alex syberia designs bow-ho-ho release & giveaway

I'm thrilled to be joining my friends at Alex Syberia Designs to celebrate their beautiful new Bow Ho Ho release! If you are hopping with us, you should be arriving from my friend Hanh's fantastic blog!

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

Alex Syberia Designs is giving away a $15 gift certificate to 4 lucky winners!

This giveaway is open internationally. All 4 winners will be drawn from the entrants that have played along with this blog hop by midnight BST October 19th. Winners will be announced on the Alex Syberia Designs blog Giveaway Winners page on October 20th, 2025.

Ok now let's talk about the cards I've made...

I am crazy about bows so I am LOVING this collection but the Build-A-Bow Christmas Tree might be my favorite! I made two versions of a tree shaker, a "minimalist" and a "maximalist"!

Both have Distress Oxide Cracked Pistachio backgrounds and are filled with a variety of glitter but the minimalist has just one sweet pink bow...

...and the maximalist is packed with bows! I did leave a few bows off because I wanted the shaker bits to show more.

BTW, the tiny "with love" sentiment is from the From Our Hearts set.

Your next stop is Brenda's beautiful 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

Nicoletta

Nicky

Martin

Lien

Lea

Hanh

Carly ---> you are here

Brenda

Bobbi

Bibi

Amanda

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

Carly

altenew garden cosmos layering die set

Altenew has a beautiful new release out today and I have a favorite...the Craft-A-Flower Garden Cosmos Layering die set! Wanna see the cards I made? I'm going to assume you're saying yes and scrolling on, LOL!

I started with something very different for me...

I used a pale blue background, not white. And the colors I used were so different for me too! No pink but Orange Sorbet, Apricot Frost and Coco Cream from the Dessert Dreams palette. (The sentiment is from Craft Your Life Project Kit: Bold & Beautiful.)

It could use a few little tweaks but I like how it turned out!

And then of course I had to make something a little more "Carly"...

I used the Flourishing Garden set as a background (and the sentiment too). Then I added just one of the cosmos on top, which I cut from pink cardstock and shaded with a little Cotton Candy & Coral Red inks.

Which do you like better?

Thanks for stopping by! Hugs!!!

Carly

P.S. Some affiliate links are used in this post at no cost to you. When you click on the links that I provide and make a purchase, I receive a small commission. For the next two months I will be donating any commissions I receive to Moms Demand Action. Moms Demand Action is an awesome grassroots movement of Americans fighting to protect people from gun violence. 

dressed up die cuts - pretty pink posh september 2025 release video hop

The adorable Pretty Pink Posh holiday release is available now and we are having a video hop to show it off! Join us on YouTube for lots of cardmaking inspiration and a chance to win a PPP gift certificate!

STAMPtember 2025 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 Sweet Birthday Treat die set you can get FREE with a ANY purchase! Don't forget to write down that code to get your set!

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...

SSS creates some of the best flowers and the new Charming Flower Stem set does not disappoint!!!

First I die cut the flowers from a white cardstock panel and used it as a guide for ink blending the front of a folded card. I wanted each flower to have pink and orange. Then I adhered the panel to the folded card. I love how it gives the background interesting texture.

I die cut more flowers from white cardstock, ink blended & assembled them and added them on top of the card.

The sentiment is from an older set, Mandala Blossoms.

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

my latest plan to hopefully help

The news this week has been devastating, back to school should not mean back to school shootings but unfortunately that is the reality in America. I’m heartbroken but furious.

I’m channeling my feelings into action and here it is…

As you may know, I’m an affiliate for many of the companies that I create for. That means when you click on the links that I provide and make a purchase, I receive a small commission. For the next three months I will be donating any commissions I receive to Moms Demand Action. Moms Demand Action is an awesome grassroots movement of Americans fighting to protect people from gun violence.

I recognize that being able to make this pledge is a privilege and I’m very grateful for that. (Though I can’t promise what the size of the donation will be, as I’m historically bad at sharing my links in the first place…haha.)

So please, if you are planning to make a crafty purchase from any of the companies below, please click through my links to help with common sense gun reform.

Scrapbook.com

Hero Arts

Catherine Pooler Designs

Simon Says Stamp

Pretty Pink Posh

pinkfresh studio twinkle & tradition release blog hop

Welcome to the Pinkfresh Studio Twinkle & Tradition blog hop! I'm so thrilled to be joining in the fun!!!

This release is GORGEOUS!!!

The Tied With Cheer wreath is so fun to ink and layer! And the bow!!!

And the Timeless Tidings die and coordinating stencil is just stunning and I can't wait to use it for so many things!!! Wouldn't it make the cutest gift tags?!!

Ok, now before you go on to the next hop stop! Let's talk about all the cool GIVEAWAYS! 

• Pinkfresh is giving away the full release on their blog and YouTube!
• You also have a chance to win one of TEN $50 to the Pinkfresh shop by leaving comments here and at each hop stop!
• Winners will be announced on August 26th, on the PF GIVEAWAY PAGE. And prizes must be claimed within two weeks.

BLOG HOP LINK LIST

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

hero arts a little merri-mint

I've got a brand new cardmaking tutorial on my YT channel today and it would make me so happy if you a few minutes (well 6 minutes and 16 seconds) to watch and let me know what you think!

 

Hugs!!!

Carly

P.S. Did you know I have a newsletter now? Sign up to join my crafty community!

DIY glitter stickers - pretty pink posh august 2025 release video hop

The release I wait all year for is available now...the Pretty Pink Posh Halloween collection!!! And we're having a video hop to celebrate! Join us on YouTube for lots of cardmaking inspiration and a chance to win a PPP gift certificate!

simon says stamp happy camper release blog hop day 1

I am thrilled to be joining in day 1 of the Simon Says Stamp blog hop celebrating the new Happy Camper collection! (You should be arriving from Bibi's beautiful blog!)

Before I show you what I made, let's talk about prizes!!! There are $25 gift certificates to Simon Says Stamp up for grabs at each hop stop! Enter to win by leaving comments along the hop!

And there's a gift with purchase!!! Just follow the instructions on the graphic above when you go to shop😉

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

I love a good floral die, especially a bold & graphic one like the new Groovy Flowers!

For this card I used the largest flower to create a shaker windows over a wrapped shaker pocket. Then I added the flower details on top.

I think the bold style of the flowers pairs perfectly with the new ILYSM stamp set!

While I had all the goodies out on my desk, I couldn't resist creating another card...

For this one I blended Distress Oxide Picked Raspberry & Carved Pumpkin inks together and then added a little Picked Raspberry Distress Spritz on top.

When the background was dry, I added white & black Groovy Flowers on top and stamped the ILYSM sentiments.

The next hop stop is Maggie's marvelous blog! I know she is going to something gorgeous for us!!!

And here's the whole hop list just in case...

Simon Says Stamp Blog 
Caly Person
Amy Rysavy
Barbara Tarayao
Nichol Spohr
Heather Hoffman
Keisha Charles
Mindy Eggen
Bibi Cameron
Carly Minner --- you are here!
Maggie Haas
Rachel Alvarado
Jessica Vasher
Allison Frazier
Kim Hamilton
Bonnie Crane

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

Carly

P.S. And check out the inspiration galleries for the Happy Camper collection!!!

P.P.S. Stop by the Simon Says Stamp blog tomorrow for day 2 of the hop!

alex syberia designs july release blog hop & giveaway

I'm thrilled to be joining my friends at Alex Syberia Designs to celebrate their gorgeous new July release! If you are hopping with us, you should be arriving from Brenda's beautiful blog!

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

Alex Syberia Designs is giving away a $15 gift certificate to 4 lucky winners!

This giveaway is open internationally. All 4 winners will be drawn from the entrants that have played along with this blog hop by midnight BST July 10th. Winners will be announced on the Alex Syberia Designs blog Giveaway Winners page on July 11th, 2025.

Ok now let's talk about the cards I've made...

I am positively smitten with the Butterfly Bliss die set and in true Carly fashion, the first thing I did was use the negative space to make a shaker window! LOL!

I ink blended the background and filled the shaker with chunky glitter. 

On top I added some of the amazing details cut from black cardstock.

And the sentiment is one of my favorites from the Beautiful Day set.

For my second Butterfly Bliss card, I started by pressing the Peony Blossoms plate with black ink to create a background...

I stamped a little sentiment from the Birthday Bouquet set.

Then I added a butterfly with ink blended wings on top. 

Your next stop is Emelie's beautiful 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

Bobbi

Brenda

Carly --> you are here

Emelie

Erin

Kelly

Lea

Lien

Nicky

Nicoletta

Raquel

Sandi

Sylvie

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

Carly