Altenew | October 2026 Release Blog Hop + Giveaway

Hello there, I am delighted to be joining Altenew today for a fun blog hop celebrating the October 2026 release. I have two cards to share today - one using this month's Craft-A-Flower set, and one using this month's Craft Your Life Project Kit. 

PLEASE NOTE: This post contains affiliate links. Please see below for my full disclosure.

FUCHSIA

My first card uses the gorgeous Altenew Craft-A-Flower: Fuchsia Layering Die Set. I die cut it from white cardstock and then added ink blending on top with an Altenew Mini Blending Brush. I used Altenew Fresh Dye Inks in Bubblegum Dreams for the tops and stamens of the flowers, Highland Flora for the bottoms pf the flowers, and Green Valley for the stems and leaves. 

I adhered the layers together using the Altenew keyhole system, which is a cut out (often in the shape of a keyhole) in each of the layers, so that you know where to line up the next one on top. I used Altenew ClearFix Glue to adhere them together. I then adhered the whole piece onto a black US A2 sized card base using a combination of liquid glue and Altenew Black Instant Dimension Foam Tape. 

I stamped a sentiment from the Altenew Soft Blossoms Stamp Set onto black cardstock using Altenew Embossing Ink. I applied Altenew Pure White Crisp Embossing Powder and heat set. It was cut into a strip and adhered to the card with more black foam tape. To finish, I embellished with Altenew Clear Iridescent Stellar Sequins. 

EXPRESSIVE FLORA

My next card uses the Altenew Craft Your Life Project Kit: Expressive Flora. This kit is packed full but I especially fell in love with the layering stencils. I added ink blending through the stencils onto a US A2 sized panel of white cardstock. 

I used Altenew Fresh Dye Inks in Highland Flora for the petals, Coffee Break for the flower centre, and Rock Collection for the stems and leaves. I will be honest and say that the edges of the leaves weren't as crips as I would have liked, so I went over some of them with a dark grey pencil. I let the inks dry for a few minutes and then mixed Altenew Titanium White Artists' Gouache with a little water. 

It was splattered onto the panel and then left to dry before adhering the panel onto a white US A2 sized card base using Altenew Glue Tape. I stamped a sentiment from the kit stamp set onto white cardstock using Altenew Obsidian Pigment Ink. It was cut into a strip and adhered to the card using foam tape. To finish, I embellished with Altenew Clear Iridescent Stellar Sequins.

In case you missed it, I already shared this card using Altenew Build-A-Garden: Joy in Bloom. You can see that blog post here. 

BLOG HOP:

As mentioned, this post is part of a fun and inspiration blog hop. Please click on the participants images below to visit their blogs. 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

GIVEAWAY:

$300 in total prizes! To celebrate this release, Altenew is giving away a $100 gift certificate to 1 lucky winner and a $50 gift certificate to 4 winners! Please leave a comment on the Altenew Blog and/or each designer’s blog post on the blog hop list below by October 15th for a chance to win. Altenew will draw 5 random winners from the comments left on each stop of this blog hop and announce the winners on the Altenew's Blog Hop Post on October 17th, 2026. The winner of the $100 gift certificate will be chosen from comments left on the Altenew blog. 

SUPPLIES:

 

Here are the links to what I have used on the projects. Affiliate links are used on some products. This means that if you make a purchase after clicking on my link, I receive a small commission with no extra cost to you. I truly appreciate your support when using these links. Please click on the logo below the product to shop at your favourite store. All products were personally purchased except marked with an asterisk (*) which were kindly sent to me to use. You can read my full disclosure here.

Thank you so much for stopping by today, I really do appreciate it. I hope you have a wonderful time on the rest of the hop and a great weekend too! Take care! 

Pinkfresh Studio Video | 7 Ways to Add Interest to Clean & Simple Cards

Hello there, I am over on the Pinkfresh Studio YouTube Channel today, sharing a card using the beautiful Gentle Bloomscape suite. I am also sharing some tips and tricks for adding interest to clean and simple cards. 

PLEASE NOTE: This post contains affiliate links. Please see below for my full disclosure.

I started off my card by taking the Pinkfresh Studio Gentle Bloomscape Stencils and placing them, one by one, on top of a panel of white cardstock, adding ink blending to the image using Pinkfresh Studio 1/2" Blending Brushes. I used Pinkfresh Studio Inks in Turquoise, Blue Jay and Hydrangea for the flowers, and Grassy Knoll, Key Lime and Mermaid Cove for the leaves and stems. 

The flowers were then die cut out using the Pinkfresh Studio Gentle Bloomscape Die. The flowers were arranged in the bottom right hand corner of a 4" x 5.5" white card base using thin foam tape. I stamped the sentiment from Pinkfresh Studio Simply Said Stamp Set onto white cardstock using Pinkfresh Studio Detail Black Hybrid Ink. 

It was die cut out using the coordinating die and the die cut again twice from white cardstock. I adhered the die cut layers behind the stamped one before adhering to the card. To finish, I embellished using Pinkfresh Studio Iridescent Dew Drops. 

So what are the 7 ways to add interest to clean and simple cards?

1. Have a bold focal point - in this instance I went with a bold colour scheme. This really pops against the card base. 
2. White space - having white space (areas where there is nothing) on a card really draws your eye into the focal point. 
3. Make your images work for you - for this card, I cut apart a few of the floral arrangements to create one big one. Don't be afraid to cut up your images to work for your design!
4. Add dimension - you don't need to go crazy here but adding some dimension makes the layers pop. I used thin foam tape for the flowers and cardstock layers for the sentiment. 
5. Overlap elements on the edge of the card - I know this isn't for everyone but I really like how it looks. I made the card 4 inches wide, so that the card could still fit in a standard sized envelope. 
6. Make sentiments part of the focal point - sentiments can often feel like an afterthought on a card, but for me, it is the reason for sending the card in the first place - you want to say something to the recipient. So I like to overlap my focal point with the sentiment to make it part of the arrangement. 
7. Add subtle embellishments - embellishments can really add that final flourish/finishing touch to a card, but if they are too bold, they can often distract form the focal point. 

VIDEO:

Here is the video showing how I made the card:

If you are viewing this blog post via email subscription, you can watch the video HERE on YouTube. 

SUPPLIES:

 

Here are the links to what I have used on the project. Affiliate links are used on some products. This means that if you make a purchase after clicking on my link, I receive a small commission with no extra cost to you. I truly appreciate your support when using these links. Please click on the logo below the product to shop at your favourite store. All products were personally purchased except marked with an asterisk (*) which were kindly sent to me to use. You can read my full disclosure here.

Thank you so much for stopping by today, I really do appreciate it. I hope you have a wonderful day! 

Altenew | Joy in Bloom

Hello there, it's release day over at Altenew and there are lots of new goodies in store - all the subscription products, plus a fun storage solution for storing made cards, as well as new sizes of Sticky Mats. I have one card to share today, and I will have more to share on Saturday for the blog hop. 

PLEASE NOTE: This post contains affiliate links. Please see below for my full disclosure.

I am using the beautiful Altenew Build-A-Garden: Joy in Bloom set today. There is one large image in the set, plus sentiments, coordinating stencils, and if you get the add-on set, coordinating dies too. I started off by stamping the image onto white cardstock using Altenew Obsidian Pigment Ink. I then used the coordinating stencils to add colour using ink blending. 

I used Altenew Bubblegum Dreams and Golden Sunset Fresh Dye Inks for the large flowers, Altenew Highland Flora and Golden Sunset Fresh Dye Inks for the small flowers on the top left, and Altenew Enchanted Garden Fresh Dye Inks for the top flowers on the right. I used Altenew Green Valley Fresh Dye Inks for the leaves. 

The image was die cut out using the coordinating die and adhered to a US A2 sized white card base with Altenew Instant Dimension Foam Tape. The excess of the image was cut off the sides using scissors. I stamped the 'thanks' stamp from Altenew Craft Your Life Project Kit: Expressive Flora onto white cardstock using Obsidian Pigment Ink. It was die cut out and adhered to the card. To finish, I embellished with Altenew Clear Iridescent Stellar Sequins. 

As mentioned, I will have more to share on Saturday but in the mean-time, you can see the whole release here. 

SUPPLIES:

 

Here are the links to what I have used on the project. Affiliate links are used on some products. This means that if you make a purchase after clicking on my link, I receive a small commission with no extra cost to you. I truly appreciate your support when using these links. Please click on the logo below the product to shop at your favourite store. All products were personally purchased except marked with an asterisk (*) which were kindly sent to me to use. You can read my full disclosure here.

Thank you so much for stopping by today, I really do appreciate it. I hope you have a wonderful day! 

Spellbinders | Christmas Cats

Hello there, today I have two projects to share using the Christmas Cats collection from Spellbinders and Yana Smakula. This collection released back in July, so I am a little late to the party with this one, but these mischievous cats are fun, so I wanted to use them! 

PLEASE NOTE: This post contains affiliate links. Please see below for my full disclosure.

For the tag, I started off by die cutting the base of the window, from Spellbinders Christmas Cats Window View Etched Dies, twice - once from white cardstock and once from Spellbinders Fairy Tale ColorWheel Cardstock. I added ink blending to the white cardstock one using Altenew Enchanted Garden Fresh Dye Inks. I then splattered Spellbinders Splatter White on top and set aside to dry. 

I die cut the window frame from white cardstock twice, adhered them one on top of each other, and then onto the window base. The Fairy Tale piece was adhered behind, back to back. I then punched a hole at the top to create the tag. I die cut the cat from Spellbinders Christmas Cats Etched Dies from Spellbinders Fog, Anchor, Classic White and Raven ColorWheel Cardstock. The bow was cut from Lilac. The cat was assembled and adhered using liquid glue. 

I die cut the Santa hat from the Spellbinders Christmas Cats Accessories Etched Dies from Spellbinders Pomegranate and Classic White ColorWheel Cardstock. It was assembled and adhered to the cat's head. The tree, from the same set, was die cut from Spellbinders Rainforest, Truffle and Pomegranate ColorWheel Cardstock. The baubles/ornaments were cut from Lilac, Lavender and Matte Metallic Silver cardstock. It was assembled and adhered to the tag with thin foam tape. 

The cat bed, from the Spellbinders Christmas Cats Window View Etched Dies, was die cut from Spellbinders Lilac and Lavender ColorWheel Cardstock. It was assembled and adhered to the tag with more thin foam tape and then the cat adhered on top, adding a Spellbinders Prism AB Color Essentials Gem to the bow. 

I hot foiled the sentiment from the Spellbinders Meowy Christmas Sentiments Press + Foil Plate & Die Set onto white cardstock using Spellbinders Opaque Black Foil. It was die cut out and adhered to the back of the tag. To finish, I threaded DMC Light Silver Thread through the top of the tag and tied in a bow. 

For the card, I die cut the cat from Spellbinders Christmas Cats Etched Dies from Spellbinders Fog, Anchor, Classic White and Raven ColorWheel Cardstock. The bow was cut from Lilac and the hat, from the Spellbinders Christmas Cats Accessories Etched Dies, from Pomegranate and Classic White cardstock. The cat was assembled and adhered together using liquid glue. 

I die cut the tree the same as the tag, but this time, cut the pot from Spellbinders Lilac ColorWheel Cardstock and the baubles/ornaments from Fairy Tale, Lavender and Matte Metallic Silver Cardstock. The presents were cut from Fairy Tale, Lavender and Lilac cardstock. 

I die cut two arches from the Spellbinders Essential Arches Etched Dies from white cardstock. I made a score line towards the top of one to create a hinge. I added adhesive to the hinge and adhered it to the back of the other arch piece to create an arch shaped card base. The tree was adhered first, with thin foam tape, followed by the cat and presents. 

The sentiment, from the Spellbinders Meowy Christmas Sentiments Press + Foil Plate & Die Set, was hot foiled onto white cardstock using Spellbinders Opaque Black Foil. It was die cut out and adhered to the card using foam tape. To finish, I embellished with Spellbinders Silver and Prism AB Color Essentials Gems. 

SUPPLIES:

 

Here are the links to what I have used on the projects. Affiliate links are used on some products. This means that if you make a purchase after clicking on my link, I receive a small commission with no extra cost to you. I truly appreciate your support when using these links. Please click on the logo below the product to shop at your favourite store. All products were personally purchased except marked with an asterisk (*) which were kindly sent to me to use. You can read my full disclosure here.

The tag is definitely my favourite of the two projects. I really like that window and I'm excited to use it for non-Christmas projects too! Is the cat playing with the bauble or knocking it off the tree? Probably the latter! Thank you so much for stopping by my blog today, I really do appreciate it. I hope you have a wonderful day! 

18

Hello there, I hope you are well! Today I have a card to share that I made for my niece who turned 18 last month. I cannot believe I have an 18 year old niece! I thought it would be fun to have the 18 inside the champagne glass and then decorate it with flowers, adding lots of sparkle with glitter cardstock. 

PLEASE NOTE: This post contains affiliate links. Please see below for my full disclosure.

I started off by die cutting the champagne glass from Spellbinders A Special Toast Etched Dies. I die cut it three times and adhered them one on top of another. I die cut the champagne from Spellbinders Alabaster and Chiffon ColorWheel Cardstock and adhered them together. Before adhering it to the back of the glass, I die cut the Hero Arts Number One and Number Eight Dies from Altenew Moonstone Glitter Cardstock.

The numbers were adhered behind the glass first and then the champagne adhered behind them. The glass was then adhered onto a US A2 sized card base made from Hero Arts Pitch Black Cardstock. I adhered the glass using Bearly Art Glue and then added black foam tape behind the top of the numbers. 

I die cut the flowers from Spellbinders A Special Toast Etched Dies from white cardstock, the flower centres from Altenew Moonstone Glitter Cardstock, and the leaves from Spellbinders Peridot and Rainforest ColorWheel Cardstock. I then die cut the ribbon tails from the same glitter cardstock. 

I assembled the flowers first, using liquid glue, and then adhered them to the card with a combination of liquid glue and black foam tape, popping the leaves behind. The ribbon tails were adhered below, popping the tops of them underneath the flower cluster. 

I hot foiled the Spellbinders Cheers Sentiments Press Plate onto white cardstock using Spellbinders Opaque Black Foil and the Glimmer Hot Foil System. It was die cut out and then the 'cheers on your birthday' sentiment adhered to the card. To finish, I embellished with Spellbinders Silver Color Essentials Gems. 

SUPPLIES:

Here are the links to what I have used on the project. Affiliate links are used on some products. This means that if you make a purchase after clicking on my link, I receive a small commission with no extra cost to you. I truly appreciate your support when using these links. Please click on the logo below the product to shop at your favourite store. All products were personally purchased except marked with an asterisk (*) which were kindly sent to me to use. You can read my full disclosure here.

Unfortunately the Number Dies are being discontinued. Such a shame as they are perfect for customised cards. Thanks so much for stopping by today, I really do appreciate it. I hope you have a wonderful day!

Spellbinders | Simon's Sentiments

Hello there, I was over on the Spellbinders Blog yesterday sharing a step by step tutorial using the new Must-Have Sentiments Press + Foil Plate & Die Set. This set is part of Simon's Sentiments Collection, which features four sentiments sets. These were previously released as glimmer plates (foiling only) but now they have been re-released as both press + foil plates. 

PLEASE NOTE: This post contains affiliate links. Please see below for my full disclosure.

I used the 'hello' from the Spellbinders Must-Have Sentiments Press + Foil Plate & Die Set, pressing it using Iris BetterPress Ink. I love the font on these sentiments! I combined the sentiment with with the beautiful Spellbinders Petal Fresh Etched Dies and the Spellbinders A2 Herringbone Décor 3D Embossing Folder. 

SUPPLIES:

 

Here are the links to what I have used on the project. Affiliate links are used on some products. This means that if you make a purchase after clicking on my link, I receive a small commission with no extra cost to you. I truly appreciate your support when using these links. Please click on the logo below the product to shop at your favourite store. All products were personally purchased except marked with an asterisk (*) which were kindly sent to me to use. You can read my full disclosure here.

Please head over to the Spellbinders Blog to see more photos and the step by step on how I made it! Thank you so much for stopping by today, I really appreciate it. I hope you have a wonderful day! 

Pinkfresh Studio | Sending Sunshine

Hello there, today I have a card to share using the new Pinkfresh Studio September 2026 The Simple Things release. I already shared one card here, and today, I have another to share. Like my first card, I have gone very CAS with this one! 

PLEASE NOTE: This post contains affiliate links. Please see below for my full disclosure.

I started off my card by stamping the pot and lemon images from the Pinkfresh Studio Steeped in Comfort Stamp Set onto white cardstock using Pinkfresh Studio Detail Black Hybrid Ink. I then used the Pinkfresh Studio Steeped in Comfort Stencils to add colour to the images with ink blending. 

I used Pinkfresh Studio 1/2" and 1/4" Blending Brushes and the following Pinkfresh Studio Inks:

• Lemons - Lemon Whip, Sunshine and Sweet Mustard
• Leaves - Grassy Knoll and Key Lime
• Flower - Sparkling Rose
• Pot - Lemon Whip, Sunshine and Sweet Mustard
• Pot lid - Waterfall and Turquoise
• Pot string to tie lid on - Warm Buff and Doe

The pot is supposed to be honey, but I made it into lemon curd instead! 

The images were die cut out using the Pinkfresh Studio Steeped in Comfort Dies. I then took the Pinkfresh Studio Leafy Loops Coverplate Die and die cut it onto a 4.25" x 5.5" panel of white cardstock. There is no cutting edge to the die, it just pierces the holes. The panel was adhered to a white A2 sized card base using tape runner. The images were adhered on top using thin foam tape. 

I stamped the sentiment from the Pinkfresh Studio Steeped in Comfort Stamp Set onto white cardstock using black ink. It was die cut out and then the die cut again from white cardstock. The die cut was adhered behind the stamped one and then adhered onto the card. To finish, I embellished with Pinkfresh Studio Iridescent Dew Drops. 

SUPPLIES:

 

Here are the links to what I have used on the project. Affiliate links are used on some products. This means that if you make a purchase after clicking on my link, I receive a small commission with no extra cost to you. I truly appreciate your support when using these links. Please click on the logo below the product to shop at your favourite store. All products were personally purchased except marked with an asterisk (*) which were kindly sent to me to use. You can read my full disclosure here.

Thank you so much for stopping by today, I really do appreciate it. I hope you have a wonderful day! 

Spellbinders | Festive Evergreens

Hello there, I'm delighted to be over on the Spellbinders Blog sharing a step by step tutorial on how to press plates using multiple colours of ink. Registration plates let you do that anyway, but for this set, I still wanted an extra colour so I masked off the areas to use another one! 

PLEASE NOTE: This post contains affiliate links. Please see below for my full disclosure.

The Spellbinders Festive Evergreens Registration Press & Foil Plate + Die Set has two press plates for the image and another for the sentiments. I pressed the foliage first, using Malachite Ink (it is showing as blue in the photos but is slightly more teal in real-life!), and then when it came to pressing the door, it also presses the ornaments, well I did not want them black, so I masked off areas with Best Ever Craft Tape and used both BetterPress Black Ink and Magenta Ink. 

SUPPLIES:

 

Here are the links to what I have used on the project. Affiliate links are used on some products. This means that if you make a purchase after clicking on my link, I receive a small commission with no extra cost to you. I truly appreciate your support when using these links. Please click on the logo below the product to shop at your favourite store. All products were personally purchased except marked with an asterisk (*) which were kindly sent to me to use. You can read my full disclosure here.

Please head over to the blog post on the Spellbinders Blog to see how I did it! Thank you so much for stopping by today, I really do appreciate it. I hope you have a great rest of the weekend! Take care!

Pinkfresh Studio | The Simple Things September 2026 Release Blog Hop

Hello there, I'm delighted to be joining Pinkfresh Studio today to celebrate The Simple Things September 2026 release with a fun and inspirational blog hop. I have one card to share today and will have another on Monday! Today I am using the beautiful Dragonfly Dreams suite. 

PLEASE NOTE: This post contains affiliate links. Please see below for my full disclosure.

I started off my card by stamping the image from the Pinkfresh Studio Dragonfly Dreams Stamp Set onto white cardstock using Pinkfresh Studio Detail Black Hybrid Ink, twice. I then used the Pinkfresh Studio Dragonfly Dreams Stencils to colour the image using ink blending with Pinkfresh Studio 1/2" Blending Brushes. 

I used Pinkfresh Studio Inks in Hydrangea and Turquoise for the dragonflies. I decided to keep the floral image free from colour. The images were then die cut out using the Pinkfresh Studio Dragonfly Dreams Dies. I cut the floral piece in half so that I had two separate stems. 

I took a US A2 sized white card base and stamped the sentiment from the Pinkfresh Studio Dragonfly Dreams Stamp Set on top. The floral stems were adhered to the card using Pinkfresh Studio Precision Clear Craft Glue at the bottom (the excess of the stems cut off the bottom of the card base using scissors) and thin foam tape at the top. 

The dragonflies were adhered on top using more thin foam tape. To finish, I added black dots using Altenew Fine Liner 2.0 Pens. 

BLOG HOP:

As mentioned, this post is part of a fun blog hop. Please click on the other participants below to visit their blogs. 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

GIVEAWAY:

Pinkfresh Studio will give away ten $50 gift cards along the hop, selected from the comments left along the hop at random. They will also give away the full release over on the Pinkfresh Studio blog and YouTube Channel. Winners will be announced on the Pinkfresh Studio Giveaway Page on 2nd October 2026. Please make sure to check if you are a winner and claim your prize within two weeks.

SUPPLIES:

 

Here are the links to what I have used on the project. Affiliate links are used on some products. This means that if you make a purchase after clicking on my link, I receive a small commission with no extra cost to you. I truly appreciate your support when using these links. Please click on the logo below the product to shop at your favourite store. All products were personally purchased except marked with an asterisk (*) which were kindly sent to me to use. You can read my full disclosure here.

Thank you so much for stopping by today, I really do appreciate it. I hope you have a great time on the rest of the hop and a wonderful day!