alex syberia designs october release blog hop & giveaway

I'm delighted & grateful to be joining my friends at Alex Syberia Designs to celebrate their latest release! This release is lovely and fun! (BTW, if you are hopping with us, you should be arriving from Sylvie's blog...isn't she so talented?!) 

Now before we talk cardmaking, let's talk about something else fun...prizes! 

Alex Syberia Designs is giving away a $50 gift certificate to 1 winner and a $15 gift card to 3 lucky winners!!!

Open internationally, all 4 winners will be drawn from the entrants that have played along with this Blog hop by midnight BST October 31st, 2024. Winners will be announced on the Alex Syberia Designs blog 'Giveaway Winners' page on November 1st, 2024.

Ok, now let's talk about what I made!

The Garden of Blooms layered stencils are GORGEOUS! You could stencil those blooms on trash and it would be instant art!

I started by using the coordinating die to cut a panel and make a shaker window. Then I used the die cut panel as a guide for where to position my stencil on another cardstock panel.

I used Distress Oxide inks to stencil the blooms.

Then I wrapped the stenciled panel with some scrap plastic, adhering it on three sides to create a pocket. I added glitter to the pocket and sealed it shut.

I stamped a sentiment from a Beautiful Day on the die cut panel and then adhered it to the pocket panel.

Then I adhere all of that to a folded card.

I have many more cards to share with this wonderful release but there are so many more fun stops on this hop so you need to get going! Your next stop is Bonnie's blog and I know she is going to have something gorgeous for us!

And here is the whole hop list just in case...

Alex Syberia Designs

Samantha

Rachel

Hannelie

Emelie

Hanh

Allison

Erin

Colleen

Sylvie

Carly

Bonnie

Amanda

Bobbi

Brenda

Nicky

Lien

Sandi

Nicoletta

Thanks so much for hopping with us! Hugs!!!

Carly

meraki craftober giveaway hop

Are you looking for a little crafty inspiration to kick off the week? Join us for the Crafty Meraki Craftober video hop!!!

holiday ornament card & ppp blog hop day 2

Pretty Pink Posh is ready for holiday crafting with their gorgeous new release! And I'm thrilled to joining day 2 of the blog hop to share ideas with you!!!

Before I show you what I made, there's more fun! There are 3 $30 gift certificates to Pretty Pink Posh up for grabs! Enter to win by leaving comments along the hop by 11:59pm PST of October 22nd, 2024. The winners will be announced on the PPP blog.

Now let's talk about the adorable new Build An Ornament die set! 

This set has so much potential & versatility!!! There are 25 dies!!! You can create so many different adorable dies and for this card I went with round...

I die cut six of the round ornaments from white cardstock and added color with Distress Oxide inks (Cracked Pistachio, Kitsch Flamingo and Salvaged Patina) & a blending brush.

To decorate the ornaments I used the scallops & tiny dots from the Build An Ornament set, and the little snowflake from the Stitched Snowflake set. The ornament hangers are silver cardstock.

I foam mounted the ornaments in a grid on a white card and trimmed off the ones hanging over the edge.

The sentiment is from the Sentiment Strips: Christmas stamp set. And the faux black splatter was done with a couple of black pens.

Your next stop on the hop is Gemma's blog and I know she is going to WOW us!

And here's the whole list if you need it...

Pretty Pink Posh blog 
Amy Rysavy
Wanda Guess
Carissa Wiley
Dana Kirby
Marine Simon
Lisa Mears
Carly Minner ---> you are here
Gemma Campbell
Suzy Plantamura

Thanks so much for hopping with us! Hugs!!!

Carly

simon says stamp heartfelt snowflakes

There is something so wonderful about snowflake stamps...they are perfect for holiday cards, winter cards, thank you cards and more! Simon Says Stamp has a new snowflake set that feels especially magical, Heartfelt Snowflakes!

My first two cards with the Heartfelt Snowflakes couldn't be more different...

For this card I masked some stripes with low-tack tape and ink blended with Distress Oxide inks (Faded Jeans, Salvaged Patina & Cracked Pistachio).

After the blending was dry, I stamped the sentiment and snowflakes with Distress Oxide Black Soot because I think the oxide over oxide gives better results than my usual go-to black inks.

A few faux splatters done with black pens and it was done! It is really bold and I think I love it...but black snowflakes? LOL!

So next I went much more traditional...I stamped the snowflakes with clear embossing ink and embossed with white powder.

Then I blended Distress Oxides (Picked Raspberry, Shaded Lilac, Salvaged Patina & Twisted Citron) over the snowflakes. Then it was easy to wipe the excess ink off of the snowflakes. I love an emboss resist technique!

I added a little water splatter for texture. Then a sentiment from the Peaceful Trees set and more faux splatter.

What do you think? Which do you like better?

Thanks so much for stopping by! Hugs!!!

Carly

spellbinders shine bright collection

My very talented (and sparkly) friend Carissa Wiley has a brand new collection with Spellbinders and it's out TODAY!

The Shine Bright collection is all about shining brightly and sharing your sparkle so of course there are disco balls!!! 

My favorite thing might be the shine bright word dies and super cool coordinating stencil...

Carissa created this stencil set very thoughtfully and has great tips for using it! I followed one of her suggestions and embossed the shine die on my card panel first. Then I used the embossed word as a guide for lining up my stencils. Worked like a charm!

Next I die cut the words three times, twice from white cardstock and once from silver glitter paper. I layered the letters and adhered over the stencilled background.

To finish my card, I added a few die cut & layered sparkle shapes borrowed from the Disco Balls set.

I hope you check out this fun release! And definitely pop by Carissa's IG and give her a little high five!

Hugs!!!

Carly

simon says stamp village snowman

The Sweet Wishes collection just hit the Simon Says Stamp shop and it's adorable! As always, there are so many fab sets but one of my favorites is this sweet little guy...

I love how simple the Village Snowman is but also how much personality he has!

For this card I ink blended with Faded Jeans and Salvaged Patina on the front of a folded card.

When the ink blending was dry I adhered a piece of scrap plastic over it, leaving the top open to create a pocket. I added some chunky eco-glitter inside the pocket and then sealed it shut.

I die cut a circle window from another panel of white cardstock and added a sentiment from the Peaceful Trees set. I used the die cut panel as a guide to shaping the sentiment on the lid of my MISTI.

I die cut the Village Snowman, added color to the pieces and assembled him. Then I tucked him into the circle window and adhered everything over the shaker pocket.

Thanks so much for stopping by! Hugs!!!

Carly

how to create an easy halloween treat bucket with ppp

I'm sharing a new video tutorial on the Pretty Pink Posh blog today, a super easy (and cute if I can say so myself😁) Halloween treat bucket! I would LOVE it if you stopped by and let me know what you think!

Hugs!!!

Carly

ppp spider web shaker

I already adore making Halloween cards but something that makes them extra fun is that it's Halloween Theme Week at Pretty Pink Posh! There's going to be lots of inspiration on the PPP blog and 15% off all the Halloween goodies!!!

Let's kick off the week with a shaker card (the best kind of card to celebrate)!

To start I blended Picked Raspberry on a piece of heavyweight cardstock. Then I wrapped plastic (leftover stamp packaging) around it to create a pocket and filled it with glitter.

After sealing the pocket, I adhered it to a folded card.

I die cut a circle from another card panel, curved the "boo to you" sentiment on my MISTI lid and stamped it on the edge of the circle.

Next I die cut a web from white cardstock and blended it with Distress Oxide Carved Pumpkin. BTW, I LOVE this web die and have used it sooooo much! Highly recommend, five stars😉

Then I adhered the web on the back of the circle panel. I wove a piece of orange embroidery floss through it, letting a piece hang down and adhered to the shaker pocket/card combo.

Lastly I added a little spider (from the web set). Isn't he cute?! And I used two black pens to add a little faux splatter.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Carly

catherine pooler greenery of the season

Are you looking for a beautiful & versatile greenery set for your holiday cardmaking? Have you seen the Catherine Pooler Designs Greenery of the Season set? It's gorgeous and I've been having so much fun creating with it!

The stamp set comes with so many classic holiday images like a poinsettia, holly, evergreen branches and more! And it has the outline designs and the solid images too which I really love because it doubles the stamping techniques you can use! There's a coordinating die and stencil too!

For this card I masked a section at the top of my card panel and used a blending brush to add Cotton Candy pink. 

With the masking tape still in place, I stamped some of the outline images in Rockin' Red. 

Then I removed the tape and added a sentiment from the Inside Out Christmas Sentiments and the holly. And I love how the holly turned out! I used the solid stamp first with In the Park green. Then I added a little Deck the Halls green to part of the holly stamp with a blending tool and stamped again. After that I stamped the holly outline and die cut it.

For this card I kept things super simple! All the color comes from an ink blended square in the middle (Cotton Candy & Rockin' Red) and then I stamped the poinsettias and sentiment in black.

I kept this card super simple as well. The color on this one is the "Merry Christmas" in the middle. I stamped it first in Cotton Candy and then used a blending tool to add a little red on the bottom of the words before stamping again. 

And for this card I masked a much bigger section and blended it pink. Then I used the stencil to add the poinsettias, first using more pink and then layering red. I could have achieved the same look with the solid stamp but the stencil made it much quicker.

I stamped the outline poinsettia on some of the solid flowers. Then removed the tape and added a sentiment.

Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you are inspired to get crafty😉

Hugs!!!

Carly

easy pull-tab card with ppp

I'm sharing a new video tutorial on the Pretty Pink Posh blog today, a super easy pull-tab card! You don't even need special dies! I would LOVE it if you stopped by and let me know what you think!

Hugs!!!

Carly

all about apple cards + ppp blog hop day 3

Pretty Pink Posh is ready for fall crafting with their gorgeous new release! And I'm thrilled to joining day 3 of the blog hop to share ideas with you!!!

Before I show you what I made, there's more fun! There are 3 $30 gift certificates to Pretty Pink Posh up for grabs! Enter to win by leaving comments along the hop by 11:59pm PST of September 16th, 2024. The winners will be announced on the PPP blog.

Now let's talk cards! You are about to see that I'm a little obsessed with apples this fall, LOL!

I used the largest die from the Patterned Apple set to cut a shaker window. You know I love a shaker!!! 

The background is Distress Oxide Festive Berries with a little DIY glitter paste over it (Glossy Accents mixed with glitter).

And the shaker bits are the adorable Apple Harvest confetti!

While I had the Patterned Apple set out, I created this card with a little easy multicolor stamping.

I love the effects you can create with solid stamps! For these apples I inked and stamped with Distress Oxide Tattered Rose first. Then I used a blending tool to apply some Distress Oxide Saltwater Taffy, Festive Berries & Lumberjack Plaid ink to parts of the stamp and then stamped again. 

And I'm a little obsessed with the PPP train sets so I had to make an apple train!

I stamped, die cut and colored the cars from the Valentine Train and Halloween Train. Also the large apple from the Patterned Apple set and the bunch of apples from the Fall Harvest set.

I stamped the train tracks across the card front with a bit of a curve. I also stamped the train links directly on the card front before adding the train cars with foam tape.

Your next stop on the hop is Dana's blog and I know she is going to have some eye candy for us!!!

And here's the whole list if you need it...

Pretty Pink Posh blog 
Emily Mydlowski
Laurie Willison
Carly Minner ---> you are here!
Dana Kirby
Jeanne Jachna
Lisa Mears
Kristie Marcotte

Thanks so much for hopping with us! Hugs!!!

Carly

holiday magic at catherine pooler designs

Are you ready to start some holiday cardmaking? You will be when you see the latest release from Catherine Pooler Designs...Holiday Magic!

The whole release is really fantastic and you know I had to start with a shaker card!

I used the holly leaves from the Candy Cane Christmas set to cut the shaker window. The background is ink blended with In The Park and Deck The Halls inks.

The sentiment is from the Inside Out Christmas stamps and the shaker bits are the Frankfurt Sequins. What do you think?

Thanks so much for stopping by! Hugs!

Carly

STAMPtember 2024 blog party

Happy STAMPtember everyone!!! The Simon Says Stamp STAMPtember release hit the shop yesterday and today we are celebrating with a giant blog party!

Before I show you the cards I've made, check out this adorable Big Birthday Cake stencil set you can get FREE with a $30+ purchase! Don't forget to write down that code to get your stencils!

And visit the SSS blog to see all the participants because you will definitely want to see what everyone made & find out about more STAMPtember gifts!!!

Ok, now let me show you what I've made...

This might be one of my favorite cards I've made in a long time! I used the positive & negative cuts of the Oh La La Butterflies and I just love how striking a simple die can be!

First I ink blended my card front and a scrap of cardstock with Distress Oxide Picked Raspberry and Carved Pumpkin. Then I used some Distress Spritz Picked Raspberry over the ink blending. I just love the shimmer!

Next I die cut the Oh La La Butterflies from a card panel, stamped it with "just breathe" from the Peaceful Trees set and added a little faux black splatter with a pen. 

On top of the folded ink blended card, I built a shaker container with foam tape and filled it with my favorite Soapy Bubbles sequins and closed it with acetate.

Finally I die cut more butterflies from the scrap of ink blended cardstock, folded them in the middle for a little texture and adhered them to the card. Perhaps not a super easy to mail card but I love how it turned out!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Hope to see you again soon!

ppp build-a-monster cards

One of my favorite Halloween sets from Pretty Pink Posh is their Build-A-Monster dies! They are so versatile & so darn cute! Today I'm sharing a couple of monster card ideas on the Pretty Pink Posh blog and I would LOVE if you stopped by to let me know what you think!

Hugs!

Carly

ebe mondo orange blossom

Have you heard the exciting news...there are new Essentials by Ellen stamps & dies!!! YAY!!!

Now I know some of you are asking how this could be possible because Ellen retired & closed the EH shop and that is true BUT she does have a small shop on Amazon. And this week there are some BRAND NEW and BEAUTIFUL sets!!!

Let's talk about one of them today, Mondo Orange Blossom...

The EBE mondo sets have always been amazing and this one does not disappoint! For this card I stamped the orange blossom branch, die cut and colored it.

Then I paired it with an arched window and an arched sentiment from the new Hello My Friend set.

For this card I masked a section and ink blended with Distress Oxide Salvaged Patina. When the ink was dry, I stamped the blossom branch.

Then I colored the top part with Copic markers.

Which one do you like better?

Thanks for stopping by! Hugs!

Carly