus elements. From there I used 2 other papers as foundation layers. I again used ephemera pieces from the collection to complete the card along with a black ribbon.

This might be my favorite card using this collection! Thanks for stopping by!

BYSHC Falling for the Holidays 2026 - Card 6

  Here’s my sixth card for this fall’s Linky Party! Join in the fun for a chance at winning a prize from a sponsor! Check it out here:

BYSHC 2026 Linky Party

I can’t say this is my final card using Paper Rose’s  Mistletoe Market collection🥴, because I love it so much! So, hadn’t planned on this one but I was inspired by mistakes made in Card 5! Oh my, I had improperly cut the border and vellum for what I was trying to do for the shaker. So after deciding, I was done fussing around with another shaker, I decided I would just use the already black bordered vellum on another paper from the collection -  this time a holiday library scene. I again used the ephemera packs from the collection for embellishments. I cut down tags from leftover scraps to back the Home for the Holidays tag. I used leftover scraps with a die to mount the puffy present and typewriter on. I used a Simon Says die set, Pine and Post Gift Card Envelope to add pine sprigs. Finally, I used a green ribbon to complete the card. (Everything was adhered onto the vellum.)

 Quite a different from all the others. Bit of a hodgepodge… but fun to look at all the elements. Hope you like it! Thanks for stopping by!

BYSHC Falling for the Holidays 2026 - Card 5

   Here’s my fifth card for this fall’s Linky Party! Join in the fun for a chance at winning a prize from a sponsor! Check it out here:

BYSHC 2026 Linky Party

 I used Paper Rose’s Mistletoe Market Basics papers for this card and the puffy Embossed Die Cuts included in the collection. This time I tried my hand at a shaker card! I used Tim Holtz glitter snow for the insides. It’s a pretty simple card, although I never find shakers to be easy or simple to put together. For embellishments, I just used a black ribbon and Prima mint green dots.

 

Like I said previously… I’m in love with this cute collection! You like? 

Thanks for stopping by!

BYSHC Falling for the Holidays 2026 - Card 4

    Fourth card for this fall’s Linky Party! Join in the fun for a chance at winning a prize from a sponsor! Check it out here:

BYSHC 2026 Linky Party

For a change of pace, as I was looking through my scrap papers and my Unity membership kits, I happened upon 2 items I decided to pair! First, there was the craft colored holiday baking scrap patterned paper that inspired me to create this card. (I do make Christmas cookies every year with my son and grandson!) Then, I found a couple of dresses with aprons in the membership kit, Sweetness, Miracles and Wishes. I also found a couple more holiday scrap papers, maybe, from Authentique, believe it or not, that I used to fussy cut together the dresses and for other parts of the card. I found a glittery striped patterned paper I kept from a 12x12 sheet that I used for the background. I used the sentiment from the Pretty Darn Amazing membership kit. Finally for embellishments, I used an old Elizabeth Craft Kitchen Tools die set and gold glitter Stickles. Must admit I had fun using up old stuff again and creating a baking themed card.

How fun is this one! Do you bake for the holidays?  Hope you like it! Thanks for stopping by!

BYSHC Falling for the Holidays 2026 - Card 3

    Third card for this fall’s Linky Party! Join in the fun for a chance at winning a prize from a sponsor! Check it out here:

BYSHC 2026 Linky Party

 I used Paper Rose’s  Mistletoe Market collection again for this card. A tag was cut out and partially die cut at the bottom using a postage die. I punched a hole at the top, added a sticky silver strip at the bottom and ribbons at the top. I used a leftover scrap from the last card for the bottom of the card. I used a dark muted green scrap patterned paper that matched colors for the top. I then fussy cut out snowflakes from another paper from the collection. I used a silver metallic holographic paper and a piece of black paper to separate the top and bottom background pieces. I added silver snowflakes for more embellishment. I used black paper as a foundation layer.

This one turned out quite different from the first card. Hope you like it! Thanks for stopping by!

BYSHC - Falling for the Holidays 2026 Linky Party - Card 2

   Second card for this fall’s Linky Party! Join in the fun for a chance at winning a prize from a sponsor! Check it out here:

BYSHC 2026 Linky Party

My second card (I’m in love with this brand new collection and will definitely do more) was created  using Paper Rose’s  Mistletoe Market collection. This card was built using just papers from the collection. A few tags were cut down and a partial sheet along with black paper and a postage die were used as the focal point. I did pull in a different vendor’s black patterned paper for the bottom background. I used a black ribbon that I’ve never used before to separate the top and bottom background papers. I added clear crystals for embellishments. I also hot glue gunned an old Stampin’ Up metal embellishment, composed of two bells with striped back black twine.

Pretty festive, I think! Thanks for stopping by!

BYSHC - Falling for the Holidays 2026 Linky Party - Card 1

 First card for this fall’s Linky Party! Join in the fun for a chance at winning a prize from a sponsor! Check it out here:

BYSHC 2026 Linky Party

I used a craft magazine stamp set called Winter Woodland by Sheena. This all started when trying to use up Bo Bunny paper from long ago. I challenged myself to paint a bird using the colors of the birds in the paper. The bird is sitting on a branch, that I ended up fussy cutting. I used gold and white paint for the buds on the branch and the pinecone. I gold embossed a sentiment from the kit and used old DCWV shiny gold patterned paper to back that and as a background panel. I used a SSS Privet Branch die with red patterned, black and gold papers and vellum to back the branch. I added enamel dots to complete the card. I really liked the stamps included in this set.

For some reason, I love this card…maybe the richness of the colors. Thanks for stopping by…see you tomorrow!

Redone Efforts

 So, I found a stash of partially built and old messy cards that I wanted to refresh and use. Again, in an effort to use up stuff lying around, I decided to see what I could do with them. 

First up is an old watercolor that was one of my firsts. The stamp set is from Unity’s Abundant Blessings kit. It was pretty bland and dull looking, so I spruced and warmed it up with white, yellow, red and gold acrylic and watercolor paints and paint pens. I cut it down a little from original and found prettier papers to use. I also darkened the background contrast. I added gold dots and made it into a square card.

I think it’s more vibrant now. Unfortunately, I no longer own this stamp set… a failing on my part! I would definitely repaint it!

The second card made was from a scrap stamped image. I added metallic paints to enliven the embossed feather and spattered it. The feather came from Unity's  then used Unity’s Feather Soft Love kit. I used Unity’s Chic Script and Salutations kit for a sentiment. I paired the image with a Crafter’s Companion shiny glittery paper. 

I also decided to decorate the inside of the card as well using sprigs from Difference Maker and Newsprint Floral Greetings and some text from another kit.

The next card was built using a pre-embossed panel that I added metallic watercolors and white acrylic paint to. I spattered it as well. The sentiment came from Newsprint Floral Greetings and the feather came from Feather Soft Love. I double layered the sentiment with the Crafter’s Companion’s glitter paper that I also used in the background. I added clear crystals to complete the card.

I also added an internal sentiment from a Hero Arts kit and another Unity feather from the membership kit Difference Maker.

They both turned out okay, I think, and I will be using them this month. Thanks for stopping by!

Friends of Unity October Blog Hop

 Hello… welcome back to our Friends of Unity blog hop. We have a special theme this month:

I have, that I recall, never made a breast cancer card, even though I know, 1 in 8 women are diagnosed with it. And, I have special friends and relatives that have been challenged by this disease. So, I took the opportunity to use a very, very old retired membership kit called Faith, Hope, Love… Live By It. Funny… looking through their store, there are kits available from that year that are still very cute. Unfortunately, this is not one of them. It’s too bad as it’s very cancer oriented.

I made this card using 5 stamps from the kit - 3 sentiments, a circle background and a ribbon strip. I used a combo of pink, gold metallic and brown embossing powders on brown and several pink patterned papers. I used a variety of circle dies on the stamped images and shiny gold sparkle and metallic papers. I used corner dies from Elizabeth Craft Co. The background papers include a sparkly pink paper, a sparkly white paper underneath that one and a plain brown cardstock paper. I love the combo of pink and brown.

I hope this works as a card for a special tough situation. Having never made a “circle” card.. it was challenging to line up colors, patterns and a design that I considered somewhat cohesive. What do you think? Comment below (with your name) for a chance at winning some Unity goodies from me!

Speaking of winning… I’d like to congratulate 

Ida

on winning a package from me from last month’s hop. Please text me you address, Ida, to claim your package and, thank you for the kind words!

Now on to the rest of the hop:

You may have come here from

Toni’s blog

You can continue on with

Rachel’s blog

Or, start from the top with

Crystal’s blog

Growing in Unity - Last Day

 Welcome back… to my last day of my Growing in Unity week. This has been so fun challenging myself again for a full week of creativity and play.

Again, I had to go back to my favorite season for inspiration for this one! I started with a cutout of a magazine page, a patterned paper I just fell in love with. Because of its size, I decided to use it to make a slim line card. I found one of my favorite female stamps that I think kind of celebrates the season in the Golden Glow, 10/23 membership kit. I stamped the image using a combo of stamps… dark brown for the hat and lighter on the rest of the image. Because I like paper piecing, I used the Pink Paislee Autumn Lane pad from last card for the shirt and another tan paper for the cup. With all 3 papers after stamping I used colored pencils for coloring and shading, using tones in the background paper to coordinate everything. I fussy cut and pieced all of the pieces together. I did also use colored pens and white pens on the hair.

Once she was ready, I found a tan scrap paper that looked like cardboard and another real cardboard paper in green I could use to back the image. I stamped the sentiment from the kit on a random scrap paper that matched, embossed it with holographic powder, inked the edges, made a banner of it and backed that as well.

I pulled out a chipboard leaf and used a combination of green inks and clear embossing powder repeatedly to color it. I used an embossing pen to add copper powder over parts of it as well. (See bottom right.) 

To complete the card, I added the “cold” strip I picked up from Unity (inking the edges again), a 49 and Market green ephemera piece, a brown button and green twine.

I think she’s my fav piece this week… the colors, her face and that paper… yes!

Welp… that completes my week! What a fun time I had! Be sure to leave a comment letting me know your feedback and what your favorite day has been. I’ll be picking 2 winners for $20 in store credit and making an announcement on Unity’s Show and Tell page next week. Thanks for stopping by and happy fall crafting!

Growing in Unity - Day 4

 Okay…went back to fall… because I don’t know about you…but shorter daylight, leaves falling, cooling weather is triggering my autumn vibes 🍂🍁!

Hence… Hello Fall , y’all🤣!

I found this unused acorn image and freebie “Hello Fall” sentiment in my stash. Looking back, the acorn image came from the Warm and Cozy membership kit from 8/19… really going back in time! I began this journey by first pulling some fall patterned papers from Prima and borrowing the palette colors - pulling out matching colored pencils. I stamped the image on sketching paper and colored it in. I then fussy cut it out.

 I then used the old Prima papers and another random paper from a Pink Paislee Auburn Lane fall paper pad that had copper metallic enhancements on it. I used it to back the Prima papers. 

Then looking thru my stash, I noticed I had a bonding embossing powder, not ink. You stamp with regular embossing ink, and then sprinkle with the embossing bonding powder and heat it. I had to research what I could do with it and found out I could use it with foil sheets, glitter or gilding flakes. Oh, boy, I thought, how fun to try stamping some acorns. I just happened to find some in the It’s All Makin’ Sense membership kit from 7/24. Never having done this before it was an adventure. I found I had made a purchase of copper foil sheets, from Gina K. Of course, I bought them and never used them before 🤣. Geez! So, here’s my foiled acorns. 

Okay, I have to admit, I’m using the GIU week to play and this was another super fun thing to explore. I also must admit, I selfishly care more about playing than creating perfection in cards. (I’m always left with…okay how do I salvage my playtime efforts.) I really need to try this again with holiday cards! To complete this one, I stamped the sentiment, added a fancy string and enamel dots!

Pretty fallish, huh? Remember to leave a comment for a chance to win $20 of store credit! See you tomorrow… my last day of the week!

Growing in Unity - Day 3

 Wow…midweek already! Btw… meet Mija… our 4 month old pup!

I decided for Day 3 of my Growing in Unity week, that I’d tackle a little Christmas card. This was an easy make as I only used 2 kits for this one! I combined Frost and Folklore, the membership kit from 10/25, and, Holly All Around.

I started by embossing the images onto Bristol paper using a sparkly golden red embossing powder from Brutus Monroe. I stamped the sentiment from the same kit using green ink and holographic powder. I used a couple of green inks with the background Holly stamp. I cut down all the pieces, layered them with a red sparkly paper and a plain green one. To complete this simple, but festive card I added a red ribbon and red crystals.

Pretty easy card to make, but cute I think! Plus, I got started on my Christmas cards. Thanks for stopping by and remember to comment on my blogs this week for a chance at winning $20 of store credit.