Blue Poinsettia Card

I recently saw Altenew Educator Walter Zemrock post a card in the Altenew Facebook Fan Group with a blue poinsettia, and I loved it so much I decided I needed to make one myself! While he colored glitter cardstock with alcohol ink markers to create his blue poinsettia, I let some beautiful metallic shimmer blue cardstock do the work for me! The cardstock was from the now closed Your Paper Insider company, and it's stunning in real life! The silver glitter cardstock is also from Your Paper Insider, and I die cut the flower center and a layer of leaves using it to add a bit of sparkle to the card. 

I created a top-folding white A2 card base and then trimmed a piece of the metallic shimmer blue cardstock to 4 1/8 by 5 3/8 to layer on the card front. I didn't want any of that beautiful cardstock to go to waste, so I cut some of the poinsettia die cuts out of the center of it before adhering it down to the white card base. I then die cut the other pieces of the poinsettia (using Altenew's Poinsettia 3D die set) and Altenew's Fancy Peace die using more of the same cardstock. I assembled my poinsettia with the layer of silver glitter leaves on the bottom and the silver glitter center adhered to the center of the poinsettia for another touch of sparkle. 

I chose some silver metallic cardstock and embossed it using Altenew's Perfect Poinsettias 3D embossing folder. I trimmed the panel to 4 by 5 1/4 and adhered it to the layer of blue cardstock on the front of the card. Then I felt like the poinsettia needed a little something behind it, so I die cut several layers of Altenew's Decorative Frames die and embossed them with the coordinating 3D embossing folder, adhered the stack of frames together, and cut the frame in half so I could extend it above and below the poinsettia. I fiddled with how I wanted to arrange the poinsettia on the pieces of the frame, and when I had decided on an arrangement I liked, I added thin strips of foam tape to the pieces of the frame and adhered the two pieces with a short gap between them to the embossed background. Then I added some foam tape to the back of the poinsettia and adhered it in the center of the frame. 

To finish the card, I die cut a few more layers of the peace die and stacked them together for dimension before adhering the sentiment below my poinsettia. 

If you're interested in doing some crafty shopping at Altenew, I'd be so grateful if you used my affiliate link here: Carrie's Altenew Link.  I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Altenew carries many wonderful craft products and has a great weekly sales section if you are looking for bargain prices to grow your Altenew collection.

Challenges I'm entering:

Word Art Wednesday: ATG (5/5 for the week; 6/10 for the challenge; ends 10/29/26)

Dragonfly Dreams: Sentiment as focus (3/3; ends at the end of the month)

Allsorts challenge blog: Feminine or ATG (3/5; ends 11/6/26)

Crafty Catz: ATG (3/5; ends 11/5/26)

Creative Fingers Challenge Blog: ATG (3/3; ends 11/5/26)

ABC Christmas Challenge: U for unused stash and V for violet (the shimmer blue metallic cardstock I used on this card is part of my mountain of unused papers I dug through for this card!) (2/3; ends 11/7/26)

Peace On Earth Christmas: ATG Christmas (2/3; ends 10/29/26)

Christmas Crafts All Year 'Round: T and U (U is for "unusual" color for my poinsettia; I also have T for three colors on my card: blue, silver, and white) (2/5; ends at the end of the month)

 Can You Handle The Pressure?: ATG with embossing folders with a twist of add numbers (1/3; ends 11/11/26)

****Pammie's Inky Pinkies**** **********Challenges**********: ATG (2/3; ends 11/2/26) C10

No more challenges. 

I'd like to leave a blessing for all the lovely visitors to my blog: 

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you;

The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.

Numbers 6:22-26

Take Time To Rest Card

A friend of mine just had surgery, and I wanted to make her a get well card, so I pulled out a sentiment stamp from Pinkfresh Studio's Get Well Soon stamp set that says: "take time to rest and allow yourself to heal." That's such a lovely sentiment, and the coordinating die outlines it so perfectly. I die cut 3 additional layers of the sentiment die to stack together for dimension and set the sentiment aside. 

I wanted to follow the monthly inspiration challenge on the Pinkfresh Studio blog, so I went with the fall foliage theme and included all the colors in the challenge graphic below. I have a limited number of Pinkfresh Studio inks, but I thought the Mimosa and Passion Fruit would work for the orange and pink colors in the graphic. I used Pinkfresh Studio's Delicate Foliage hot foil plate and ran it through my BetterPress with black ink onto thick cream-colored cardstock. Then I used the coordinating stencils to ink blend the leaves. Some of the leaves aren't colored in with the stencils, so I used a purple colored pencil to add in the shading on those leaves. 

Next, I used Pinkfresh Studio's Blanket Stitched Brackets to die cut the cream panel with the foliage on it, and I adhered that to a 4 1/4 by 5 1/2 inch piece of black cardstock. I added that to a white A2 card base. Then I decided where I wanted to place my sentiment and adhered it to the card front. To finish the card, I added 3 glitter gold enamel dots around the sentiment. 

Challenges I'm entering:

October 2026 Challenge: Fall Foliage: (3/3; ends at the end of the month)

****Pammie's Inky Pinkies**** **********Challenges**********: ATG (1/3; ends 11/2/26) C10

Word Art Wednesday: ATG (4/5 for the week; 6/10 for the challenge; ends 10/29/26)

Classic Design Challenge Blog: ATG with option of autumn colors (ends 11/12/26)

A Perfect Time To Craft Open Challenge: ATG (unlimited; ends at the end of the month)

Let's Craft and Create: Colors of Fall (3/3; ends at the end of the month)

Allsorts challenge blog: Feminine or ATG (2/5; ends 11/6/26)

Crafty Catz: ATG (2/5; ends 11/5/26)

Creative Fingers Challenge Blog: ATG (2/3; ends 11/5/26)

Crazy is our fame - STENCILS are our game!: ATG with stencils with optional twist of Orange (3/3; ends at the end of the month)

No more challenges. 

I'd like to leave a blessing for all the lovely visitors to my blog: 

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you;

The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.

Numbers 6:22-26

Matthew 2:10 Christmas Card

I recently saw a fun fold by Jackie Bolhuis that I thought would work well for a Christmas card using some Papertrey Ink Christmas stamps. If you'd like the instructions and measurements, be sure to visit her blog here: Easy Fun Fold Card | Let Designer Series Paper Do the Work. 

For my card, I started by making sure the beautiful scripture I wanted to use would work on the front of the card. Once I saw that it would be the right size, I got busy pulling out my Papertrey Ink cardstocks and stamps. I chose the colors in Papertrey's monthly inspiration challenge so I could join the fun on the Papertrey Ink blog. I used older papers called Bitty Star Basics and Bitty Box Basics. Then I found some solid color cardstocks in my stash to match the red, brown, and cream colors and began trimming and scoring everything to create the fun fold base and layers.

For the front of the card, I stamped PTI's Reflections: November stamp of Matthew 2:10. I thought it worked perfectly with the stamps in the Star of Wonder stamp set. I chose the wisemen following the star for the front of the card and the nativity stamp for the inside of the card. The "celebrate the true meaning of Christmas" sentiment is also from the Star of Wonder stamp set. That set has 5 wonderful sentiment stamps and 3 Christmas images in it. 

I die cut the round images using Altenew's Nesting Circles die set and the sentiment inside the card using Altenew's Nesting A2 Panels die set. I die cut several additional layers to pop up the images and the inside sentiment. I layered the inside image and sentiment on coordinating cardstock to help them stand out better on the cream cardstock inside the card. 

To finish the card, I adhered the fun fold to a 4 1/4 by 5 1/2 inch piece of brown cardstock. The card stands up nicely for display. 

Card fully closed:

Card fully open:

Additional angles:

Close ups of the sentiments:

Challenges I'm entering: 

Creative Creases #120 - October 2nd-November 5th: ATG with a fun fold project (I'm on the DT and entering just for fun)

October 2026 Inspiration Challenge – Papertrey Ink: (3/3; ends at the end of the month)

Word Art Wednesday: ATG (3/5 for the week; 5/10 for the challenge; ends 10/29/26)

Classic Design Challenge Blog: ATG with option of autumn colors (ends 11/12/26)

Lil Patch of Crafty Friends Challenge ...: ATG (3/3; ends 10/28/26)

A Perfect Time To Craft Open Challenge: ATG (unlimited; ends at the end of the month)

Heart's Quest Lovable Quotables Challenges Blog: ATG with quotes/scripture (2/3; ends at the end of the month)

Let's Craft and Create: Colors of Fall (2/3; ends at the end of the month)

Dragonfly Dreams: Sentiment as focus (2/3; ends at the end of the month)

Allsorts challenge blog: Feminine or ATG (1/5; ends 11/6/26)

Crafty Catz: ATG (1/5; ends 11/5/26)

Creative Fingers Challenge Blog: ATG (1/3; ends 11/5/26)

ABC Christmas Challenge: U for unused stash and V for violet (Bitty Stars cardstock I used is from 2008 and had been sadly neglected in my stash!) (1/3; ends 11/7/26)

Peace On Earth Christmas: ATG Christmas (1/3; ends 10/29/26)

Christmas Crafts All Year 'Round: T and U (T for Three Kings) (1/5; ends at the end of the month)

52 Christmas Card Throwdown: Mini Scenes in Shaped Dies (1/3; ends 10/30/26) 

I'd like to leave a blessing for all the lovely visitors to my blog: 

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you;

The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.

Numbers 6:22-26

Aspen Sky for Just Us Girls #846

I'm back with my final card as a Guest Designer on the Just Us Girls Challenge blog this month, and it's Stencil Week! Anything goes with a stencil is the theme. I hope you'll share your stencil creations on the blog this week: "Just Us Girls" Challenge

For my GD card, I pulled out Altenew's Stencil Art: Aspen Sky 6-layer stencil set. This set creates such a gorgeous Aspen tree, and I love that it includes a stencil to color in the sky behind the Aspen tree, too! I ink blended the following Altenew inks through the stencils onto white cardstock: Golden Honeycomb, Amber Blaze, Melted Butterscotch, Hazelnut, Almond Butter, Milk Chocolate, and Turquoise. After completing all 6 stencil layers, I trimmed the panel to 5 3/4 by 5 3/4 inches and then layered it onto a panel of Tonic Studio's Amber Yellow Class Card cardstock trimmed to 6 by 6. I created a 6 by 6-inch cream-colored card base and adhered the Amber Yellow panel to it. Then I added fun foam to the back of my stenciled panel and adhered it to the card front. 

For the sentiment, I stamped and die cut Papertrey Ink's Reflections: John 14 verse and then die cut the shape 2 more times out of chipboard packaging I had saved to recycle. I stacked up the layers and glued them together before adhering them to the card using Bearly Art liquid glue. To finish the card, I added 3 enamel dots around the sentiment from Altenew's Warm & Cozy Enamel Dot collection. 

If you're interested in doing some crafty shopping at Altenew, I'd be so grateful if you used my affiliate link here: Carrie's Altenew Link.  I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Altenew carries many wonderful craft products and has a great weekly sales section if you are looking for bargain prices to grow your Altenew collection.

Close up of the verse:

 Challenges I'm entering:

Crazy is our fame - STENCILS are our game!: ATG with stencils with optional twist of Orange (2/3; ends at the end of the month)

Word Art Wednesday: ATG (2/5 for the week; 4/10 for the challenge; ends 10/29/26)

Classic Design Challenge Blog: ATG with option of autumn colors (ends 11/12/26)

Lil Patch of Crafty Friends Challenge ...: ATG (2/3; ends 10/28/26)

Crafty Calendar Challenge: Autumn/Halloween (3/3; ends 10/28/26)

Craft Rocket Challenges: Autumn (unlimited entries; ends at the end of the month)

A Perfect Time To Craft Open Challenge: ATG (unlimited; ends at the end of the month)

The Sisterhood of Crafters: Fall (2/3; ends at the end of the month)

Word Power: ATG with words as the focus (3/3; ends at the end of the month)

Ellibelle's Corner: I spy with my little eye: Autumn in the Woods (1/5; ends 11/15/26)

Everybody Art Challenge: Orange (ends 10/26/26)

Creative Crafting Uncles: Halloween or Autumn (1/3; ends 11/12/26)

Creative Girlz Card Aventures: Autumn (1/3; ends 11/18/26)

Heart's Quest Lovable Quotables Challenges Blog: ATG with quotes/scripture (1/3; ends at the end of the month)

Let's Craft and Create: Colors of Fall (1/3; ends at the end of the month)

Aud Sentiments Challenge Blog: Fall + A Sentiment (1/5; ends at the end of the month)

Dragonfly Dreams: Sentiment as focus (1/3; ends at the end of the month)

{Cupcake Inspirations}: (2/3; ends at the end of the month)

Inspiration Station: The fall photo for this month shows trees in the background, and my card has fall colors and a tree as the focal point (ends at the end of the month)

I'd like to leave a blessing for all the lovely visitors to my blog: 

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you;

The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.

Numbers 6:22-26

Fall Leaves Congratulations Card

I recently created a few alcohol ink panels for a fun class I took with Ishani, an Altenew Educator, and I had extra panels I decided to die cut using Altenew's Zero Waste: Autumn Leaves die. The die creates a bunch of leaves as well as the framed negative space from the leaf die cuts that can also be used on a project. Hence the "zero waste" name. It's a clever design, and I hope to use the frames with the negative spaces in another project.

For this card, I wanted to use one of the alcohol ink panels in the background, so I adhered it to a black card base that was 1/4 inch wider than a standard A2 size to give a bit of a black border on the sides. Then I trimmed another panel of black cardstock and embossed it with Altenew's Weathered Bark 3D embossing folder. I added some die cut leaves in a diagonal pattern and then stamped and die cut the "congratulations" sentiment using a stamp from Altenew's Build-A-Garden: Softly Sketched Blooms set. I die cut the coordinating die two more time and stacked them all together to give the sentiment some dimension. Then I added the card to my splat box and covered the inside of the card with a scrap piece of printer paper. I used Altenew's Titanium White Gouache with Altenew's Fine Watercolor Brush Size 4 for my splatters. While the card was drying, I stamped a panel of white cardstock I had trimmed to fit on the inside of the card using a sentiment from Altenew's Craft-Your-Life: Never Stop Dreaming kit. I used Orange Cream and Brambleberry ink to stamp the sentiment and masked off the "you are" part with tape so that the purple didn't cover any of the orange in that sentiment. I added a couple of the leftover die cut leaves to the inside and forgot to take a photo before writing my message to my friend who just became an Altenew Ambassador. I want to give her a shoutout here anyway! She's put in countless hours creating amazing cards, and I'm so thrilled she's been invited to be an Altenew Ambassador. She's working on getting to 1000 subscribers on her YouTube channel, so I hope you'll consider checking out her channel and subscribing here: Different Ways for Sprays - Turn Your Paper Veggies into a Stunning Thanksgiving Card! 🥕🍅 | Altenew

If you're interested in doing some crafty shopping at Altenew, I'd be so grateful if you used my affiliate link here: Carrie's Altenew Link.  I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Altenew carries many wonderful craft products and has a great weekly sales section if you are looking for bargain prices to grow your Altenew collection.

Challenges I'm entering: 

October 2026 Inspiration Challenge | Altenew: 

Word Art Wednesday: ATG (1/5 for the week; 3/10 for the challenge; ends 10/29/26)

Classic Design Challenge Blog: ATG with option to use die cuts (ends 11/12/26)

Lil Patch of Crafty Friends Challenge ...: ATG (1/3; ends 10/28/26)

Crafty Calendar Challenge: Autumn/Halloween (2/3; ends 10/28/26)

Crafty Catz: ATG (3/3; ends 10/22/26)

Creative Fingers Challenge Blog: ATG (3/3; ends 10/23/26)

Craft Rocket Challenges: Autumn (unlimited entries; ends at the end of the month)

A Perfect Time To Craft Open Challenge: ATG (unlimited; ends at the end of the month)

fourseasons: Anything Goes Fall (3/3; ends at the end of the month)

The Sisterhood of Crafters: Fall (1/3; ends at the end of the month)

I'd like to leave a blessing for all the lovely visitors to my blog: 

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you;

The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.

Numbers 6:22-26

Reflections John 14 Card

Have you seen Papertrey Ink's monthly inspiration challenge for October? The colors are Scarlet, Classic Kraft, and Vintage Cream, and I just love these colors for a vintage look! The first card I made for this challenge can be found here: Carrie's Custom Cards: John 14:27 Card. I had some stamped and die cut pieces left over from creating that card and decided to do a second card to use them. 

I began by creating an A2 card base using kraft cardstock. Then I trimmed a panel of Papertrey's Dearest Jane pattern paper to 4 1/8 by 5 3/8 inches and die cut the largest label die from Papertrey's August Reflections set out of the center of it. Then I die cut the same label die out of the backside of the Dearest Jane cardstock and popped it up on foam tape where the negative space was. I die cut the smaller of the label dies using Papertrey's Bitty Box Basics pattern paper in the closest color to Scarlet that was in the paper pack and adhered the stamped and die cut verse to the smaller label die cut. I adhered the label die to the center of the larger label die cut and then added the fox and bird from Papertrey's Wee Fold kit along with a piece of the laurel I had stamped and die cut. To finish the card, I added a few Nuvo drops in brown at the top and red at the bottom. 

If you are interested in the Reflections monthly subscription, you can find out more details on Papertrey's blog here: Papertrey Ink. The link is Nicki Baxley's affiliate link. She was the one who introduced me to the subscription, so I want to share her link with anyone interested. It's a great value: a scripture stamp, a coordinating die to cut out the scripture verse, and decorative label dies that can be used with the scripture but can also be used many other ways on projects. 

October 2026 Inspiration Challenge – Papertrey Ink: (2/3; ends at the end of the month)

simonsaysstampblog.com/wednesdaychallenge/: Add a number (1/5; ends 10/21/26)

Classic Design Challenge Blog: ATG with option to use die cuts (ends 10/12/26)

A Perfect Time To Craft Open Challenge: ATG (unlimited; ends at the end of the month)

We Love Stamping: Shades of Autumn (2/3; ends at the end of the month)

Ellibelle's Corner: I spy with my little eye: Add text (ends 10/18/26)

Word Art Wednesday: ATG (2/5 for the week; 2/10 for the challenge; ends 10/28/26)

little red wagon: Use a frame (I hope it counts that my larger die cut creates a frame around the smaller decorative label die cut) (1/3; ends 10/21/26)

Fab 'n' Funky Challenges: Three of Something (I have three colors: red, cream, and kraft) (3/3; ends at the end of the month)

Cardz 4 Galz: Add an animal (1/3; ends 10/27/26)

Word Power: ATG with words as the focus (1/3; ends at the end of the month)

Alphabet Challenge Blog: M is for Motivational (I always find scripture motivational, but this particular verse is especially apt for your theme 😊(1/3; ends 10/28/26)

Love Those Pretty Papers - Part 2: ATG with pattern papers (2/3; ends at the end of the month)

I'd like to leave a blessing for all the lovely visitors to my blog: 

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you;

The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.

Numbers 6:22-26

 

Warm Hugs Card for Just Us Girls #845

I'm thrilled to be the October Guest Designer up on the Just Us Girls Challenge blog, and this week's challenge is a Mood Board: 

I have the 3D Cozy Sweater embossing folder by Altenew in my stash, so I immediately thought of using that when I saw the photo. Then I wanted to create a mug and some leaves, so I got busy embossing and die cutting. The watercolor paper I embossed for the sweater texture background was painted with a gold acrylic paint, so it has some shine in real life. 

For the cute little mug, I used dies from Altenew's Craft-Your-Life: The Afternoon Spread project kit and then ink blended the die cuts with inks from Altenew's Delectable Desserts ink collection. For the little tea bag, I used a blend of Altenew's Crimson and Cherry Sweet inks to mimic the color in the leaves. 

For the leaves, I die cut Altenew's Zero Waste: Autumn Leaves for the leaves behind the mug and Altenew's Creative Cuts: EZ Arrangement Antique Leaves set for the maple leaf in front of the mug. I die cut them using watercolor paper I had painted with a few acrylic paints in autumn colors. 

I then die cut "warm hugs" using dies from Altenew's Warm & Cozy Sentiments die set. I ink blended them with the Chocolate Hazelnut from the Delectable Desserts ink collection and Crimson and Cherry Sweet with a bit of Almond Butter (also from Delectable Desserts). I die cut a few layers of the words and adhered the stacked die cuts together before adding them to the embossed panel. I added Altenew's Instant Dimension Foam Tape to the back of the mug and die cut leaves and then added them to the embossed panel as well. 

I created a top-folding A2 card base using kraft cardstock and adhered a panel of the same watercolor paper I had die cut the leaves from as my bottom layer on the card front. Then I adhered the embossed panel using Altenew's Instant Dimension Foam Tape to pop it up. 

Take a look at the Mood Board and show us how it inspires you this week! I hope you'll join the fun over on the Just Us Girls blog here: "Just Us Girls" Challenge. 

If you're interested in doing some crafty shopping at Altenew, I'd be so grateful if you used my affiliate link here: Carrie's Altenew Link.  I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Altenew carries many wonderful craft products and has a great weekly sales section if you are looking for bargain prices to grow your Altenew collection. 

 Challenges I'm entering:

Word Art Wednesday: ATG (1/5 for the week; 1/10 for the challenge; ends 10/29/26)

Classic Design Challenge Blog: ATG with option to use die cuts (ends 10/12/26)

A Place To Start: ATG with option of Spotlight technique (8/8; ends at the end of the month)

613 Avenue Create: ATG with option of Think Pink (8/8; ends at the end of the month)

Allsorts challenge blog: More than one fold or ATG (5/5; ends 10/23/26)

A Perfect Time To Craft Open Challenge: ATG (unlimited; ends at the end of the month)

Can You Handle The Pressure?: ATG with an embossing folder with optional twist of "happy" (3/3; ends 10/21/26) Top 3 Pick 10/23/26

I'd like to leave a blessing for all the lovely visitors to my blog: 

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you;

The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.

Numbers 6:22-26