Good morning, friends. This week on the Card Clubhouse Instagram Hop, we created and are sharing cards inspired by New Goals and Fresh Dreams... one of my goals this year is to send more of the cards I create so I had fun with this cute snail pattern paper...
Today is the Pattern Paper Instagram Hop... Our theme is "chilly". I didn't want to make a Christmas card even though that is where all of my thoughts went at first. Instead I created a friendship card with a chilly (and warm) theme.
How are we already more than halfway through the month of January!? I'm still struggling to type 2026 at work (in fact, last week I typed 2027 a few times!)
This is our first Crushing Christmas Instagram Hop of 2026. Our theme this month is Pattern Paper. I chose to highlight one of my favourite pattern paper packs for my card today along with a beautiful big sentiment.
It's time for a new challenge at CAS Colours & Sketches... and this time it's a sketch, designed by me!
I was inspired by a colour combination I saw online for my stripes... and then I lost my mojo. I threw an element and a sentiment on to the card but I'm not sure it's what I had envisioned for this card...
We have another gorgeous sketch for you over at Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenges...
I am making a conscious effort lately to try to keep my cards following sketches a little closer to clean and simple as often as possible. It can be difficult, but I like the challenge.
For my card today, I added a white embossed panel with some deep and rich floral elements... I don't love the greenery I added but I couldn't find anything else in my stash that did any better.
I had a lot of fun creating my Love and Hugs themed cards for the Create It 3-Ways Instagram Hop. I started with a heart die from an alphabet set I have and added in a pretty pastel rainbow. All three of my cards use these same elements (plus the same sentiment stamp and die), but I created three different cards...
First, a photo of all three cards... The items used in all three cards are The Concord & 9th Tall Type Alphabet, MFT Something for Everything and Stampin' Up! cardstocks in Petal Pink, So Saffron, Pear Pizzazz, Pool Party and Highland Heather
And now lets get a closer look at each of them.
I made this mini slimline card first with just the items I listed above. I love this card so much! I love that this one heart die cuts both the insides and the outsides to create an outline heart.
I then moved on to this second card, using the insides of the hearts from the mini slimline. I added the MFT Stitched Rectangle layer for a little more interest.
And then finally this last card, using both the inside and the outside cuts from the heart die, placed on top of a layer embossed with the Stampin' Up! Soft Waves embossing folder. This time I used some foam adhesive to pop up the centres of the hearts.
For January, we are playing with the same theme every week for the This or That Instagram Hop. We have to choose between OLD and NEW.
I started out playing with the idea of NEW, grabbing a new stamp set I got before Christmas... but then I added some super old pattern paper and glitter paper and now it's both an OLD and a NEW card LOL!
I can't believe we've been doing these fabulous AAA Colourful Colourboard Challenges for two years already! Where has the time gone?
I'm not sure I was quite ready to play with shades of pink... but I couldn't not participate this month!
First here's the colourboard...
I chose to do some ink blending in shades of pink for my card... and added a white silhouette on top...
For January, the theme for the White on White Instagram Hop is Winter... so of course I had to play with some snowflakes! This could be a Christmas card or simply a card you send someone during the winter months... even a birthday card.
Last week, a good friend asked me to make a 50th Anniversary card for her. I happened to be in my craft room when she made the request so I started working on it right away... I am really in love with white on white cards lately so that's where I started. Since the 50th Anniversary is the Golden Anniversary, I chose to add some gold to it as well.
This morning I am sharing a card that was inspired by a talented creator on Instagram for the CASE It Instagram Hop. I feel in love with her card (that you'll see below) and knew in an instant I'd be playing with it.
First, here's Milla's card...
Isn't it gorgeous?! I love how rich her colours are! And I love how the rest of the floral spray are in black and white on the front of the card. Such a great interpretation of the spotlight technique.
My card didn't turn out as gorgeous as hers... but I tried to do something similar without copying directly. I did the spotlight technique but with a smaller floral image. Instead of a rectangular highlight, I went with a circular one. I kept my sentiment offset, but went to the other side of the card for it. I hope you can see how my card was inspired by hers...
It's time for the first challenge of 2026 with the team at Addicted to CAS...
I struggled with this theme! I was crafting with my friends Heidi and Bonnie and they will confirm that I almost decided to skip this challenge. I didn't want to go with a drinking glass because I find them difficult to work with and get looking the way I want them to. And then I had my AH-HA moment! I have Pair Eyewear, those glasses with the removeable toppers. For a while, I thought I was going to make my own toppers (and I did make a few) so I purchased a cut file to be used with my Silhouette. I pulled out the Silhouette, resized the cut file and cut myself a pair of glasses!!! I added some Glossy Accents to the frames and some funky flowers and a sentiment that really worked!
It's the second Friday of the month which means it's time for the Sending Sunshine Instagram Hop! Each month, a group of us share cards in Instagram meant to be sent to brighten someones days. We never know what others are going through, so we want to send a little sunshine each month in case someone else needs it in their life.
I am trying to make more clean and simple cards again this year... last year I made some, but many of my cards were way more busy than my usual style. I will still be making all styles of cards as I like to create whatever makes my heart happy, but if I can create something that is clean and simple, I'm going to do that.
I kept this card super clean and simple, utilizing only one corner of my card front. I added some interest to the white squares by sending them through my Big Shot with an embossing folder. The sprig is popped up on foam adhesive.
Happy Friday! It's time for the first clean and simple challenge at CAS on Friday! We are playing with the prompt of SNOWMAN for this challenge!
You all know that I LOVE snowflakes and snowmen. I pulled out all of my snowman stamps and dies and narrowed it down to a few different things. This die set from Spellbinders won out because I haven't used it yet!
This month, the creators playing along with the Clean and Simple Instagram Hop are working with the theme of BLUES. Think the colour, the music genre, the winter blues...
I decided to play with the colour and chose some smokey blues to create my card today.
For the entire month of January, the This or That Instagram Hop is challenging us with a theme of NEW or OLD. For my card today, I dug in to my stash of forgotten and unused wood mounted stamps. This stamp is super old... I'm surprised it still stamps!
Welcome to a brand new year of challenges with Time Out Challenges! We are welcoming Jaydee to our team with our first challenge of 2026! She's a fabulous card maker that I've been following for a while.
Our challenge this week is sponsored by Gina K Designs!
What a fun prompt for a new year! I just wish my card would have photographed better! I decided to dig in to my stash of items that I inherited when my Mom passed away. She LOVED the Glitter Ritz glitters and I took all of it home with me! I don't pull it out very often because it's so messy, but it sure is pretty!
I took a piece of pattern paper (also really old from my stash) and covered the panel in double sided adhesive before sprinkling a clear glitter all over the top. I burned it down to make sure it really stuck on there. Believe me when I say, this panel really sparkles!!
I joined a new cardmaking Instagram hop... this one is called Card Clubhouse. We will be hopping every second week, playing with a different common theme. Our theme for this week is Warm Welcome! We are using new supplies, tools or techniques to make a card to make someone feel welcomed or at home.
I went a little off the rails with my card... my stamp set is new but I went with a literal "warm" as the stamp I chose to use was warm hats (or toques up here in Canada)
It's time to share my card for the Mini Slimline Instagram Hop. We have no themes or rules, other than our cards must be a mini slimline... I just LOVE playing with this size!
I went super simple with just stamping and colouring...
Welcome to the first challenge of 2026 at CAS Colours & Sketches! I am your host for this month so I hope you like what I've come up with!
This week, we have a colour challenge...
I was inspired by a card I saw by alaskastamper on Instagram to play with these colours. They made a fabulous Christmas card with these colours so it was a challenge to come up with something else. I decided that they made a great masculine colour pallette.
Good morning! There is a fantastic new sketch at Atlantic Hearts this week... I hope you'll play along!
I have been finding it tough to get back in to the swing of every day card making... I used some items from my die cut stash to create my card today, making the sketch in to something that is relatively clean and simple.
Good morning... this morning I am sharing a card that highlights my favourite silhouette stamp for the My Favorite Instagram Hop. I had a few things to choose from, but I decided to go with this super old wood mounted stamp from my stash! I stamped it on a white panel and added a little ink blending with a splatter stencil.
