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.

One of my favorite ways to make Christmas cardmaking feel more manageable is to find a layout I love and see how many different ways I can use it. When the holiday season gets busy, having a design that works more than once can save time without making every card feel exactly the same. For this project, I created three Christmas cards featuring the playful characters from C. C. Designs, then carried the same festive feel over to a coordinating bookmark. The bright pink and gr

Some Christmas cards are all about traditional colors, pretty patterns, and classic holiday images. Others are about making someone laugh! For Day 3 of the C. C. Designs October release sneak peeks, I’m sharing a funny Christmas card featuring the RV Stamp Set and Christmas Vacation Pattern Paper. This project combines a playful stamped character, watercolor pencil coloring, and a mix of bold patterns to create a card with plenty of personality. I also pulled in a few papers

There’s something special about bringing a classic Christmas character to life with paper, color, and a few thoughtful details! For this project, I created a festive Santa card featuring the Santa Die Set from Pixi Dust Designs, a richly blended green background, and a touch of gold sparkle. I wanted Santa to be the star of the design, but I also wanted the background to contribute to the overall look rather than simply sit behind him. By combining die cutting, layered paper

There’s something about a bold combination of color, pattern, and a little sparkle that makes a handmade birthday card feel extra special! For this project, I’m sharing a sneak peek at the upcoming October 2026 release from C.C. Designs, featuring the Darlin’ Dolly Stamp Set and coordinating Darlin’ Dolly Pattern Paper Pack. With bright turquoise, playful pinks, leopard print, and plenty of personality, this card is a fun reminder that birthday cards don’t have to follow a tr

There is something I really enjoy about creating cards around everyday objects. A teapot, a little jar, a cup, or even a simple shelf can become the starting point for a card that feels warm and personal. That was exactly my thought when I started working with the new The Simple Things Release from Pinkfresh Studio. For this release blog hop, I wanted to explore the same general collection of images in two different ways—one card using traditional stamping and another using a

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?

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Birthday cards are one of those projects I never seem to have enough of on hand. No matter how many I make, there always seems to be another birthday right around the corner. That's one reason I love creating card designs that are easy to customize while still looking polished and thoughtful.

One of the questions I hear most often from cardmakers is how to make a card feel coordinated when using products from different sets. It's easy to fall in love with a stencil, a die set, and a stamp set individually, but bringing them together into a single design can sometimes feel overwhelming.

One of the questions I hear often from cardmakers is how to make different die sets work together without the finished card looking busy or disconnected. It’s easy to fall into the habit of using products exactly as they were designed or only pairing items from the same collection. But some of the most interesting card designs happen when you start mixing pieces from different sets and looking at your supplies in a more flexible way.

There’s something about masculine cards that always nudges me to think a little differently. I don’t reach for more “stuff” or extra layers—instead, I tend to focus on texture, contrast, and strong focal points that feel intentional and clean. For this card, I wanted something that felt bold but still easy to recreate with supplies already sitting on my desk. I also find that masculine designs are the perfect place to lean into playful sentiments and unexpected details. A

I always love a project that lets me stretch my supplies a little further—and these cards were exactly that. I sat down with a handful of products from Paper Rose Studio and challenged myself to create four clean and simple Easter cards using the same core supplies. What surprised me most was how different each card felt with just a few small changes in layout and layering. If you’ve ever felt like your cards start to look the same, this is such a fun way to break out of that

Sometimes the best way to stretch your supplies isn’t by buying something new… it’s by looking at what you already own a little differently. For today’s project, I created two handmade hoodie mouse-themed cards using the same layout and the same die sets — just changing the colorway from red to pink. My goal was simple: show how one strong design can do the heavy lifting for you. When you remove the pressure to reinvent the wheel every time, cardmaking becomes a lot more enj

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

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

I recently had the chance to unbox and test several of the newest tools from My Sweet Petunia , including the MISTI LITE , Petunia Platform , Power Mag , and Mini Pawn Magnets , and I couldn’t wait to put them through their paces using supplies from my own stash. I tested the MISTI LITE with both clear and red rubber stamps and tried stamping on card fronts, envelopes, inside a book, and even paired it with stencils to see how versatile it really is. I love testing tools in

I finally got the chance to sit down with the Hotucolor 50-Color Alcohol Markers Set (Brush + Fine Tips) , and I was genuinely impressed by how easy they were to work with right out of the box. The brush tips felt smooth, the colors blended nicely, and the set offers a solid range for a limited palette—though creating color combos does take a little getting used to. Your swatch sheet will quickly become your best friend! I recommend filling out the one Hotucolor provides an

There’s just something magical about crafting in the fall. Maybe it’s the cooler air that makes you want to cozy up with a cup of...

Fall is in full swing here in Alabama, and I have to admit—it’s one of my favorite times of the year to create cards. The cooler weather...