There’s something about a rainy-day image that feels especially fitting for an encouragement card. Maybe it’s because we all walk through “stormy” seasons from time to time. When I saw the sweet bird holding that rainbow umbrella from the Puddles to Petals Stamp Set from Unity Stamps , I immediately knew I didn’t want this to be just a cute card—I wanted it to feel hopeful. Today’s handmade clean and layered encouragement card is all about combining stamping techniques in a

There’s something about a nautical theme that instantly makes me think of structure and balance. Ships, anchors, lighthouses—they all have strong lines and intentional design. That’s exactly why I love pairing a seaside theme with an A2 Book Cradle Fun Fold Card. The fold itself feels architectural, almost like a little display stand, which makes it perfect for showcasing layered pattern paper and detailed die cuts. For this card, I reached for the Paper Rose Studio Seaside M

When I sit down to create an Easter card, I usually have one goal in mind: soft, sweet, and dimensional — without making it complicated. For this handmade Easter card, I wanted a clean and layered design that felt polished but still approachable for beginner to intermediate cardmakers. Texture became the focus. In my video, Creating a Textured Easter Card with Pattern Paper, Dies & Ink Blending Techniques , I walk through the full process so you can see how everything comes t

There’s something about a bold red barn and blue gingham that just feels cheerful and celebratory. For this birthday card, my goal was to create a farm-themed design that felt playful but still structured and polished. I wanted the card to have personality without looking cluttered — especially since I was working with multiple stamped images and a strong focal die cut. I walk through the full process in my video, but here I want to share the design thinking behind it. Unders

There’s something about a punny birthday card that just makes people smile before they even read the message. For this project, I wanted to combine playful stamped images with a bold layered stencil background — without letting the design feel overwhelming. The goal was to show how you can mix stenciling, ink blending, and Copic coloring in a way that feels cohesive and manageable. I walk through the full creative process in the video, but here on the blog I want to talk more

There is something so refreshing about a clean and simple design that still feels full of personality, and that is exactly what I leaned into with these three cards featuring the new release from The Rabbit Hole Designs. The shaker card showcases the Quirky Bird 2x3 Stamp & Die Set with a bright, open layout that keeps the focus right on that adorably offbeat bird. A crisp white background allows the soft ink blending and sparkling shaker elements to really shine without ove

There’s something about a “just because” card that feels extra special. No holiday. No deadline. Just a simple reminder that someone matters. When I sat down to create this handmade card using the Bouquet of Purrs Stamp Set  from Unity Stamps, I knew I wanted the focus to be warmth, softness, and personality. Not fussy. Not complicated. Just heartfelt. Sometimes we overthink friendship cards. We add layers, embellishments, extra techniques… and before we know it, the message

Masculine birthday cards can feel tricky. So many patterned papers lean floral or soft, and it’s easy to overthink the layout trying to make everything feel “manly enough.” For this handmade birthday card, my goal was simple: create a strong, masculine design that still feels fun and polished — without making it complicated. I walked through the full process in today’s video so you can see how everything comes together visually. But here on the blog, I want to talk about the

There’s something about spring cards that makes us want to use all  the patterned paper at once. The colors are fresh, the prints are cheerful, and before we know it, we’re second-guessing every combination. For this handmade card, my goal was simple: create a bright spring design that feels layered and interesting without feeling busy or overwhelming. I share the full process in today’s video, but here on the blog I want to talk through the design thinking behind it—especial

There is something so satisfying about creating a card that looks impressive but is actually built on a very repeatable structure. That’s exactly why I love a Book Cradle fun fold card. It has presence. It stands beautifully for display. And it gives you multiple design areas to play with—without feeling overwhelming. For these two 5 x 7 handmade cards, I wanted to show how one layout can feel completely different simply by shifting the color story. Both designs use the same

Sometimes the hardest part of cardmaking isn’t the stamping or the blending… it’s deciding where to start. For this handmade friendship card, I let my Creative Card Deck  do the decision-making for me. I pulled four prompts: Occasion:  Friendship Color Prompt:  Soft/Subtle Technique:  Heat Embossing Design Rule:  Use Something Neglected That combination immediately gave me direction. Instead of staring at my supplies wondering what to create, I had a framework. In the video,

Today I’m sharing a collection of handmade cards created with the February 2026 New Release from C. C. Designs , featuring the Tiger Hunt Stamp Set , Hunt Stamp Set , Spring Animals Stamp Set , and Pink Green Stamp Set . Each card highlights a different theme, but they’re all tied together with clean layouts, bright alcohol marker coloring, and soft ink-blended backgrounds. I love how these designs let the stamped images truly shine — whether it’s the bold blue tiger paired w

Sometimes the best cards start with a simple challenge. For this birthday card, I pulled four prompts from my Creative Card Deck  as part of my Draw Four Create a Card  series. What I love about working this way is that it stretches my creativity without overcomplicating the design. When you’re crafting regularly (especially if you’ve been at it for years), it’s easy to fall back on the same layouts. A gentle constraint like this keeps things fresh — and honestly, it often le

There are some cards that come together quickly…and then there are cards that ask you to slow down and sit with them for a bit. This one definitely fell into the second category for me. I wanted to create a handmade card that felt calm, reflective, and full of comfort—the kind of card you send when words feel heavy, but presence matters. From the beginning, I knew the coloring would do most of the emotional storytelling, with stamping simply setting the stage. Letting the Sce

There’s something about Easter cards that invites bright color, playful layers, and just a little bit of dimension. For this set of three handmade Easter cards, my goal was simple: create bold, cheerful designs that look detailed and layered—but are still manageable for beginner to intermediate cardmakers. I filmed the full process in my Fast and Fabulous Card in Four Easy Steps | Happy Easter Card  video so you can see how everything comes together visually. Here on the blog

Spring cardmaking always puts me in a lighter, more playful headspace—but if I’m being honest, it’s also the season where I see a lot of cardmakers second-guess themselves. Pattern paper feels too busy . Ephemera feels hard to control . And suddenly, what should be a joyful creative session turns into overthinking every choice. So for these three spring cards, I leaned into a simple goal: let the pattern paper and ephemera do the supporting work, not the competing work . The

Shaker cards are one of those cardmaking styles that many crafters love to look at—but hesitate to make. Between the foam tape, alignment, and fear of things shifting, it can feel like a lot. For this Valentine’s Day project, my goal was to create a borderless shaker card that feels polished and playful, without the usual stress that comes with shaker construction. I wanted this card to focus on design decisions  rather than complicated assembly. Ink blending, faux bleaching,

Hi crafty friends! Today’s post is a little bit nostalgic and a whole lot inspiring. Scrappy Boy Stamps has announced a retiring list , which means several stamp sets, dies, stencils, and papers are heading out to make room for new releases. While it’s always bittersweet to say goodbye to favorites, I love using moments like this to look back at the projects that made these products so special. I’m sharing the retiring Scrappy Boy Stamps products I’ve personally used  in my

There are days when I want to sit down at my craft table and just make a card —no overthinking, no pulling out every supply I own, and definitely no complicated steps to remember. This birthday card came together on one of those days. I wanted something cheerful, a little playful, and easy to repeat when my birthday card stash starts running low. Clean and simple cardmaking has always been my go-to for that reason, and this sweet sheep image from Unity Stamps felt like the pe

If you’ve ever sat down to make a card and gotten stuck before you even started  because you couldn’t decide on colors, you’re not alone. I hear this all the time from cardmakers—especially those who love clean and simple designs but feel unsure about color theory. That hesitation can take the fun right out of crafting. For this spring card, my goal was to remove that roadblock entirely. Instead of starting with a stamp or die, I started with a color palette —specifically a s