Paper Towels, Distress Ink, and a Little Christmas Magic

I recently upgraded my access to Laurel and Justine’s Stress Free Cardmaking Summit with every intention of getting an early start. Of course, life had other plans, and I only managed to watch a few sessions. Thank goodness for the upgrade—I can now catch up at my own pace.

The other day, I watched Juliana Michael’s tutorial on embossing with paper towels. Yes, you read that right: paper towels! I was amazed by the result. The technique created a beautifully embossed texture and instantly inspired me to give it a try.

Like Juliana, I chose to use the reverse side of the embossed panel. I lightly swiped Distress Ink in Bundled Sage and Pumice Stone across the surface, then added touches of gold metallic rub-on wax for a festive shimmer.

I did make one small mistake: I cut the panel too short. Rather than starting again, I simply adjusted the length of the card base, so everything fitted together. Sometimes a quick design change is all it takes to turn a mishap into part of the creative process.

To complete the card, I found a “Joy” die in my stash from Chloe’s Creative Stamps. It had originally been a magazine freebie, and it was perfect for this project. I die-cut the word from red and gold card, then layered the two pieces with a slight offset to create a subtle shadow.

A couple of holly leaves and a berry added the final festive touch. This project was a lovely reminder that it is always worth trying something a little different—especially when an everyday item like a paper towel can create such a stunning result.

Sunday Crafting: Briar Blossoms and a Festive Poinsettia Tag

I enjoyed a little crafting on Sunday as the World Cardmaking Day celebrations stretched over the weekend for me.

When I stamped the One Go – Briar Blossom the other day, I did two panels, so I had another set ready for a new card. Before choosing my colours, I searched for photos of briar roses and found several in pink and yellow. That became the colour scheme for this design. I also stamped and embossed another panel so I could add a few extra leaves.

For the flowers, I used Altenew Rose Quartz and Maple Yellow, pairing them with Shadow Creek and Mountain Pine for the leaves. I created the background by embossing a panel with the Altenew Organic Linen 3D folder, then used the stamp packaging as inspiration for the floral arrangement. A small sentiment from Altenew Sentiment Strips 3 completed the card.

While tidying up, I found the narrow offcut left over from the square card I made last week. It was just the right size to turn into a tag card. I created a smaller version of my white poinsettia card, this time cutting the poinsettia from homemade red glitter card. I chose a different sentiment from the Rosies Studio Heath & Home stamp set and added a few tiny gold glitter dots as the finishing touch.

I really love making Christmas cards, and my festive stash is growing quickly!

Hope you all got some time to craft over the weekend. 

One-Go Briar Blossom: Two Cards from One Beautiful Set

Yesterday was World Cardmaking Day here in New Zealand, so of course I spent some time in my craft room making a couple of cards. I can’t share those projects just yet—but I do have two cards from Thursday afternoon to show you today!

My order from Krafters Cart, a New Zealand online company, arrived on Thursday, and I couldn’t wait to try the coordinating set I’d purchased: Altenew’s One-Go Briar Blossom. The set includes stamps, colouring stencils, a one-go die and a matching embossing folder—and it was totally worth the cost!

The floral stamp is a single design featuring three flowers, two buds and four leaves. I stamped it in Versafine Clair Nocturne ink, then clear-embossed the image. For the stenciling, I used Altenew Enchanted Garden inks on the flowers, with Limeade and Fresh Leaves for the greenery. Next, I used the coordinating one-go die to cut all the images at once. Lining everything up in the embossing folder took a little fan-dangling, but the finished texture was beautiful. Best of all, I ended up with enough flowers and leaves to create two cards.

For the first card, I die-cut lilac cardstock with Gina K Master Layouts 2. I deepened the edges with the darkest purple from the Altenew palette, then added a little stencilling using Montarga Scripty Words. A pre-cut lacy oval from Gina K Master Layouts 12 worked perfectly against the background. I arranged two florals and several leaves around the oval, then finished the design with a gold-embossed sentiment from the Altenew Classic Sentiments stamp and die set.

 

For the second card, I used the remaining die-cut florals and leaves and took a cleaner, simpler approach. I masked a section of the card base with 1-inch tape, then added soft ink blending using only the residual ink on my blending brush. With a ruler and gold gel pen, I framed the blended area before stamping a sentiment from the One-Go Briar Blossom stamp set. Flowers and leaves in opposite corners completed the design. I loved the simplicity, so no further embellishments were needed.

While the stamp was out, I stamped and embossed it twice, which left me with another panel to colour. I worked on that today, so look out for a completely different take later this week!

Entering the top card into Darnell's NBUS challenge - first outing for the One Go combo.  

I hope you found plenty of time to make cards over the weekend. I always think of it as “World Cardmaking Weekend”—one day simply isn’t enough!

A Festive Poinsettia Card Inspired by Crafting with Donna

I recently discovered the lovely Craft with Donna channel on YouTube, and one of Donna’s beautiful cards immediately caught my eye. Inspired by her design, I decided to create my own version—and I’m delighted with how it came together.

 

I started with a lovely poinsettia die set that includes extra branches and berries. To give the flower a fuller look, I die-cut the poinsettia several times from white card, layered the pieces, and added a gold glitter centre. I cut the branches and berries from green and gold card, then cut additional berries from red card. After a little fussy cutting, I layered the red berries over the green ones for a festive pop of colour.

I loved the square format Donna used, so I made a 5¼-inch card base—slightly smaller than hers—with a 5-inch panel. I stamped a fine-line sentiment from the Rosie’s Studio Hearth + Home stamp set, then arranged the poinsettia, branches, and berries around it. A scattering of gold glitter dots added the perfect finishing touch.

I love how this card turned out, and I’m already planning to make a few more using poinsettias in different colours. It’s a simple way to give the same design a fresh new look each time.

Pastel colours - Two cards

Today I’m sharing two cards I’ve made over the past few days, both featuring a soft pastel colour palette.

First up is a card inspired by the Faux Batik tutorial from Splitcoaststampers.

This is such a fun and easy technique. All you need is a stencil and a white wax crayon. Place a sheet of thin paper or card over the stencil, then rub across it with the crayon to reveal the pattern. Add a little ink blending, and the background is done! I die-cut the finished panel and layered it onto green card. I used printer paper, which was slightly too thin and warped a little, but I think that only adds to the batik effect.

To finish the card, I added black die-cut leaves using the Pinkfresh Studio Curvy Leaves die, along with a black Couture Creations sentiment layered over a vellum circle.

 My second card was inspired by a YouTube video from Jo Simons.Jo is the queen of embossing, with so many fabulous techniques to share, and this one is especially pretty.

 

The technique involves applying watercolour pens to the inside of an embossing folder before running it through the machine. I used Altenew’s Whimsy Motif 3D embossing folder with Fabriano Mixed Media card, which can handle the amount of water needed to create that lovely soft effect. Once dry, I cut the panel with a stitched rectangle die.

I scribbled Zig watercolour markers across the inside of the folder, spritzed it with water, and then ran it through my Platinum 6. When the panel came out, I gave it one more quick spritz before setting it aside to dry. A Spellbinders Must Have Sentiments sentiment was the perfect finishing touch. I loved the beautiful softness of the result, so I decided it didn’t need any further embellishment.

 I also had a lovely Saturday afternoon when my granddaughters came to visit. Grace and I spent a couple of hours together in the craft room, where she looked through some of my cards and decided to CASE three of them. She used the same products but changed up the colours to make each design her own. She did a wonderful job—with a little help from Nanny on some of the fussier bits and pieces! The weather was cool and wet, so it was the perfect way to spend time together.

Sweet Stampin’ Challenge: Inspired by Autumn Colours

It’s time for the latest challenge at Sweet Stampin’Challenge, and this time our theme is Autumn.

Here in New Zealand, autumn arrives earlier in the year and we’re now heading into spring, but I still love that rich autumn/fall colours: reds, oranges, browns and golds. Those warm tones became the inspiration for my card.

On Friday, I was browsing my local stationery store when I spotted an older paper pack from a magazine on sale for around $9. It included 21 sheets of 8” x 8” paper, along with lots of pre-printed elements, sentiments and banners. One of the beautiful autumnal papers immediately caught my eye, so I chose it as the main feature for this project.

The paper really is stunning, so I wanted to let it be the star of the show. I cut it with a Gina K Master Layout 2 stitched die, then matted it onto another patterned paper from the same pack. To add a little touch of glamour, I ran a gold pen around the edge of the panel.

For the sentiment, I used the Altenew Classic Sentiment stamp and die set. I embossed the sentiment in gold onto white card, then lightly ink blended over it with my orange brush to tie it back to the autumn colour palette. A few sparkle gems finished everything off with just the right amount of shimmer.

I hope you’ll come and join us at Sweet Stampin’ Challenge with your own autumn-inspired projects. I can’t wait to see what you create!

Recycle, Re-use, Re-purpose at Die Cut Divas

Today I’m sharing a fun card I made for this month’s challenge at Die Cut Divas. Our sponsor is Art Impressions, and the theme is a fantastic one: Recycle, Re-use, Re-purpose.

For my recycled element, I used part of a tissue box for the background. The design was too pretty to throw away, so I die cut it with a Pinkfresh Studio Essential Mini Slimline die to make the most of the pattern. For the focal point, I used the Laughing Girlfriends stamp set from Art Impressions. I stamped the image, coloured it with alcohol markers, and fussy cut it before adding it to the card.

The sentiment is from another Art Impressions set, Loungers, and it paired perfectly with the image. I did a little die surgery so the die cut would fit neatly around the sentiment, and I’m so pleased with how it all came together. It turned out just as I had imagined!

 

The sentiment is from another Art Impressions set, Loungers, and it paired perfectly with the image. I did a little die surgery so the die cut would fit neatly around the sentiment, and I’m so pleased with how it all came together. It turned out just as I had imagined!

 

Craft Roulette #337 - Penguin inspired card,

This week’s card was inspired by my friend Linda W, whose adorable penguin card for Craft Roulette #337 immediately sparked an idea. She used penguins with a blue gingham-style background, and as soon as I saw it, I knew I had the perfect die set waiting in my stash.

Even better, the die set was getting its very first outing, which made this project feel extra fun. I love when a challenge gives me the perfect excuse to use something new.

I started by searching through my paper stash for the right blue check pattern, but nothing quite matched what I had in mind. After a quick search on PNGWING, I found a lovely blue tartan checked image, resized it, and printed it as an A2 panel. I then die cut the panel with Gina K Designs Master Layouts #2.

The print was a little brighter and whiter than I wanted, so I softened it with a quick blend of Altenew Eastern Skies ink. Once the colour felt right, I matted the panel with some paler blue patterned paper to tie everything together.

For the die-cut sentiment, I used soft blue glitter cardstock from Crafters Choice for the top layer, then added a slightly offset black layer behind it for extra definition and dimension. The penguins came together from scraps of coloured paper and black cardstock, which made them a great way to use up little leftovers from my stash.

To finish them off, I added Clear Glossy ink to the white parts of the hats for a little shine.

Since the die set was making its debut, I’m also entering this card in Darnell’s NBUS challenge.   It always feels good to give something new a proper first outing!

 

I'm also entering the Merry Little Christmas Challenge - #70