Thursday, January 8, 2026

Love Letters


Hi everyone!  With the Christmas and New Year holidays behind us and the Mardi Gras season firmly under way, it's time to turn our eyes toward the Spring holidays!  I'm here today with a romantic love letter for Valentine's Day.  Cards like this make me smile because as a back-in-the-days-before-email Navy wife, my husband and I have written and received many old-fashioned real paper love letters from each other over the years.  Those six month deployments sure felt like they lasted forever!


Today's card is a combination of one stamp set, two paper pads, scraps of metallic paper and several die sets.  So easy and so much fun to put together!


A very frilly bow of white tulle holds the "keys to my heart" (keys - Man of Knowledge dies set; heart - Farmhouse Hearts dies set) and slightly obscures the "zip code" (our wedding year) which is adhered to a "stamped" envelope of love letters (Tim Holtz Postales die set).  


The sentiment on the inside is another from the same Farmhouse Simple Sentiments set.  

Supplies:

Posted by at 1 comment:
Labels: ,

Thursday, January 1, 2026

Celebrate!


Happy New Year!

Welcome to all of you, and welcome 2026!  

I'm here with a clean and simple "Celebrate" card that might be for the New Year, or maybe to celebrate longer daylight, or it could even be for Easter! It was inspired by all the Narcissus bulbs (and amaryllis too!) that I've been seeing for sale at the garden center lately. Have you ever "forced" bulbs to bloom inside during the Winter?  I used to force paper white narcissus almost every year, but I haven't done it in quite a while.  It's not too late, maybe I need to try it again!  It is a great reminder that Solstice is behind us, the days are getting longer already and Spring is indeed coming!


It is hard to capture pale colors and sparkle on camera even inside a light box, but hopefully you can kinda see the pale blues, blue-greens and yellow-greens on the flower petals and the clear Wink of Stella sparkle that I layered on top of the Copics.  I used a gold metallic jelly roll marker to color the tips of the stamen.  Sometimes it seems like the flowers in real life almost look like spun sugar, and that is what that sparkle reminds me of, even on paper.  


The card's inside is super simple.  Do you do a word focus for the year?  Maybe this should be mine.  

My wish is that this new year will be filled with hope, warmth, love, health and happiness for everyone.  Blessings to you and yours!  

Posted by at No comments:
Labels:

Saturday, December 27, 2025

Year End Favorites

Hi friends!  It's our Stamp Simply design team custom to post our favorites at the end of the year.  I always find it so difficult to narrow it down to only 8 or 9 cards because there's almost always something that I love about each and every card that I've made. 

I've posted a photo of each card with a link below it.  If you click on the link a new page will open to the original blog post for that card so that you can see the supplies/techniques that were used to make it.  Simply close that window to come back to this page. 



Deepest Sympathy


Sincere Condolences



Sunflower Season


Just poppin' by!


With Heartfelt Sympathy


Square Column Fold Card


Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you have enjoyed my 2025 favorite cards review!  Stay safe, happy and healthy.  See you just around the corner in 2026!


Posted by at No comments:
Labels:

Thursday, December 25, 2025

Merry Christmas!


Hello friends!  Merry Christmas!  

My project for today is a simple card which includes two profound passages of scripture that go straight to the heart of the Christian faith.    


I hope that in the midst of all of the crazy hustle and bustle of this Christmas season you'll be able to set aside some quiet time to ponder that miraculous moment when Christ was born, when He stepped down from heaven, setting aside His deity and taking on the form of a helpless newborn baby.  Of course, His  story goes all the way from the cradle to the cross because He loves us so much.  He is God's Love personified.  


A lovely sheet of designer paper did almost all of the work for me in the making of this card.  I used distress oxide inks to stamp the star and sentiments.  White acrylic paint, both full strength (dotted with a stylus tip) and diluted (spattered on with a paintbrush) gave the illusion of a nighttime sky scattered with stars.  A little painting with a clear Wink of Stella marker added some sparkle to that special Star.  


I used the remaining scrap of that same designer paper for the inside of the card.  

Supplies:
Merry Christmas with lots of love!  

Deb
Posted by at No comments:
Labels:

Thursday, December 18, 2025

O Christmas Tree


Hi y'all!  

On any given Thursday morning I'm usually Zooming with my friend Callie, but this morning I'm participating in one of my favorite annual activities.  I'm with a group of my ukulele friends, ringing and singing for the Salvation Army.  We have a fun repertoire of songs that include secular and religious songs for Christmas as well as a few for Hanukkah and of course, a few Hawaiian melodies and Hapa Haole songs as well (referring to a genre of Hawaiian music with English lyrics).  I wish you could see the joy on shoppers' faces as they exit the grocery store and find us there with our happy instruments and silly Christmas garb!  I'd like to think that our exuberant performance inspires them to drop a little extra into the red bucket!  

If you've been visiting my blog for a while, you might remember how my love affair with Hawaiian culture, especially music, dance and my beloved ukulele, got its start.  My husband and I lived in Hawaii for the first four years of our marriage when he was stationed on Oahu at VQ-3 Barbers Point.  I took hula on Monday evenings at Halau Hula O Maiki the entire time we lived there and loved every minute of it.    


We were back on the mainland for quite a while before I seriously started playing the uke.  One of the first "real" songs I learned to play was Iz's version of Somewhere Over the Rainbow, so it's a bit tongue in cheek to say that my card for today, with its pink and green Over the Rainbow designer paper, was thus inspired.  I really do love this bright, happy retro color combo!  

For the Christmas tree, I used the tree die cut to cut a negative space into that gorgeous green designer paper, then adhered it to a white mat and stamped the tree into the negative space.  I used Copic markers, a clear sparkly Wink of Stella glitter marker to color it in, with some strategically placed tiny dots of white paint to make the tree's ornaments look like 3-D rhinestones.  


But there really is only one rhinestone on the card front, the pink one on the white snowflake above the banner, so if you're after a flat card for easy mailing, this would be a good image to use.  Just leave the gems and ribbon off and there you go.   


Here's the inside, with more of that beautiful bold green, a little pink and a couple of die cut embellishments.  And...this greeting is from another Christmas song!  

I hope you leave here today with a song in your heart!  And please give a little extra when you see the Salvation Army bellringer wherever you shop!  Happy Holidays to each and every one of you!  

xo

Supplies:
Posted by at No comments:
Labels:

Thursday, December 11, 2025

JOY of the Season


The beautiful white fluffy stuff is making an appearance across a lot of the US this week, and here in Florida we are enjoying "sweater weather" even though snow and ice rarely make it this far South.  A family member sent us some photos of his property with the deer out in the snow and so I have been thinking about how God sustains of all of the beautiful wild things through the Winter, with or without our help, just as he so faithfully provides for each of us.  


One sheet of beautiful designer paper inspired the colors for this project.  The red cardinal and berries stand out so brightly in all of those lovely blues with just a hint of lavender.  


Supplies:
Posted by at No comments:
Labels:

Thursday, December 4, 2025

Gift Card Holders


Welcome back!  How's your week been?  For my American friends, how was your Thanksgiving?  Ours was peaceful and our turkey dinner was delicious (if I do say so myself)!  


Each December I usually make a couple of gift card holders to have on hand.  They make a great back-up plan in case you've left someone off your Christmas list, so it is a good idea to stash at least one just in case!   

I have two cards for today.  One is stamped, and the other is made only with printed paper cut-outs (also flat for mailing). Both use the Carta Bella Winter Time 6x6 designer paper. 


Over the years I have made lots of different styles of gift card holders.  These two have a special "W fold" inside (a 4.5 x 11 inch piece of card stock scored at 5.5 and also 2.75 from each end), the very back of which forms a pocket for money or a gift card.

A few "words of wisdom" regarding construction:  
  • plan and decorate the various pages of your W fold element before adhering it to the decorated card base!  Once adhered, it will not lay flat for stamping.  
  • remember NOT to glue the entire back panel of the W fold in place!  Leave one side open for the money/gift card pocket!  
    • decorate the card base, then adhere the pocket to the inside back, leaving one side and the interior open so the gift card will slide in (yes, it is worth repeating!)
    • then fold the W fold mechanism, add adhesive to the front of it, then simply close the front of the card base and it will line up just right!

My second card has no stamping at all.  It was made entirely with the Winter Time designer paper pad and various printed paper cutouts.  Easy peasy and so cute!  


See that red cording?!  I decided to add it after constructing my card and had to use a stylus and a crochet hook to get it through!  So yeah, planning your entire layout before-hand is so much simpler!  


My first card has a notch in the middle of the pocket opening, whereas for this one the pocket opening is cut on the diagonal.  It's kinda fun to change things up a little.  


I hope you like them both!

Supplies:

Spirit of Christmas
SNOW!
Posted by at No comments:
Labels:

Thursday, November 27, 2025

Happy Thanksgiving!


Hello to everyone, and Happy Thanksgiving to all of my American friends!  I hope that you are enjoying a wonderful time of celebration with dear family and friends.    


My project for today uses a bounty of stamps and supplies all from Stamp Simply.  


I was going for a sparkly, slightly but not too far over-the-top elegance with close-but-not-quite traditional colors.  


Gathering together for Thanksgiving is exactly what this day is all about!  Enjoy!

Supplies:

Stamp Simply


Posted by at No comments:
Labels:

Thursday, November 20, 2025

Holly Jolly Christmas!

Hi y'all!

It has been a very busy November around here so far!  Last weekend and the weekend before were chorale concert weekends so life felt all sparkly and aglow and a-flurry!  Now that Thanksgiving is just around the corner and Christmas is truly in sight the holiday hub-bub has started in earnest! 

I've been doing some planning for our ukulele group's annual Christmas ring/sing for the Salvation Army, and so when I sat down to stamp this week's project this sentiment/stamp set caught my eye!  We'll be singing this song!    

I had lots of fun combining designer papers to create this scene. Hopefully the whole fireplace/mantel idea comes across clearly!   Those little touches of plaid give a nod to my Scottish heritage once again which brings more sweet memories of my recent trip to mind.  


The inside has a little strip of plaid designer paper to add to the warm cozy atmosphere of the scene and the sentiment that reinforces the idea.  

Supplies:

Posted by at 1 comment:

Monday, November 10, 2025

The Edmund Fitzgerald

 

Today is the 50th anniversary of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald.  I was a senior in high school in November of 1975 at the time of this mysterious tragedy, and had recently graduated when Gordon Lightfoot's song was released in August of the next year. The song reached #1 in Canada and #2 in the US and helped to bring a midwestern disaster national/international recognition.    


My card for today commemorates those 29 souls lost.  I chose papers and embellishments that I hoped would reflect the swirling mists, thick ice, and perilous storm that overtook the ship on Lake Superior on that awful day.  


I was inspired by this post for the fold/measurements of this project.  

Supplies:

Edmund Fitzgerald Resources:
Posted by at No comments:
Labels:
Subscribe to: Comments (Atom)