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

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

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

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

One of the questions I hear most often from cardmakers is, “How do you know which Copic colors to use?”  Coloring stamped images can feel intimidating, especially when you’re staring at a big marker collection and don’t know where to start. For this card, my goal was to take that pressure off and show a more intuitive way to make color decisions—by letting the pattern paper do the work for you. I created this cute and whimsical handmade card as an example of how pattern paper

When I sit down to make a Valentine’s Day card, my goal is almost always the same: something cheerful and heartfelt that doesn’t require overthinking every single step. This project started with that exact intention—creating a handmade card that feels finished and polished, but still relaxed and approachable from start to finish. One of the biggest challenges I hear from cardmakers is alcohol marker coloring. Not the coloring itself, but the decisions  that come with it—what

When it comes to Valentine’s Day cards, I hear the same concern every year: “I want to make something cute and thoughtful, but I don’t want to overthink it.”  That’s exactly the problem I wanted to solve with these three handmade Valentine’s Day cards. The goal with this project was to show how die cutting and pattern paper mixing  can do the heavy lifting for you—no complicated coloring, no guessing if things coordinate, and no pressure to reinvent the wheel. I shared the fu

If you’ve ever pulled out a patterned paper pack, flipped through a few sheets, and then quietly put the whole thing away because it felt like too much —you’re not alone. Pattern paper can be one of the most intimidating supplies on a cardmaker’s desk, especially if you love clean, simple designs but still want a little extra interest. For today’s card, I leaned into a clean-and-layered approach that lets pattern paper support the design instead of taking it over. The goal wa

Sometimes I sit down to make a card and realize the real challenge isn’t how  to make it—it’s deciding where to start . Too many supplies, too many options, and suddenly the creative spark feels a little stuck. For this Coffee & Magic card, my goal was to simplify those decisions while still creating a card that feels polished, layered, and fun. I wanted a design that leaned heavily on die cutting and pattern paper, with no complicated coloring or fussy steps. The video walks

One of the things I hear most often from cardmakers is, “I love my dies… but I feel like I use them the same way every time.”  That’s exactly the problem I wanted to solve with this project. Instead of reaching for a standard card base, I challenged myself to design an off-the-edge card in a nontraditional size—one that lets the die shape take center stage and feel intentional, not awkward. This jacket-shaped card was inspired by fan art (with a little Grease flair), but the

Mixing pattern paper on handmade cards is one of those things that sounds  more complicated than it really is—especially when you’re also stamping and coloring an image. I hear from cardmakers all the time who love patterned paper but hesitate to use it because they’re worried the card will feel too busy or out of control. That’s exactly the problem I wanted to solve with this winter card. I created this project to show how stamping, alcohol marker coloring, ink blending, and

Pattern paper can be one of the most inspiring—and intimidating—supplies in a cardmaker’s stash. I hear it all the time: “I love it, but I never know how to mix it without making my card feel too busy.”  This Valentine’s Day card was my answer to that exact problem. I wanted to create a design that felt layered, warm, and nostalgic while still being approachable for beginner-to-intermediate cardmakers. The result is a handmade Valentine that lets pattern paper do some of the

When I sit down to make a gift card holder, my goal is always the same: I want it to feel just as special as a traditional card, not like an afterthought. Gift cards are practical, but the presentation is what turns them into something memorable. For this project, I wanted a design that felt playful and polished, while still being approachable for everyday cardmaking. This mouse-themed gift card holder card does exactly that. The combination of die cutting and pattern paper m

Scene cards can feel intimidating. There are a lot of moving pieces, and it’s easy to get stuck wondering where to start  or how to make everything work together . For this project, my creative goal was to build a theatre-style scene card that feels detailed and story-driven, without turning into an overwhelming design puzzle. I shared the process on video so you can see how the card comes together visually, but I also wanted to take a moment here on the blog to talk about th

Some cards come together because you planned every detail… and some happen because you just needed a card for that one friend . You know the one—the friend who appreciates a little sass, a little humor, and a whole lot of heart. That’s exactly where this card started. I wanted something clean and simple, but not boring. Polished, but still playful. And most importantly, flexible enough that the design could work again and again with supplies I already love. This project is a