There are times when a handmade card can say exactly what someone needs to hear. Whether a friend is recovering from an illness, navigating a difficult season, or simply having a tough week, an encouragement card can be a meaningful way to let them know they're not alone.

There’s something special about creating handmade cards that honor the people who serve our country, but I know patriotic and military-themed cards can sometimes feel a little intimidating to design. It’s easy to overthink the layout, struggle with bold patterned papers, or feel unsure about how to make everything work together without the card becoming too busy. For this project, I wanted to create a Memorial Day card that felt meaningful and layered while still being simple

There’s something so fun about creating a card that instantly tells a story the moment someone sees it. Scene cards have always been one of my favorite styles because they give you the chance to combine coloring, stamping, and layout design into one finished project that feels playful and full of personality. For this birthday card, I wanted to create a bright and cheerful scene with a cozy coffee shop vibe while still keeping the overall design easy to recreate with supplies

Sometimes a gift card is exactly what you need… but it can feel a little impersonal on its own. I’ve been reaching for ways to dress them up without adding a lot of extra time or complexity, and this coffee cup shaped gift card holder has quickly become one of my favorite solutions. It’s fun, practical, and perfect for anyone who loves coffee (which, let’s be honest, is a lot of people!).

Sometimes a gift card can feel a little impersonal, even when the thought behind it is meaningful. That’s exactly why I love creating handmade gift card holder boxes like this one. By turning a simple gift card into part of an interactive handmade project, you instantly make the gift feel more thoughtful, memorable, and fun to receive. For this project, I created a 3D book-style gift card holder box with a playful boy band theme, and the hidden pocket inside adds that extra s

Pattern paper is one of those supplies that many of us love to collect, but it can sometimes be tricky to know how to use it in a way that feels polished instead of overwhelming. I often find myself reaching for patterned papers when I want to create a card with lots of visual interest but still keep the design clean and balanced. That was exactly the inspiration behind today’s card.

There’s something about die cut cards that can feel a little… flat. You start with a great idea, cut all the pieces, put it together—and it’s nice, but it doesn’t quite have that finished, polished look you were hoping for. I’ve been there more times than I can count. I walk through all 16 tips in the video so you can see exactly how everything comes together, but here I want to share the design thinking behind those choices so you can start applying them to your own cards ri

Sometimes the best cardmaking ideas come from looking at your supplies a little differently. That was exactly my goal with this project—I wanted to see how far I could stretch a few die sets and turn them into something completely new. Instead of using each set as intended, I mixed elements together to create a shaped shaker card… and this adorable little pig backpack design came to life.

Sometimes the hardest part of gift-giving isn’t the gift—it’s the packaging. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve grabbed a store-bought gift bag at the last minute, wishing I had something that felt a little more personal. That’s exactly what inspired this project. I wanted to create a 3D gift bag that looks polished and put-together, but is still simple enough to make with basic die cutting and patterned paper. The kind of project you can pull together quickly, but still fe

Every once in a while I like to look at a die set and ask myself, “What else could this do?” Not just what it was designed for, but how it might be used in a slightly different way. That curiosity is exactly what inspired today’s project—a handmade shaped card created with dies instead of a traditional rectangle card base. For this project, I used the Shabubu Head Mini Album Die Set from Scrappy Boy Stamps to build a playful character-shaped card. The die set is designed f

Sometimes the most fun cards to create are the ones that feel a little playful and unexpected. For this project, I wanted to explore how a layered die cut design could become the focal point of a handmade card while still keeping the overall layout clean and easy to assemble. Character-style cards can sometimes feel complicated, but with the right dies and a simple approach to layering, they can actually come together in a really approachable way. For this card, I built a Ho

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’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

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

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

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

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

If you’ve ever wanted to try a shaped card but felt a little unsure where to start, today’s project is a great place to begin. Shaped cards are a fun way to move beyond standard rectangle card bases, and with the right dies and coordinated products, they’re much more approachable than they might seem at first glance. For this card, I used the Abbey Mini Album/Card Die Set from Scrappy Boy Stamps to create a shaped card base that feels elegant and unique while still being ea