One of the things I enjoy most about Christmas cardmaking is finding ways to get more creative with the stamps I already have. Sometimes that means experimenting with different color combinations, and other times it means looking at a stamp set and thinking about how I can use the images in a completely different way. For this Christmas card, I decided to stamp the same little North Pole character four times and give each one its own personality through color. The result is a

Have you ever finished a handmade Christmas card, looked at it, and wondered if it needed just one more embellishment? I've been there! Sometimes, we get so caught up in adding the finishing touches that we forget one of the most important parts of cardmaking: good design. I want to share three simple Christmas card design tips that can help you create more polished handmade cards without making your projects more complicated. Whether you're a beginner or have been making ca

Fall is one of my favorite times to play with warm cardstock colors, textured backgrounds, and layered die cuts. There is something satisfying about combining a few simple shapes to create a focal point that feels full of personality. For this fall thank you card, I brought together a cheerful turkey, a pumpkin, and colorful flowers to create a design that celebrates the season without feeling overly complicated.

The holiday season is one of my favorite times to make cards. There are so many fun stamps, beautiful patterned papers, and festive colors to play with! But let's be honest. It's also the time of year when our crafting wish lists can get a little longer than the hours we have available.

Sometimes a handmade card calls for pretty florals and a heartfelt sentiment, and sometimes it needs a little humor and personality! For this project, I wanted to create a card that would make someone smile while giving me an opportunity to play with bold patterned paper, character stamping, and alcohol marker coloring. The result is this cheeky handmade card featuring the Fabulous & Flawed collection from Scrappy Boy Stamps. Between the playful characters and the sentiment,

Some Christmas cards are all about traditional colors, elegant greenery, and a little sparkle. Others call for a bit of humor and a nostalgic holiday moment! For this project, I leaned into the fun side of Christmas with a card inspired by Christmas Vacation, featuring the C. C. Designs RV Stamp Set and Christmas Vacation 6x6 Paper Pack. I wanted the finished card to feel playful and full of personality without letting all those festive details overwhelm the design. The resul

One of my favorite things about Christmas cardmaking is discovering how much personality I can bring to a single stamped image just by changing the colors and background. For these two handmade Christmas cards, I used the A Wink of Santa Stamp Set from Unity Stamp Company to create a pair of festive designs that share the same focal image but have very different looks. Both cards have a clean and simple style, but the colors, masking, and placement of the sentiments give each

There’s something about hot foiling that makes even a simple card feel a little more special. I love the way the metallic details catch the light, but I also love finding ways to take that shine a step further. For this birthday card, I combined hot foiling with stenciling to create a clean and simple design that still has plenty of detail. The result is a card that looks intricate, but the individual design elements do much of the work for me.

There are some cards that just make me smile, and this one is definitely one of them. I love when a card can feel cheerful and detailed without becoming complicated, and that was the goal behind this friendship card. The combination of the sweet Stars Hollow Clear Stamp Set from C. C. Designs, colorful pattern paper, and a simple layered layout gave me plenty of personality to work with. Instead of starting with a complicated technique, I focused on how the different elements

I love a fun fold that looks more complicated than it really is, and this Corner Flap Gate Fold definitely falls into that category. For this Halloween card, I wanted the fold itself to be part of the design rather than simply a different way to open the card. The combination of the deep Galaxy pattern paper, the little Halloween cat, and the cluster of cotton flowers creates a card with plenty of visual interest before you even open it.

There’s something I really enjoy about a good scene card: it gives the recipient a little story to discover. Instead of simply placing a stamped image on a card front, you can combine characters, a setting, color, and a sentiment to create a moment that feels like it could belong in a much bigger story. That was the idea behind this card for the new C. C. Designs release and today’s Cards, Coffee, and Stars Hollow Instagram Hop. I wanted these two characters to feel like they

One of my favorite ways to stretch a cardmaking idea is to stop changing the layout and start changing the color story. It is amazing how different the same stamped image can look when you move from cool colors to warm colors, or combine warm and cool shades in a balanced palette. That was the idea behind these three winter cards featuring the Knit Wits Stamp Set from Unity Stamp Company. Rather than creating three completely different designs, I kept the basic card structure

There’s something I really enjoy about a one-layer card. With no die-cut layers, patterned paper, or extra embellishments competing for attention, the stamped image has nowhere to hide. Every bit of coloring, placement, and detail becomes part of the design. That was exactly the approach I wanted for this fall card using the Acorn Almanac Stamp Set from Unity Stamp Company. Instead of building the card with multiple layers, I let the beautiful botanical image do most of the w

Halloween cardmaking is one of those times when I’m perfectly happy to let the patterned paper do some of the heavy lifting. Those spooky prints, colorful pumpkins, little ghosts, bats, skulls, and Halloween motifs already bring so much personality to a card. The trick is learning how to use all that visual information without letting the card feel too busy.

I love a card fold that makes a handmade card feel a little more special without requiring a complicated collection of techniques. That was the idea behind this pink Halloween card. The triple panel fun fold creates extra layers and plenty of room for patterned paper and embellishments, while the basic construction is still approachable for beginner and intermediate cardmakers.

I love when a stamped image does more than simply decorate a card—it gives the card a place, a feeling, and a little story. That is exactly what happened with this fall scene featuring the Fall for the Scenic Route Stamp Set from Unity Stamp Company. The boardwalk winding through the colorful trees immediately gave me that feeling of taking a quiet autumn walk, and I wanted the finished card to let that scene take center stage.

I love a card design that looks more complicated than it actually is, and this Halloween Dutch Door Fun Fold Card is a perfect example. The interesting opening gives the card some extra personality, but the construction is surprisingly approachable. It also creates a great opportunity to let patterned paper do much of the design work for you.

If you’ve ever stood in front of your ink collection wondering whether you should reach for Distress Inks or Distress Oxide Inks, you’re not alone. I’ve found that both can create beautiful ink-blended backgrounds and add shading to die cuts, but they behave differently enough that choosing the right one can change the entire look of a card. So instead of simply asking which ink is better, I think the more helpful question is: Which ink is better for the result I want?

One of my favorite parts of making seasonal cards is finding ways to use familiar images in a slightly unexpected way. For this Halloween card, I wanted to move beyond the traditional orange-and-black color combination and create something that felt spooky without being overly dark. The result combines fall imagery, a starry background, bold pattern paper, and a sweet little Halloween character for a card that has plenty of detail while still feeling clean and layered.

I love when one cardmaking technique can take a familiar stamped image and make it feel completely different. That was the idea behind these four Halloween cards. I wanted to play with the spooky images from the R.I.P. Stamp Set from Unity Stamps, but instead of simply stamping and coloring them, I decided to experiment with Deco Foil Transfer Gel Duo and see what would happen when I brought foil into the mix. The result is a collection of dramatic Halloween cards with plenty