Happy Wednesday, friends! I took most of yesterday off in order to prepare for celebrating the evening with my husband. He turned the big 4-0 yesterday, and while we aren't much for big parties or anything, it is still a pretty big birthday! I baked him his favorite cupcakes, created this custom card, grabbed some favorite dinner items and a 4-pack of a Double IPA that he never would have purchased for himself because of the price tag. Lol! It was a perfect night celebrating, just the two of us. We are going to go out to dinner at our favorite restaurant on Sunday night, courtesy of Josh's parents who got us a gift card. We are even going to Uber so that we can take advantage of the half off promo they do on full bottles of wine on Sundays - yay!!

For his birthday gift, I put a little coupon in his card, valid for (1) new Traeger Grill of his choice. Josh loves to cook, grill & smoke meats, and he has been using an entry level, no bells & whistles Traeger for over 5 years now. It has served us well, but it's time to be replaced. I thought that a 40th birthday was the perfect time to splurge, and get one with more insulation for these cold Minnesota winters, WIFI enabled, etc. There are a few different models and I don't know the difference...thus I didn't do the purchasing. Lol! He can research which one he thinks is the best fit, and we will get it then!

I have known Josh now for close to half of his life. I've watched a hardworking, extremely determined young man grow into a man with the same disciplines. But I see a man who is now also softer & gentler with people...but he will still totally call you out on your you know what if he deems it necessary. He walked beside me as we both dealt with losing our babies, holding me up when I just couldn't do it myself. He is proof that real men can cry, and be strong, and love fiercely, and let go...all at the same time. He is my best friend...the only one who truly knows how hard this journey has been. The only person who understand my dry, and sometimes morbid humor. The only person who doesn't cringe when I am raw, and need to say exactly how I feel right at that moment. Grief & loss do that to you, and while I wish with all my heart that this part of Josh's story (which of course, directly relates to my own) were different...I'm thankful that I have him by my side to help navigate it.

Happy 40th babe...here's to another 20. ;) (It's an inside joke....) And look at this adorable photo of him! (And us...lol!)


I made this custom birthday card for Josh with a mix of my Pinkfresh Studio products. I knew I wanted to use the Eucalyptus Fantasy washi tape, then just proceeded from there!


I started by adhering the washi tape to 80 LB white cardstock - I use this thinner cardstock with the washi tape so that it is easier to diecut. I think you could likely use heavyweight cardstock if you wanted, but I didn't really feel it was necessary here. I trimmed the frame into a panel slightly smaller than an A2 card, then diecut the Braided Oval from the middle. I also diecut the oval from white cardstock three times. I pulled them out of the diecut machine super carefully, as I wanted the insides to remain, other than poking out the tiny dots on just the washi tape layer. I also diecut the (4) eucalyptus branches while I had my diecut machine out.

Then I adhered the washi panel to an A2 kraft card base, then stacked the braided oval layers to the middle.

Next I used the Make A Wish set & stamped the layered cake, then heat embossed the cake platter & numbers. I also heat embossed a sentiment from the Oval Foliage Wreath set to the middle of the cake. I diecut them with the Make A Wish die set, then stamped the candle flames. I layered the cake & candles to the braided oval, then accented the bottom of the cake with the diecut eucalyptus stems.

To finished, I accented the cake and two of the card corners with trios of both the Essentials: Crystals mix and Essentials: Jewels mix. The crystals are diamond shape, so I just adhered them on their head to the card.

Happy Monday, friends! Today I am excited to share that our August stamp & die release is LIVE in the Pinkfresh Studio store. This release includes (3) 6x8 stamp sets and (3) 4x6 stamp sets, some with coordinating dies. It also includes (2) new alpha die sets, an uppercase & lowercase of the same style. And finally, there are (4) standalone dies.

I've got SO much to share with you in this post! We have an amazing blog hop line-up full of so much talent, it makes me smile! We've got GIVEAWAYS, 2 fantastic shopping promos and so much more!

Here is a look at all of the new products:


I will get to all the amazing things I mentioned at the end of my post, but how about we get to my cards first? I've used all the floral items in the new release to create my cards today, and focused on a really bright & cheery color palette. I imagine these in fall colors too, and will probably create them again!


For this card I used Inkon3 fadeout ink, and did some no line watercoloring with my Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers. I am not a master at coloring, but I had SO much fun coloring this big image from the new Flower Garden stamp set. I don't really worry about realistic shading...I typically just chose three shades of the color I want - light, medium light & medium (because let's be real...I never pick the dark colors. Lol!), and then just color in an ombre fashion. Some of the discoloration was caused when I added shimmer with my Tonic Aqua Shimmer pen....and I like the reaction! Once the coloring was finished, I also splattered the front with watered down titanium white acrylic paint.

I cut out the flower garden image with our Essentials: Stitched Rectangles, then mounted it to a coral colored A2 card base with foam adhesive. I diecut the Beautiful word (3) times: once from gold glitter paper and twice from heavyweight white cardstock, then stacked & adhered together. I stamped the first part of the sentiment in onyx black to white cardstock, then trimmed into a thin strip. I adhered the sentiment to the card front, then accented with the Essentials: Jewels Mix to finish.

I loved coloring the first image so much, that I did the same with the flowers from the Floral Vase stamp set. I stamped the vase with premium dye ink, but when I added some shimmer to it...it bled a little, giving it more of watercolor feel, which I am happy about!  When I was finished with both, I cut them out with the coordinating Floral Vase diecut set. This time the white cardstock panel was cut using the Essentials: Diagonal Stitched Rectangles and mounted to the front of a light blue A2 cardbase.

I painted a very faint shadow at the base of the vase, then layered the floral pieces to the front. I stamped the sentiment in onyx black ink to white cardstock, then trimmed into a thin strip with banner edges. I adhered it to the front, then accented with the Essentials: Jewels Mix.

I've been making square cards recently (I blame the features we have in Practical Publishing magazines, as they are always asking for different shapes of cards), and thought that a square shape would compliment this Leafy Envelope die perfectly. I used a sheet of Just A Little Lovely 6x6 patterned paper as the background, and trimmed it slightly smaller than my card base, then adhered it to the front with foam adhesive.

I diecut the envelope from white cardstock a couple times, then stamped the first part of the sentiment to the inside middle of the envelope. Then I glue just the lower have of the envelope down to the card front. I diecut the Beautiful word die three times from light pink cardstock, then stacked & adhered together. I covered it in chunky glitter, then adhered it underneath the stamped portion of the sentiment.

Next I diecut & stamped all the Lovely Blossoms in various premium dye inks. Then I tucked them into the envelope as shown, so it would look like an envelope full of wild flowers...so pretty! To finished I accented with some Essentials: Jewels Mix.  

For my final card, I paper pieced the Modern Blooms die, cutting it twice from white cardstock, then from two different sheets of patterned paper from our Just A Little Lovely 6x6 pad. It did take some time, but not as long as I thought it would...and I LOVE how it turned out. From my experience, the small pieces stayed in tact with the entire diecut piece when I removed it from my diecut machine. But they easily popped out when I needed them, and I used my Crystal Katana to pick them up and glue them on to the card front.

Once the paper piecing was done I layered two of the outline cuts to the top, making sure white was on top. Then I stamped & heat embossed the ribbon & first part of the sentiment from the Floral Vase stamp set to vellum & white cardstock in gold embossing powder, then diecut them. Then I stamped the rest of the sentiment in onyx black to white cardstock, and trimmed into to thin strips. I layered bow & sentiment to the lower right side of the card, then added some of the excess Lovely Blossoms I had stamped for the card above. Finally, I accented with our Essentials: Jewels Mix to finish.

Those are my cards for today! I hope that you loved all the florals, and happy colors. I certainly enjoyed creating them!

Well, friends...let's get to all the info you need for this new release!

You have the chance to win a $25 gift card sponsored by Pinkfresh Studio from my blog {and all the other posts on the blog hop too!} - all you have to do is leave a comment!
You also have the chance to win the full release on the Pinkfresh Studio blog {linked below} and our Instagram feed. You have until Sunday, September 1st to leave your comments. The winners will be picked & posted to the Giveaway Page, and you must follow the instructions on that page to claim your prize.


It's come to our attention that the new Inlinkz lists aren't always showing up in all browers, so you can also view the entire link list HERE.

Happy Thursday, crafty friends! Today I wanted to share a really special card set. At Creativation, Pinkfresh Studio was one of nine companies in a new concept called The Stamping Village. We worked for months with these other companies to bring this collaborative space to life. Watching it come to life the day before the show opened was amazing, and then seeing all the energy within the space made all the extra work worth it.

Part of this concept was collaborative Make and Takes, and we were partnered with Waffle Flower Crafts. I had SO MUCH FUN designing our shared project, and it really felt like we were a perfect fit. It was so amazing watching store owners & paper crafters smile as they played with our liquid watercolor on the new Water Media Mats from Waffle Flower, then stamping and assembling their cards. The best part was getting people out of their comfort zones, realizing that watercolor is different every time, and they could really create their own take on the card I created. I wish I would have had more time to take photos of all the different outcomes - I have to remember that for next year! Here we all are after two days of shared Make and Takes!

For this card set, I've combined our new Make A Wish stamp set and coordinating diecuts, with Waffle Flower's Be You Tiful stamp & die combo. These are both now available for purchase, so I thought today was a great day to share!

To start this card set, I created the backgrounds on Tim Holtz distress watercolor paper with our liquid watercolors in Bubblegum, Clementine & Sunshine (all linked below). I used my Distress Sprayer to lightly push the watercolor around, and then set them aside to dry naturally.

While they dried I stamped the florals in onyx black Versafine to 110 LB Neenah Solor White cardstock, then cut them out with the matching dies. Then I loosely watercolored them in the same colors as the background, but also added Emerald City for the leaves & greenery. Then I set those aside to dry naturally as well.

Next I stamped the cakes & cake plates in coordinating colors from Catherine Pooler inks. Then I cut them out with the matching dies, and adhered them together. With the background now fully dry, I stamped the sentiments to the bottom of each one in onyx black Versafine using my MISTI.

Then I adhered each watercolor panel to the front of an A2 card base made from Bazzill Cotton Candy cardstock, then arranged the cake & florals to the front of each one. I popped some of them up with foam dots to give the card some extra dimension.

To finish, I accented the card with some of the new Waffle Flower enamel dots in Clean & Clear, and Stardust. Finally, I added shimmer to the cake & florals with my Tonic Aqua Shimmer pen.

That is all I have for you today! Before I close, I wanted to mention that there are recent updates on my CRAFTY SALES page, so head over there to check them out. I also wanted to invite you to follow me on social media. I would love to be crafty friends!

Happy Thursday, crafty friends! I hope this first week of 2019 is treating you well! I'm...busy. Lol! Getting ready for our upcoming stamp & die release at Pinkfresh Studio, and for Creativation at the same time...I sometimes look at my computer &/or crafting area with panic. It will all get done...it always does, but I'm going to have some long days in the next couple weeks!

 Before I get to my cards for today, I thought I would share this nice little coupon code from Simon Says Stamp. Gotta love $5 off $5!! Use code CRL952 upon checkout - code expires 1/7/19 at 11:59pm. :)

Today I wanted to share a couple of cards that I created during the October release using the Folk Mandala stamps and coordinating dies. I think this is such a pretty set, and there are so many great ways you can create with them! To start this card, I stamped & heat embossed the mandala to Arches watercolor paper in Brutus Monroe Gilded. I made sure to use my MISTI when stamping, as this watercolor is quite textured, and it takes a 2-3 times stamping to get a nice impression.

Happy Monday, blog friends! This weekend I was able to create a card "just because", which is rare for me these days. Now - I don't resent that at all. I LOVE what I do, and I just count it extra when I get a moment to play with whatever I want! Recently I purchased a couple items from the Concord & 9th holiday release, and I've been dying to use them. I don't get a chance to play along with challenges very often either, but I noticed that the current Where Creativity Meets C9 challenge is all about Layers this month...and we know that is RIGHT up my alley. Lol!


 I didn't create a video for this card...mostly because the battery was dead on my GoPro. Lol - but it was nice to just be able to stamp & diecut without having to worry where everything was placed, etc. So of course, I will do a little write-up for you. I am using the newer Merry & Bright diecut, combined with one of my older but VERY favorite C9 stamp sets called Blooms Fill-In. I adore combining florals & Christmas, and of course, non-traditional color palettes. This one does use red & green in it, but I've also added navy, pinks & peach.

Happy Tuesday, blog friends! I hope the start of your week has been fabulous! I've been super busy behind the scenes at Pinkfresh Studio lately, and we have so much coming up in the near future that you are going to LOVE! But, I've also been trying to maintain some balance, and keep creating with all of my other products as well.

That is where today's card comes in. There is an awesome sketch challenge going on at Where Creativity Meets C9 Blog - check it out!

It prompted me to break out some of my favorite C9 stamps & dies, and create this lovely rainbow themed birthday card for today's post!

Hey there, blog friends! I hope that you've had a great week so far! Today my crafting friend, Laurel, asked me to be a guest at the Inspired By Challenge blog! I had the day available on my schedule, so I was able to say yes. I think you are going to love this week's inspiration photo!


I just love the soft colors, and that while Easter themed with a bunny, it isn't overly cutesy.

I broke out some older WPlus9 stamps & dies for my card today, which has been one of my favorite things to do lately. There are so many releases every single month, and while I love working with all the new products...sometimes it is really nice to use items that haven't seen a lot of love lately! Here is what I created using the Inspired By #11 challenge, and WPlus9 goodies.

Happy Monday, blog friends! I hope the start to your week has been a good one! My hubby has been on a business trip for a few days, so today he caught an early flight so he could get home sooner. Such a nice treat, considering I didn't think I'd be picking him up until this evening!

Now on to some crafty stuff - did you know that MFT Stamps is having a 2 day sale on their clear stamps?

I actually took advantage of a sale like this from MFT right before Layton was born, and needless to say...I never ended up getting to use those stamp sets. So today, I broke one of them out for my card. It is a sentiment set called "True Friends", which has already been discontinued from MFT, but I paired it with the newer "Painted Flowers" to freshen it up! {Seriously - one of my favorite things to do. I think it stems from the fact that I didn't have a chance to use my products during my pregnancies & subsequent losses.} I combined the most current MFT sketch & color challenges to create my card (linked below) - check it out!