Happy Sunday, friends! I hope you have had a wonderful week since Christmas, and fun plans in store for New Year's Eve. Our fun plans include staying home, cozied up with our pups and a bottle of my favorite champagne. Sounds about perfect for this girl...I doubt we will even make it to midnight. Lol!

Today I am still on my patterned paper kick, along with my newfound love of my older border punches. Which is actually perfect for the Honey Bee Stamps Buzzworthy Challenge #19 (you have to be a member of their Facebook group to participate, so I just linked to that), which is to use your favorite HB stamps with patterned paper! These papers are definitely Christmas papers, but I tried to choose patterns that worked more for winter.

I've got a little bit of insider info on a GREAT sale starting TOMORROW 12/31 at Honey Bee Stamps. Everything is 37% off in honor of Melissa's birthday, using code HBD37. I know that I will be picking up some new items, so I hope you can spoil yourself a little too! Don't forget - starts tomorrow for 24 hours only! 

Merry Christmas, my dear blog friends! I hope that you are having a lovely day so far. We went to see Mary Poppins this morning, and it was fantastic! Emily Blunt was the perfect pick for Mary Poppins, and it was just as magical as the original. I am sure she made Julie Andrews proud.

The other day while organizing my craft studio, I came upon a rather large stash of Christmas product that I had tucked away and forgotten about. Tsk, tsk, tsk. I am not one to let products go to waste, especially when they are as cute as these are! So I spent Christmas Eve day crafting the time away, and it was perfect. Christmas Eve & Christmas aren't the easiest days of the year for me, but I do find something calming & serene about creating scrapbooking style. And in the end...I have 15 more cards to add to my Christmas collection for next year.

I know for most of my posts I have all the products linked up for you, but this one will only have the essentials. This is the Fa La La collection from Crate Paper, which was their Christmas 2017 collection. So, it isn't available any longer. All of these cards could easily be created with other products though, and I am challenging you to do just that!

I challenged myself in so many ways on these cards, and I just adore how they turned out! I challenged myself to use as many of the products in this collection as possible. I had the following items from the collection: 6x6 paper pad, diecut ephemera pack, & buttons. I also have the gold puffy stickers & gold glitter stars added in from this year's collection.

I also challenged myself to not cut any full sheets of cardstock, and only use half cut sheets that needed to get turned into card bases. {I'm desperately trying to dwindle down these loose half sheets, as I don't really have a great place to put them. From now on...cards will be made in twos. Lol!} Absolutely no diecutting, but I did pop in a tiny sentiment here & there when I felt it was needed...only with black ink. And finally, I did allow little extra bits of trim & doilies, and the use of a border punch.

Happy Christmas Eve Eve, friends! :) I hope that you are having a lovely long holiday weekend so far! Ours has been quiet, and nice. We made some hot cocoa last night, and drove around our neighborhood looking at Christmas lights. I think we are going to do it again tomorrow night sans dogs...they just weren't as interested in looking at the lights as we were, and were a tad difficult in the car...lol! Silly pups!

Today I wanted to drop in and share some last minute Christmas cards that I created yesterday! All in all, they took me about 1.5 hours, but I didn't do them all at one time. While I spent a lot of time in my crafty studio yesterday, I also watched some Christmas movies while down there and did a lot of organizing too. So, I would gather elements and push them around a card until I felt like they looked right...you could probably get these done even quicker if you didn't fuss around with things as much as I do!

All of the cards I'm sharing today were created courtesy of the Spellbinders November Card Kit (the kit is sold out, but I linked it so you could see the contents. However, you can get some of the items still separately, and they are all linked below), which I purchased primarily for the die set. Lol! But when I get things like this, I like to challenge myself to sit down and use only the items in the kit. I did allow myself a Wink of Stella pen (SSS | EH) to add a bunch of shimmer, some onyx black Versafine ink for stamping & a corner punch tool...but that was it! Everything else came from the kit, including the cardstock. In no time I had 7 cards created, and enough product to create SO many more. If you are on the fence about subscribing to the Spellbinders Card Kit, trust me when I say you get a TON of product for the price, and will be able to make MANY cards...you just might have to supplement some cardstock/card bases.

Happy Friday, friends! We have made it to the weekend...and for many of us it will be a long weekend with Christmas Eve & Christmas! I hope that whatever you are doing this holiday season, that you are enjoying it...and taking care of yourself. I know first hand that the holidays aren't easy, and while my reasons for struggling during this time of year might be different from yours...I want you to know that it is okay to take a step back, feel what you need to feel and take moments for yourself.

With that being said, I am taking a hard turn from my card yesterday with a super colorful & festive Christmas card to share with you! It also happens to feature the final Christmas promo from Pinkfresh Studio until next year (and when I say next year...I mean WAY into next year. Lol!), and this is another fun one!
When you buy the Joy & Cheer Stamps, you get the Joy & Cheer die for FREE! You just need to put both items into your cart, and it will automatically discount when you go to checkout. Friends, that is an $18 background die for FREE. If this set has been on your wishlist, now is the time to grab it! I know a lot of cardmakers create their Christmas cards throughout the year, so this set would be an awesome addition for next year's cards!! There is no code necessary for this promo, but it cannot be used with any other discount code, and is valid thru 12/24/18 or while supplies last.

Happy Thursday, blog friends! I'm sorry it has been so quiet around here! I had such a wonderful time with my family, and didn't do any prep work for my blog over the weekend, and I don't have a lot of time during the week to do it. So, thank you for bearing with me while my blog went a bit quiet.

Today I have a card to share with you that has a color palette that is a little out of my norm for cards, but not so much for me! My cards are typically pretty colorful, but still very light & airy {most of the time}. But my home is very neutral light grey & white, with just small pops of blue here & there. Ever since losing Ellie & Layton, I've needed my home to be tranquil and calming...and these light & airy neutral colors help me feel this way. Some might consider it boring, and that's okay....they don't have to live here! Lol!

For this card, I wanted to take my love for neutral home decor, and bring it to my card! I am using the gorgeously intricate Folklore background die from Pinkfresh Studio, and the sentiment from the Folk Mandala die set.

PINKFRESH STUDIO - Our weekend promo is a FUN one! We are doing a buy 1, get 1 on the Simple Joy stamps & die set! No code is necessary, but cannot be combined with any other promo or code.
You can see a clean & simple card trio using this stamp set HERE.

SIMON SAYS STAMP - Copic products are 25% off! I wish I were ready to start my Copic collection, because this is a GREAT deal. I'm not quite ready yet...but I will be soon! Use code COPICSALE on this one - valid until 12/21.

Happy Thursday, friends! I hope that your week has been going wonderfully! It has been great having my family here...though I've gone to the Mall of America more times in one week than I've maybe gone all year. Lol! And with my brother and his fiance Bri arriving, we will likely be going again. I can't wait for them to get here tonight!!

Today I wanted to share some cards that I made for the Pinkfresh Studio October release using one of my FAVORITE standalone dies called Hello With A Bouquet. I just think this die is SO gorgeous, and there are so many different ways you can use it. Today I've got a trio of cards, sharing three different techniques with it!

 To start, I cut the die out multiple times from white cardstock, and then once from gold glittered paper. Then I wanted to try embossing it to a panel of white cardstock. This took a few tries to figure out the best sandwich option for my Gemini Jr. The embossing mat that comes with the Gemini didn't work for this die, as it still cut out a large portion of the die. After some trial & error, I found that the standard embossing sandwich for the Gemini worked, but I used a handmade shim of three blocks of cardstock in place of the embossing mat that comes with it. It is always best to try it out on some scraps of paper first to find the best embossing sandwich for your particular machine.

Happy Wednesday, friends! We've made it to the middle of the week! This week is going by too fast...isn't that always the case when you are spending it with family & friends? I just want it to slow down! But my little brother & future sister-in-law get here tomorrow, so that is exciting!

Back in September we did a liquid watercolor video hop at Pinkfresh Studio, and I was in charge of doing both my video and the video for Pinkfresh Studio's channel. I noticed the other day that I never shared that card here, so today is the day! You might recognize it if you frequent any of our events, and if so...now you are just getting a second chance at seeing it. :)

I am quite fond of how this card turned out! It uses the Great Joy stamp set and coordinating die, and I did a simple water wash & drop technique with my Pinkfresh liquid watercolors. I also wanted to show that although our watercolors are vibrant, they can absolutely be toned down!

Happy Tuesday, friends! I hope that you had a wonderful Monday! Mine was great spending time with my family - we watched Wreck It Ralph last night, as we are going to Ralph Breaks the Internet tonight...and it was so cute & funny! I can't wait to see the new movie tonight!

Today I wanted to share a couple of cards that I created using the Fancy Blooms stamps & coordinating dies, along with the My Favorite Things to Say sentiment set that Pinkfresh Studio released this past October. These sets were a huge hit during the release, and literally flew off the shelves.  My Favorite Things to Say has since also sold out again, but I am happy to say that it is restocked! So, if this is a set that you've wanted to add to your stamp collection, now is a great time to grab it!

I did some watercoloring & smooshing on my cards today using Ranger Distress Inks by Tim Holtz. I did some similar cards earlier this fall and you can check that post out HERE...or watch the VIDEO. I even used similar colors here, but added in some yellow for warmth.

Good morning friends, and happy Monday! I took this weekend off to just spend with my family, but I did create these two cards and my cute gramma watched me quite intently. It was kind-of cool, because cardmaking is normally a pretty solitary part of my day. We have had a great couple of days with my family here....and now is the countdown of sleeps until my little brother and future sister-in-law get here....we have THREE! :)

It's Diecember at Simon Says Stamp, and I mentioned in THIS post that I would have some cards scattered throughout the month using some of the new dies. Today I am mixing some new with old, which if you've frequented my blog for awhile...is one of my favorite things to do! We invest a lot of money into our supplies, so I always love to find ways to refresh amazing products that are just a little bit older!

Today I am focusing on the Bixby Wreath die from the Diecember release, and what I love about this wreath is that it can be used any time of the year! I've used it for some Christmas cards because I am still totally in holiday mode right now...but I can't wait to use this die in other ways! I think it would be perfect for Valentine's Day, anything in the Spring & Summer....I think it would even be perfect for a fall or Thanksgiving card. SO many possibilities!

We've almost made it to the weekend, friends! And I now have ONE sleep until my family gets here...and I have SO much cleaning to do today. Lol! Our house is teeny, so it doesn't take me very long to get it into shape.

You may have noticed that my website got an update yesterday! I'm excited with how it turned out, and it feels fresh & clean! I know it's a bit different, but I think you will get used to it as you check back. I have added some new pages, including one for Crafty Sales. I know that I take advantage of sales as much as possible, so I figured I would share the sales I know about with you as well! These new pages are easy to access in the menu just below my logo. :)

Today I am sharing a card set that features the newer Lush Greenery stamp set and coordinating dies from Pinkfresh Studio. This set is FULL of leafy goodness, and perfect for coloring with any medium you prefer! We have sold out of this set twice, but we got our latest shipment in this week and it is now restocked! Yay! So, be sure to grab it if it's been on your wish list! We are offering free or discounted shipping this week on orders $30+, so it's a good time to pick yourself up a little gift. :)

I used this stamp set as is, but it totally works for Christmas as well! You can see how my friend, Yoonsun, used it for a lovely Christmas card in this post on the Pinkfresh Studio blog. My good friend Caly created this lovely card when the set released, and while she didn't use a Christmas sentiment...the coloring is PERFECT for the holidays, and the sentiment could be easily changed out! I'm always in awe of what my crafty friends are creating, and I'm going to try and share them with you here & there throughout my posts from now on!

Happy Thursday, friends! We are almost to the weekend....yay! Only two more sleeps until my family is here for a week! I am SO excited! I really hope that you have had an excellent week so far, and that you are enjoying this holiday season.

I shared my 2018 favorite items from Pinkfresh Studio in yesterday's blog post, and I realized that I have some cards using more of those items that I haven't shared on my blog yet! While I've got some more Christmas cards in the works for you, having these extra cards will allow me to continue posting each day. Plus, I do really want to share the cards...my schedule just hasn't really allowed for it lately!

Today I am sharing a card that I really love, and enjoyed making so much! This thought of mine always changes when it comes to Pinkfresh product, but the Constellation stamp set and coordinating dies might be my very favorite item from this year. For a couple reasons - ever since losing our little ones, I've been a bit obsessed with anything relating to a night sky. I think I equate Heaven to being on the other side of the stars, and while I have no idea if that is true...it is where my heart goes. Another reason is because of this sentiment. Did you ever watch An American Tail when you were growing up? Apart from Cinderella, I was obsessed with that cartoon, and this sentiment alludes to just the sweetest song in the movie. Not to mention, it is a missing you sentiment...and all of my family is in Montana. So I am drawn to missing you sentiments because I really miss my family every single day.

Happy Wednesday, blog friends! We have hit the midpoint of the week! And I am only 3 sleeps away from welcoming my mom, dad & gramma to Minneapolis for a week. I am SO excited for them to be here! And then next Thursday, my brother & future sister-in-law will fly in - our tiny little house is going to be PACKED FULL. Lol! I can't wait!

Today I wanted to share that we are offering free US shipping and discounted International shipping at Pinkfresh Studio all week long on orders $30+! By using the code upon checkout, it will deduct $5.50 off your order, which equates to free shipping in the US or discounts it for our international friends.

This is a great time to grab some last minute gifts for your favorite crafty family & friends, or pick up a little gift for yourself! ;) I thought this would be a fun time to create a list of my top 20 items that we released at Pinkfresh Studio this year!


My list includes the Happy Hugs stamp set and coordinating die, which is what I am using on these cards today! I did want to mention that the cute hugs word die that I used was a free with purchase promo during the October release, and not available for purchase. So if you didn't get the die, you can easily replace what I have used with some letter stickers, or the scripted word in the stamp set. I wanted to show you two ways to use this stamp set - one more time intensive, and the other that can be whipped up quickly!

Happy Tuesday, blog friends! I hope that you had a wonderful Monday, and good start to your week. My day was busy, busy...but I did get a chance to photograph this trio of Christmas cards! These cards use product from Alexandra Renke, which is a German company that is making it's way into the U.S.! And well it should be, because her products are just gorgeous! You can find a selection of her products at both Simon Says Stamp and Ellen Hutson.  She has an amazing selection of 2018 Christmas products, so head over & peruse a little bit!

Alexandra's booth was kiddie corner from Pinkfresh Studio at Creativation this past January, and I was just in awe of her beautiful designs. While today I am using more graphic designs, Alexandra creates these amazing realistic looking watercolor images on many of her other collections and it is just GORGEOUS. Creating some Christmas cards with those papers are on my to do list this week, but until then...just go peruse all of her amazing papers. They are drool worthy!

Happy Monday, blog friends! I hope that you had a wonderful weekend, and have an easy Monday. I've got a busy day ahead of me, but I wanted to pop in with a trio of cards that I realized I've never shared with you! So, while I've got some Christmas cards ready that just need to be photographed...I figured I would share these cards rather than leave my blog quiet for today! They need to be shared anyways, because they are some of my favorites!

These cards focus on Fancy Floral 1 & Fancy Floral 2 background dies from Pinkfresh Studio, which are some of my favorites items from Pinkfresh. I think they are just stunning designs, and at an affordable price. They can be used for so many occasions, and I think you will reach for them time & again! I used this set of dies for a Christmas card recently, featuring the Holiday Vibes collection and it turned out so pretty! You can see that card in THIS post.

 Happy Sunday, friends! I hope that you are having a great day so far! We got a nice blanket of snow yesterday, and it is SO beautiful. I love snow...until about April. And then I'm SO over it....lol!

Simon Says Stamp has deemed this month Diecember, and I am so happy to get to join along for the first time!  There is an amazing Diecember release, packed full of amazing dies that are going to go straight to your wish list {or shopping cart...lol!}


I will scatter posts throughout this month using some of the amazing Diecember 2018 new dies, but for today I am focused on the CUTIE Big Picture Book Latte die. I squealed when I got to this die, because I think it is just the cutest thing ever!! So of course, it was the first thing that I ran through my diecutting machine! It was also perfect timing, because the Fall/Winter Coffee Lovers Blog Hop is going on right now, so I will be linking it up there! Be sure to check it out if you haven't before...tons of prizes, and SO much inspiration!

Happy Saturday, blog friends! I hope that you are having a good start to your weekend! We had to drive Josh's car to our mechanic this morning because it started acting weird when we were out & about this past Thursday...it even shut down at one point & we had to pull over to the side of the road in a super inconvenient spot. Ugh - I HATE car trouble. Right after we got off the phone with a towing company the car started back up & we cautiously drove home...but it was still making some weird noises. So, we definitely need to get it fixed, as winter is not a good time to have an unreliable car. Then I came home to photograph & edit the images of the cards I have to share with you today!

I'm super excited to be joining Spellbinders this month for the reveal of all the amazing December Club Options! I am featuring the Small Die of the Month for December, and I think you are going to just LOVE it! The dies are beautiful and very versatile - you can get use out of them all year long as they aren't season specific.
I became a Spellbinders Club Member back in September, and I am loving it so far! The thing that I love most is each month I can make a decision about which club option I want, or I can skip it completely if I'm not fond of the product. (Let's be real...I haven't skipped anything. Lol! There has always been something that I love!) This month I really want the Large Die & Card Kit also, so I will be doing the Kit & Caboodle Value Club...which means I will get another copy of the Small Die. So, be on the lookout for a giveaway on Instagram later this month. ;)