Happy 2026 with some Cards!!!

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Hey Crafty Friends!!!

I have not posted in a while. The Christmas season was CRAZY and I decided to make personal card sets for six of my co-workers. I had a bunch of cards already made BUT instead I wanted them to all have the same ones or similar designs so I decided to start making NEW cards after Thanksgiving. What was I thinking?

The first card set was a purple card set. I used the Fresh Picked Buttercups Dies from Spellbinders for the flowers. I then used a sentiment stamp/die from Simon Says Stamp's Etched Greetings. 

The purple pattern paper is PaperTrey Ink. The embossed backgrounds were done using the Argyle Plaid embossing folder from Spellbinders. I finished off the cards with some sequins.

I used this round of Freshly Made Sketches #717 for some of my designs. The flower was one of the panels from the sketch, the sentiment the other.

Below is the card I am entering into this challenge:

The second card set I created I used a combination of old pattern papers from Bazzill and the Spellbinders 2023 Large Die of the Month-Club Blooms.

Out of all the sets, these cards were my FAVORITE!!! 

I used the Spellbinders Umbrella Bloom Dies for the red tulip flowers on the right two cards. 

Here is the 5th card in the set, as well as some close ups of the flowers from a few cards. The sentiments are from my stash. I was really bad at keeping track of what companies they are from!!!

The last set was inspired by a card I created YEARS ago. It had a cute design and it was easy to recreate!!

I stamped the black and white backgrounds using a Pinkfresh Studio Cling Stamp. I believe it is retired as I cannot find it to link anywhere.

The die cut flowers were once again die cut using the January 2023 Large Die of the Month-Club Blooms. The sentiments are a mix from my stash and Altenew's Billowing Peonies set.

The borders were a mix of twine in yellow, red, pink and a rick rack die from MFT Stamps. Boy do I miss that company!!

I also dug out enamel dots from my stash for accents. I LOVE how these came out too

These were just some of the cards I created for my co-workers. I have another set that will be in a hop in a few weeks and wound up going into my stash to supplement. I added a sheet of hand canceled stamps for them to use on my cards, as well as envelopes, a pretty marker and a scratch lottery ticket for good luck. I was in a rush so I didn't take a photo of how I wrapped the boxes but everyone LOVED them. 

Well, that is all from me today. Thanks for stopping by. I hope you have a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Here's to 2026 being better than 2025!!

Nora

A New Challenge Over at Cupcake Inspirations Challenge

 Hello Crafty Friends!!!

Today I am popping in with a card for the NEW round of the Cupcake Inspirations Challenge!!! Challenge #622 is a THEME challenge. Create a project using the theme-FOR THE BIRDS.

This card was SO FUN to create!! I went thorough a TON of "extras" and pulled out the flowers and vase from The Greetery. The bird is from Paper Trey Ink.

Below is the Challenge Badge for Cupcake Inspirations Challenge #621:

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I stamped the background with Altenew Azurite Ink and a background stamp from The Craft Consortium.

The thanks sentiment is from my stash. I have no clue who made it!! The scalloped circle die is from My Favorite Things. The tiny butterfly I found on my desk and decided to add it last minute. It is from a die set by Waffle Flower.

Want to join us this round? To see more details about the Cupcake Inspirations Challenge #622, head on over to the BLOG. I cannot wait to see what you create!!!

That is all from me. I want to thank you for taking the time to stop by. Have a FABULOUS day!!

Nora

A New Challenge at Cupcake Inspirations Challenge-Challenge #621

Hello Friends!!!

Today I am popping in with a card for the NEW round of the Cupcake Inspirations Challenge!!! Challenge #621 is a COLOR challenge-Yellow, Brown and White.

I have been admiring a bunch of lemon cards as of late so I dug out an OLD Spellbinder's lemon die that I have had for YEARS and decided to use that as the centerpiece of my card.

Below is the Challenge Badge for Cupcake Inspirations Challenge #621:

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The background was created with the Altenew Organic Linen 3D Embossing Folder.

The paper strips are from an old Jillibean Soup paper pad and sentiment is from Heffy Doodle. I really LOVE how this came out!!

Want to join us this round? To see more details about the Cupcake Inspirations Challenge #620, head on over to the BLOG. I cannot wait to see what you create!!!

That is all from me. I want to thank you for taking the time to stop by. Have a FABULOUS day!!

Nora

There is Still Time to Play with Cupcake Inspirations Challenge #620

 Hello Friends!

Today I am popping in with a card to remind you that there is still time to play with this round of the Cupcake Inspirations Challenge!!! Challenge #620 is a THEME CHALLENGE-FISH.

Once again I used the Altenew stamp and die set Calming Koi for my card. Instead of doing the fish in an orange color, I chose to make them pink.

Below is the Challenge Badge for Cupcake Inspirations Challenge #620:

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Once again I used the Tim Holtz, Stampers Anonymous Crackle Stencil to create the water on my card.

I die cut a circle out of the stenciled paper and a piece of polka dot paper for my card front.

I tucked one fish behind the circle and cut the tail off so it looks like it is swimming. I added some vellum foiliage and the second fish slightly overlapping the outer circle.

I stamped the sentiment and then cut it apart so it would fit inside the circle. I adhered it with foam adhesive. My last step was to take some Nuvo Crystal Drops and make some "water" droplets. I LOVE how this card came out!!

Want to join us this round? To see more details about the Cupcake Inspirations Challenge #620, head on over to the BLOG. I cannot wait to see what you create!!!

That is all from me. I want to thank you for taking the time to stop by. Have a FABULOUS day!!

Nora

Let Your Dreams Set Sail

 Happy Summer Friends!!

Today I am popping in with a card that I created for this weeks Freshly Made Sketch #691. I had the design in my head on what I wanted to do with this sketch but had to find everything first!! I went through my stash and I dug out products that I wanted to use. Most I have not used before.

I combined a boat die cut from "Carribean Dreams" by Altenew, the "Mighty Waves" Embossing Folder from Altenew and a sentiment from Spellbinders "Fair Winds" stamp set.

Below is the Sketch that inspired my card:

I did a bit of cutting of the embossed waves and added some white embossing ink and white gel pen on some of the edges.

The sail boat is placed at a slight tilt because you can't be on a wave a be sailing straight can you?

The sky was blended using Tumbled Glass Distress Ink. This will be sent out as a Graduation card for one of my nephews. Yes, it is unconventional but I think it can fit. 

That is all from me today. I thank you for taking the time to stop by. Have a FABULOUS day!!

Nora

A New THEME Challenge over at Cupcake Inspirations Challenge

 Hello Crafty Friends!!

Today I am popping in with a card for the NEW round of the Cupcake Inspirations Challenge!!! Challenge #620 is a THEME challenge-FISH.

I finally used my Altnew Calming Koi stamp/die set that I had in my stash!! This was perfect for this challenge.

Below is the Challenge Badge for the Cupcake Inspirations Challenge #620:

Source

The water I created using the Tim Holtz Crackle Stencil:

I measured off a rectangle, used Pinkfresh Sky Blue Ink, lifted up the stencil and moved it slightly and inked over the original. 

I think the water came out so cool!! I had a stencil for water somewhere but I couldn't find it. I will be spending some time this summer organizing my craft room again so things like this won't be missing.

For the greenery, I die cut a scrap of rice paper and some green pattern paper. I adhered each to my card, with the fish in between the two. My finishing touch was to use some Clear Nuvo Drops for some bubbles. I LOVE how this card came out!!

Want to join us this round? To see more details about the Cupcake Inspirations Challenge #620, head on over to the BLOG. I cannot wait to see what you create!!!

That is all from me. I want to thank you for taking the time to stop by. Have a FABULOUS day!!

Nora

Week #2 of the Cupcake Inspirations Challenge #619

 Hey Crafty Friends!!

There is still time to join the Cupcake Inspirations Challenge #619. Challenge #619 is a COLOR challenge-PEACH and RED.

I created my card with some digital images from our sponsor this round-Polka Doodles.

Polka Doodles generously donated a gnome image for the Design Team to use and I decided to alter the image by deleting the gnome and focusing on the flowers.

I blew them up and created a half border around the card. Digital stamps are perfect for doing techniques like these.

Below is the Challenge Badge for the Cupcake Inspirations Challenge #619:

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I colored in the flowers with Copic Markers and layered it over an A2, Kraft card base with an embossed background.

I stamped the sentiment from Altenew with black ink and embossed it with clear embossing powder. I then used Glossy Accents inside the flower centers. The red gems were the finishing touch.

Want to join us this round? To see more details about the Cupcake Inspirations Challenge #619, head on over to the BLOG. I cannot wait to see what you create!!!

That is all from me. I want to thank you for taking the time to stop by. Have a FABULOUS day!!

Nora

There is Time for a New Challenge at Cupcake Inspirations Challenge!

 Hey Friends!

Today I am popping in with a card for the NEW round of the Cupcake Inspirations Challenge!!! Challenge #616 is a THEME challenge-TREES.

I actually created TWO cards for this week. I used the Strong Oak Stencil and Die from Altnew for this card. Below is the Challenge Badge for the Cupcake Inspirations Challenge #618:

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What was fun about making this card was I stenciled the whole tree on a panel, die cut it out and then cut it in two. This made it so I could make TWO cards from one die cut!!!

 

This was such a fun way to make easy, masculine cards!!!

I made a sympathy card with one. I used the same stencil for the grass and added some Tumbled Glass Distress Ink for the sky.

My second card I popped up a sentiment banner to finish off my card. I definatly will be using this set again soon!!!

Want to join us this round? To see more details about the Cupcake Inspirations Challenge #618, head on over to the BLOG. I cannot wait to see what you create!!!

That is all from me. I want to thank you for taking the time to stop by. Have a FABULOUS day!!

Nora