Die Cutting – CaCaCraft by Erica

Pinkfresh Studio December 2022 Stamp, Die, Stencil, and Hot Foil Release

Hi and welcome back to my blog for the ultimate Pinkfresh Studio release of 2022!

This post is part of a blog hop, so if you came here from the one and only Emily Midgett you are in the right spot, and the next stop is the marvellous Heather Hoffman! You can also see the entire lineup via this InLinkz link, and in the Pinkfresh Studio blog post.

It wouldn’t be a celebration without some amazing giveaways, and it couldn’t be easier to join in! To be in with the chance to win the ENTIRE RELEASE make sure to comment on the Pinkfresh Studio release blog post, and for another chance, comment on the Pinkfresh Studio Youtube release video.

There are also TEN $25 gift cards up for grabs, and the winners for these will be drawn from the comments from the blog hop stops. So basically the more you hop and comment, the bigger your chance of winning! And who wouldn’t love to win some spending money in the Pinkfresh Studio shop??

The winners will be announced on the Pinkfresh Giveaway winner page, on the 27th of December, and make sure you check that page and claim your prize within 2 weeks. Now with all that out of the way, let’s get to my two little cards.

I know… last month I only had one card, and this month I only have two. I’m still struggling with the after-effects of my bad bout of Covid, and then having to move house before I was even close to recovered? To say I’ve been pushed to my limit isn’t far off. Imagine having to oversee a house being packed up, deep cleaned and inspected before moving out, then doing a long drive to the new house, the next day was move-in day and it was FULL SPEED ahead all day, all while being very sick and not feeling with it? I was pretty much knocked out and the next two days was spent in a foggy haze of boxes everywhere, not being able to find anything, being in pain and feeling extra awful… Even now, a month on, I am still not even close to being 100% and honestly, the fact I haven’t completely and utterly lost my mind in this process? It is pushing this one up there with some of my top achievements ever. Ever.

Now that I have gotten all my ‘woe is me’ out of the way, let’s get to the card making. For my first card I have indulged my love of hot foiling by using the lovely new Detailed Leaf and Happy Birthday pieces. The Detailed Leaf suite has a stamp, a coordinating diecut, layering stencils and a hot foil plate.

I started out by foiling the Detailed Leaf with Polished Brass foil, it comes from the Essential Metallics Variety Pack from Spellbinders, which can be found in the Pinkfresh shop now! Yay!

Let’s talk about this leaf. It is actually so stunning on it’s own, I decided to not use the coordinating layering stencils for this card, and instead went the Solid Hot Foil Plate route and foiled the negative piece as well. Because why not?

I created a white-on-white background for these pieces, to give some interest but not take away any attention from the gorgeous leaves themselves. One of my favorite diecuts for this sort of look is the Simply Diamonds one. I find it versatile and elegant.

Another fab addition to the Pinkfresh range is now word hot foil AND diecuts, oh yes! So they will come in a pack together, the hot foil plate in the gold colour and the diecut in the silver colour. Genius! And who doesn’t need a good Happy Birthday sentiment, right?

For this card I hot foiled the Happy Birthday in Rainbow foil! It looks fabulous. It really does. Much better in real life than in most of the pictures, naturally. I also layered it up with a couple of diecut pieces, to raise it up a bit. The leaves are trimmed and tucked behind the sentiment.

Not that I ever need an excuse, but I finished off the card with lots of Glacier jewels. If you can’t go nuts with bling-a-ling for birthdays, when can you?

So that’s card No1, now onto card No2!

Here I used the Detailed Leaf hot foil again, but added some colour to it with the layering stencils. In a rainbow, of course. As well as another negative foiled leaf.

On this card, I used the negatives from the Simply Diamonds cover plate too, to keep waste to a minimum. Plus it adds a fab element to a background, so win-win. The negative bits didn’t go on perfectly straight, try crafting with a cotton candy brain and cold hands. It’s not easy, nope!

To cover up the wonkiness, I used another new hot foil addition: The Nested Rectangles, and they come with coordinating diecuts too, so you can cut them out and use as frames for your images.

Again, I used the Polished Brass foil for these, to coordinate with the leaves.

I used a sentiment from the Detailed Leaf stamp set, which I heat embossed in gold, to finish off the card. It’s layered up with another two pieces, that I cut out with the coordinating diecut. A tiny… small-ish.. perhaps generous in someone else’s eyes, smattering of Sparkling Champagne pearls were the finishing touch for this card.

With that, I’m done for today. I must mention that I have used some compensated affiliate links in this post, for your convenience, at no extra cost to you. If you shop using these links, I might get a small commission from the company directly, and it doesn’t ever cost you a penny extra. Thank you so much if you chose to support me by shopping with links, I really appreciate the support and encouragement.

The next stop on the hop is the amazing Heather!

Lots of love and happy crafting from Erica!

September 2022 Hero Arts Monthly Release

Hi and welcome back to my little blog!

Today I’m hopping along with Hero Arts creative team, global team and friends, to celebrate the September My Monthly Hero Kit release! You can find the whole lineup of the hop HERE, and as I’m the last stop on the hop it takes you back to the first Hero Arts blog post.

The September My Monthly Hero kit is an ode to fall and elegance. Just look at this!

The kit contains :

• Clear Stamp Set, 4” x 6”
• 6 Coordinating Frame Cuts
• Rub-On Transfer Sheet
• Cling Background Stamp, 6“ x 6”
• 2 Sheets Each of Cardstock in Sand & Antique Ivory, 5.5” x 8.5”
• Rose Gold Metallic Floss, 5 yds

You can also pick and chose from the amazing My Monthly Hero Add-Ons. Including new hot foil plates!! Eeeeep! I’m firmly onboard the Hot Foil Crazy Train and do not plan on getting off anytime soon.

The kit description says: Autumn is a whisper in the air, with hints of cooler weather, falling leaves, and rich colors. Our September My Monthly Hero release takes an elegant path into fall, featuring a gorgeous vase of fall blooms as the focal point for your cards and projects. There’s also a fun new element this month – rub-ons! Use them for quick and easy cards; the coordinating die in the kit perfectly cuts out the rub-on floral arrangement as well as the stamped images. Or try the rub-ons on any smooth surface. The kit is rounded out with a gorgeous new cling stamp, metallic floss and the perfect neutral cardstocks for stamping your autumn-inspired creations.

Pre-order your kit today! Hero Arts estimate kit shipping will begin Friday, September 9th and continue throughout the following week. You can also subscribe to make sure you don’t miss out on any of the kits, as once they are sold out, that’s it.

I’m super excited about the hot foil plates, and I don’t think it should come as a surprise that I had to use these for my first card.

I’m a bit embarrassed to admit I forgot to add a sentiment to this card but the gold hot foiling and heat embossing steal the show, so maybe it doesn’t matter.

I have also used the lovely rub-ons and I was blown away how gorgeous they looked once on paper.

I need more of these for sure! The first one I did on the Antique Ivory and I did this directly on one of the two card bases that come in the kit. This one was finished off with a simple sentiment from the kit stamp set, in Root Beer ink.

The second one I did on the Sand card stock, the second colour card stock that comes in the kit, and it looked beautiful too!

The sentiments on this card is also stamped with Root Beer ink, with the help of a MINI MISTI.

These are super simple cards to make, but that image is so gorgeous they don’t really need much else.

Now for the fun stuff! There is a giveaway to celebrate. Hero Arts will give away a $50 gift card, drawn from the comments left across the hop. Enter by Sunday, September 11th at 11:59pm Pacific, and the winner will be announced on the Hero Arts blog the following week.

Thank you so much for stopping by today, I hope you enjoyed this post and the rest of the hop!

Happy crafting and lots of love from Erica

Pinkfresh Studio August 2022 Stamp, Die, Stencil, and Hot Foil Release

Hi and welcome to my blog!

Today I am excited to hop along with Pinkfresh Studio and friends, to celebrate the fabulous August release.

You should have come here from the fabulous Emily Midgett, and the next stop is the amazing Heather Hoffman! If you get lost along the hop, you can find the entire lineup via the InLinkz LINK.

I have a few cards for the hop, but I also made a video! Hop on over to my Youtube channel if you want to check that out.

Now, for my actual cards I have used the fabulous Happy Dance suite, which is a gorgeous floral set. I do love my florals, in case that wasn’t obvious at this point, lol!

The first card is very simple, I heat embossed the outline stamp in white embossing powder, and used the layering stencils on top to add colours.

On top of the ink blending, I splattered some gold water colour for extra sparkle.

I also finished it off with a sentiment from the stamp set, and a hot foiled ‘bestie’ from the Phrase Builder: Hello Hot Foil set. It’s foiled with Matte Gold foil, and it worked so well with the rest of the card.

I usually use the coordinating diecut to cut out the images, but here I left it as an almost one layer card.

I did make up for the lack of layers and texture on my second card though!

On this one I heat embossed the outline stamp with gold embossing powder, and then added a rainbow look with the layering stencils.

Once I had used the coordinating diecut on the image, I cut out another two pieces to layer it up. I also used the gorgeous Dotted Scallop cover plate on a piece of white card stock, and I also cut out a Stitched Scallop Rectangle piece too.

The ‘friend‘ is hot foiled with Matte Gold foil too, and the sentiment is the same as the first card, from from the Happy Dance stamp set. Would you believe I stopped myself from adding bling, though?? Say whaaaat?

That’s it from me for today, but I hope you will enjoy the rest of the hop and don’t forget that you can win the ENTIRE RELEASE from Pinkfresh by commenting on their release blog post, and also the release YouTube video!! As always, there are also TEN $25 gift vouchers up for grabs along the blog hop, so the more you comment, the bigger chance to win!

Winners will be announced on Aug 23rd, on the Pinkfresh GIVEAWAY PAGE, so make sure to earmark that URL and the date, as you will need to claim your prize within 2 weeks.

Thank you so much for stopping by today, and have a lovely week!

Lots of love and happy crafting from Erica

Pinkfresh Studio July 2022 Stamp, Die, Stencil, Washi, and Hot Foil Release

Today I’m excited to be blog hopping with Pinkfresh and friends! We are celebrating the July release and as usual, there is a load of gorgeous and versatile products coming out.

You should have come from the fabulous Emily Midgett and the next stop is the incomparable Heather Hoffman. If you get lost along the way you can find the entire lineup on the Pinkfresh blog post, as well as via the InLinkz link.

I have mixed and matched some older goodies with the new release. The Stitched Scallop Rectangle diecut is one of my all-time faves from Pinkfresh, it’s so pretty, so versatile and in my opinion it really elevates a simple card design without taking the focus away from the focal point on the card. I also love the Dotted Scalloped cover plate. It’s such a gorgeous pattern and was the perfect thing for this card.

The Go For It suite is new for July, and it’s such a lovely and dainty image, yet packs a punch. How is that for awesomeness? For this card I have used all but the stamp itself, and soft spring colours, despite it being a heat wave right now. I should have gone for fiery colours perhaps but I’m really drawn to yellow on cards.

After foiling the Go For It image with Matte Gold, I used the layering stencils over it to add colour. Don’t try and diecut first and then ink blend, always ink blend first and then cut it out.

I am so happy to have a coordinating diecut for this image as I’d never manage to cut this all out without chopping off a stem or leaf.

The ink colours used are Lemon Whip, Sunshine, Sweet Mustard and Grassy Knoll. I used the same yellow inks for the sentiment, which is from the Fall Leaf Border suite. The sentiments are all ink blended with the Fall Leaf Border Stencils for a really gorgeous look, and they all have coordinating diecuts too.

To put the card together I have layered up a lot of the pieces for that lovely dimensional look. The background is propped up, the sentiments are stacked, the frame is layered with a white one under the yellow, and the flower heads are raised up with foam tape. The final touch were some dainty clear crystals, for a morning dew or raindrop look.

My second card is done in a similar way, with a cover plate to add texture on the background and the Stitched Scallop Rectangles to add in a delicate touch. This cover plate is the Floral Backdrop and I used it on Soft Stone card stock from Gina K Designs.

The pattern in created with the Fall Leaf Border stencils, and bright happy ink colours. Once I had ink blended the pattern, I fussy cut along the border of them to cut off the excess white space.

I picked another sentiment from the set, Thank you, this time and used yellows and apricot colours to create the look before cutting them out with the coordinating diecut. These are also raised, but with foam tape this time.

To keep with the colour scheme I used Sunshine Jewels for this card, and quite a restrained amount, for me.

That is it from me for today, but I hope you have found some inspiration here with me and along the hop. The next stop is Heather Hoffman, and you can also find the entire hop list via the InLinkz list here.

As it’s a blog hop, there are of course giveaways and prizes!

GIVEAWAYS:
-You can win the full release on the Pinkfresh blog & YouTube channel! All you have to do is leave comments on both new release posts, and that’s it!
-There are also a total of TEN $25 gift cards to be won along the hop. Winners are drawn randomly from all the comments left on the blogs, so the more you hop and comment, the better your chances to win!

Winners will be announced on August 5, 2022 on the Pinkfresh GIVEAWAY PAGE. Please note that you must check that page and claim your prize within 2 weeks, so mark your calendars and check back!

For transparency, I have used compensated affiliate links all throughout this post, for your convenience, and at no extra cost to you. If you shop via these links I get a small commission from Pinkfresh directly as a thank you for directing you to them. Everything I earn from these links are currently going to the ‘Forever Craft Room Renovation Fund’ as I have a lot of work to be done on the room that will be my craft room in the house we bought a couple of months ago.

Here is a photo of it, and I will be making sure to share lot of updates as it comes to life. Thank you so much if you chose to support me by shopping with these links, I appreciate it a lot!!

Thanks again for stopping by, lots of love and happy crafting from Erica

Pinkfresh Studio May 2022 Stamp, Die, Stencil, and Hot Foil Release

Hi and welcome back to my little blog!

Today I’m one of the stops on the Pinkfresh May release blog hop!

You should have come here from Emily Midgett’s blog, and the next stop on the hop is the fabulous Heather Hoffman! You can also find the entire lineup via the <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="http://<!– start InLinkz code –> <div class="inlinkz-widget" data-uuid="ddeeb5b228ff49a2a1c1104301d77c1a" style="width:100%;margin:30px 0;background-color:#eceff1;border-radius:7px;text-align:center;font-size:16px;font-family:'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"> <div style="padding:8px;"><p style="margin-bottom:15px;">You are invited to the <strong>Inlinkz</strong> link party!</p> <a href="https://fresh.inlinkz.com/p/ddeeb5b228ff49a2a1c1104301d77c1a" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" style="padding:5px 20px;background:#209cee;text-decoration:none;color:#efefef;border-radius:4px;">Click here to enter</a></div></div> <span style="display: none;">https://fresh.inlinkz.com/js/widget/load.js?id=a8b40ada7693d64e5923</span> InLinkz link here, and at the bottom of this post.

I don’t have a lot of projects finished, but I have ink blended and foiled lots of pieces so I will be sharing those as I go along. For now, let’s get to the two cards I do have.

First off, I have used the Celebrate In Style suite. It has a stamp set, layering stencils and coordinating diecuts.

I started out by heat embossing the outline stamp with WOW! Embossing powder in Rich Gold and then on top of this I used the layering stencils in Lemon Whip and Sunshine ink.

The flowers and leaves were done in Sunshine, Ocean Breeze and Aquamarine inks. I also did the word ‘Congrats’ in the teal colours.

These I then cut out with the coordinating diecuts, and while I had my diecutting machine out, I also used the new Stained Glass diecut and Hexagon Tiles cover plate on white card stock.

My second card is using the gorgeous Painted Daisies suite. It has a stamp, diecut and layering stencils also.

Here I have gone BRIGHT with the colours and I love how it turned out!

Because this is so vivid and gorgeous, I wanted to keep the background somewhat simple but still with some ka-pow, so I used the Stained Glass hot foil plate with gold foil.

I don’t think anyone is surprised that I did use bling on both of the cards, right? Those Gold Pearls are so versatile and work on a variety of projects.

I have also used the new Scripted Sentiments, because they are rather lovely! If you don’t have a hot foil machine, it comes with a stamp set as well.

This I propped up with two more pieces for dimension, and then this was all layered up and this card was finished also!

Now for the stuff you have been waiting for!!
GIVEAWAYS:
-Pinkfresh will be giving away the full release on the Pinkfresh blog & YouTube channel.
-Pinkfresh will also be giving away a total of TEN $25 gift cards along the hop. As per usual with blog hops – the winners will be picked from the comments, so the more you comment, the more chances of you winning!

Pinkfresh will pull the winners & post them on June 3, 2022 on their GIVEAWAY PAGE. Please make sure to check that page & claim your prize within 2 weeks. Good luck!

That’s it from me for today but I really hope you have enjoyed this, and the rest of the hop! I have used compensated affiliate links in this post, for your convenience and at no extra cost to you. Thank you so much if you support me by shopping with these links!

Lots of love and happy crafting from Erica

You can find me on various social media platforms, by clicking the links below.
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Pinkfresh Studio April 2022 Washi, Stamp, Die, Stencil, and Hot Foil Release

Hi and welcome back to my blog!

Today is a great day because the Pinkfresh design team, and friends, are blog hopping to celebrate the April release! If you have arrived here from the insanely talented Emily Midgett’s blog, you are in the right place. The next stop is the one and only Heather Hoffman!

It’s another fabulous release (duh, what else, right??) and I am crazy excited about the Peony Print suite. Peonies are one of my fave flowers ever, and I have used this suite for an array of cards.

In the suite you have a Peony Print rubber background stamp, a Peony Print Hot Foil plate and coordinating layering stencils for quick and easy adding of colours.

My first card is done with the Peony Print hot foil plate and Rose Gold foil, and then some colour was added with Sparkling Rose, Apricot, Sunshine and Grassy Knoll inks using blender brushes.

The panel is so pretty as it was, so I trimmed it down a little, added it to a white card base. A frame was added using the Stitched Scallop Rectangle die, which has been layered up a little.

The last touch was added in a sentiment using ‘sending hugs‘ from the Phrase Builder: Sending diecut set, as well as some Ballet Slipper jewels.

My second card was done in the same way, only in a rainbow instead.

From top to bottom I’ve used Grassy Knoll, Aquamarine, Summer Shower, Sparkling Rose, Coral Reef, Apricot and Sunshine.

The card is finished off in the same way with the Stitched Scallop Rectangle Die, and the ‘sending hugs’ words. The jewels are also in a rainbow order, and there are quite a few more than on the first card.

I have made other cards with the same Peony Print suite, but I will share those on social media later instead, and move on to some other new goodies.

For this card I have used two new products: the Floral Diamonds cover plate, as seen below. It’s really lovely, and quickly became my favourite out of the new cover plates.

and the Simplest Gestures suite. It has a stamp set, a hot foil plate, a coordinating diecut and coordinating layering stencils.

The Floral Diamonds cover plate was used on black card stock and then added on top of a striped background to make the colours shine through the pattern. The ‘thank you’ is done using the Simplest Gestures layering stencils, which have a different sentiment on each layer, as well as coordinating diecuts in the Simplest Gestures diecut set.

I did use the Stitched Scallop Rectangle Dies for this card too. I love those dies! The final touch was some Stargazer jewels and then the card was done.

My final card was finished without a sentiment on the front, I will keep this one clear until I know who I am sending it out to.

I used the Floral Diamonds Cover plate again, but on white card stock this time. This was added to a white card base, and I used the floral image in the Simplest Gestures set. First I used the Hot Foil plate with gold foil, and then I used the coordinating layering stencils on top, before cutting it out with the coordinating diecut.

This is propped up with foam tape and then I used a few colour coordinating jewels to add to the middle of the flowers.

That’s it from me for today, and now it’s time to hop along. You can find the whole line-up for the hop via the InLinkz link here, if you want to just hop on to the next stop on the hop that’s the fabulous and inspiring Heather Hoffman.

Don’t forget that there are TEN $25 gift vouchers to be won, and all you have to do is leave comments along the blog hop.

The more you comment, the better your chance of winning. Winner will be drawn from the comments, randomly, and will be announced on the Pinkfresh giveaway winner page on May 10th. Please note that you need to check this page and get in touch within two weeks to claim your prize, if you are a winner.

You can also win the ENTIRE RELEASE by commenting on the Pinkfresh release blog post, as well as their release YouTube video, so make sure to comment on those too!

I have made a YouTube video too, and you can find that via THIS LINK HERE. Don’t forget to subscribe to my channel, hit that notification button and the thumbs up button! I look forward to seeing you there.

There are compensated affiliate links in this post, at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting me by using these links, I really appreciate it!

Lots of love and happy crafting from Erica

Guest Designing for Scrapbook & Cards Today Magazine!

Hi!

Today I’m so excited to be a guest designer for Scrapbook & Cards Today Magazine, for their Spring Issue challenge week!

Eeeep! It’s absolutely thrilling to be asked! Especially as the challenge graphic is so lovely too. Just look at that pastel yumminess.

This card making hobby has turned into such a big part of my life and I am so grateful for having found a huge community online, especially on Instagram, and made so many friends along the way.

Among those friends are Tasha, Jo and Verity. With the recent crisis in the Ukraine, we put our heads together to do something positive in a terrible situation. We decided to hold a card auction and asked some friends to join in, who also asked some friends, and so on. All of a sudden we had over 200 cards to auction off!!

The response has been so fantastic and overwhelming, it’s just mind-blowing! So far we have raised over nine thousand dollars for various charities working in the Ukraine, and on their borders. If you want to check out that Instagram account, that’s Ukraine Card Drive. There is a third part of the auction coming up, but we are going to take a short break to recover from the whirlwind of the first two, before we go forward with the next one.

For my card today, I really wanted to use the Sunflower washi suite from Pinkfresh Studio. This set is not only fabulous, for the month of March 100% of the net profits from this will go to Save The Children Organization, one of the charities helping children affected by the war. Every little helps, and why not treat yourself to some fun crafting goodies, while also knowing that you are helping?

With the war in Ukraine, we all need to show our support and even if it’s just a card, that can make a small difference for someone feeling lonely. If you post on social media, use the hashtag #cardsforukraine. I have heard from Ukrainian friends that their family and friends there are uplifted by the support.

Right, now that I have blabbed on for quite some time, if you are still here, let’s get down to the card making itself.
As I mentioned, I have used the Sunflower Washi suite, which has a washi tape, a coordinating stamp set, diecut and layering stencils.

I decided to use the Sunflower washi tape, and after adhering this to sturdy card stock, I used Neenah #110 Solar White, I also ran a mixed media scraper over it to make sure it was really flat. After cutting out the flowers, I started to work on my background.

In the challenge graphic there is a gorgeous knitted sweater with a chevron pattern, and lovely colours. I tried colour matching that sweater to inks, also from Pinkfresh, and settled on Ocean Breeze, Mermaid Cove, Sunshine, Coral Reef and Sparkling Rose.

The chevron pattern itself was east to get, using the Essentials Nested Chevron cover plate, also from Pinkfresh. I used the cover plate on two different pieces of card stock. On a card panel I glued down the negative pieces and on another card panel, the positive ones. Over these I have ink blended the inks mentioned above, and the reason for ink blending after diecutting and not before, is to add extra colour to edges, to make the pattern pop a bit more.

When I was happy with the colour added, I simply glued in the Chevron diecut pieces to make a whole background again, another reason for doing it this way was to create clean white lines and give me choices. I ended up with two lovely backgrounds but picked the one with more colour on it for my card.

After trimming down the background a little, I adhered it to a card base which gives that lovely white border. On top of this I have adhered the Sunflower washi pieces and finished it off with a diecut ‘you’ and a stamped sentiment to say ‘you make me try better’. Which I am now thinking doesn’t make sense, but I am a foreigner so I will claim language barrier, LOL! I am rather fluent in gibberish after all.

I am also a self-confessed over-sequinizer, so I couldn’t not use some lovely Jewels from Pinkfresh. These are colour coordinated to the area where they are added. Using an Embellishment Wand makes this super easy too.

Using a coverplate to add texture and help you divide up colour areas is a great way to stretch your supplies! Washi tapes are also a fab addition to your craft room, especially if you like the look of water colouring but don’t have the time or the patience to practice.

Well, with that, the card is done and I hope you like it! Thank you so much for stopping by my blog today, and thank you to SCT Magazine for inviting me. Don’t forget to enter the challenge too and if you want to comment on their post, you can use THIS LINK HERE.

I have used some compensated affiliate links in this post, but bear in mind that the Sunflower Washi suite isn’t affiliate links as the profits from that is going to Save The Children. Which in itself is a great reason to treat yourself to that gorgeous set.

Lots of love and happy crafting from Erica

If you want to see more of my work, you can find me on various social media platforms.
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Peony Layering diecuts bonanza!

Hi guys!

I’m back on the blog today with some LDRS Creative inspiration! I have been having some fuuuuuuuun with the amazing addition to the flower layering dies: Peony Layering Dies. Oh boy, it’s such a stunner and peonies also happen to be one of my favorite flowers so I went to town!

I have a big stash of this lovely linen textured coloured card stock and I got cutting, and cutting, and cutting and eventually ended up with enough bits and pieces for seven or eight peonies. Yeah, I was on a roll. Get it? LOL. I do love a good pun too!

After assembling the flowers and the buds with the leaves, it was time to actually make a card! For a nice little touch I like using the A2 Diagonal Stitched Layered Card Topper die set, it cuts out the A2 front and adds some lovely stitched detail in one go.

Puzzling the flower pieces took some time, and I ended up trimming a few of the buds and leaves to fit behind the two peonies I wanted to use. When I was happy with the layout, I used some Press’n’Seal to pick up the pieces in exactly the same spot as there were on the card base. This is such a neat and handy trick, but if you can not get ahold of Press’n’Seal you can use very low-tack wide washi to get the same result.

On the back, I used both Nuvo Deluxe liquid glue and foam tape, to add dimension and to adhered the whole shebang to the card base.

I also had a load of ready made sentiments done, as I had stamped and cut up the You’re Simply The Best wave stack sentiments.This set is so clever in that you stamp it up once and get all the sentiments done, and it has a coordinating diecut that cuts out all in one go. One stamp session + one turn through the diecutting machine = TWELVE sentiment banners done! How cool is that??

I picked out the one that says You are truly wonderful in every way, and adhered that to the card. Now, I could have stopped there, but did I? Of course not.. I’m not an over-blinger by name only, oh no.

I added a VERY generous smattering of these Iridescent Bubble Drops embellishments from Studio Katia. Sort of like big water droplets after rain, you know? Finally, after adding at least eight too many, I stopped and stepped back. I have the embellishment wand from Studio Katia too, and it’s fab, as are the Triangle Trays to keep your embellishments tidy while you pick out which ones to use.

I, personally, love the bling, but if you don’t, you can leave them out. Or go less. That’s always an option for some. Not me, apparently but oh well, what can you do?

Thank you so much for stopping by today, I really hope you enjoyed this post and will try these gorgeous Peony Layering dies for yourself. With the code ERICAC15 you can also take 15% off your order until April 11th!!

Lots of love and happy crafting from Erica

Pinkfresh Studio February 2022 Stamp, Die, Stencil, and Hot Foil Release

Hello, hello, and welcome to one of the stops on the Pinkfresh February release blog hop! If you have come here from the amazing Emily Mydlowski, you are in the right spot, and the next stop on the hop is the awesome Heather Hoffman!

I have been really sick with shingles, for the second time in two years!!, for most of February so I haven’t had the energy to make a boat load of cards, like I usually do. However, the cards I have made I really like, and I hope you will too. I did manage a YouTube video too, but just a heads-up, I do look rather sickly still.

Now, let’s get to it! Clean and Simple, or CAS cards, are not something that comes easy to me. I love the look, but yeah, I usually end up over embellishing them to make up for the white space. It was, surprisingly, the look that I ended up with, for both of my first two cards though. Maybe the shingles took pity on my frazzled brain, and I didn’t over-think it even half as much like I normally do. Or maybe I just ran out of steam? Either way, TWO CAS cards coming up!

I started out by heat embossing the lovely Spark Of Goodness Floral Frame stamp on two card panels, one with Opaque Bright White powder from WOW! Embossing powder.

The second one was done with Rich Gold powder, also from WOW! Embossing. The gold definitely stood out more, for obvious reason.

The white embossing one I coloured in with green and fuchsia coloured Copics, and then used the coordinating diecut to cut out the middle. On the back I built it up with spare card stock to create some dimension.

For a bit of extra interest and texture, I used the Color Block Diagonal Stripes diecut on white card stock, and added the pieces to a card base. Probably as zero surprise to anyone, I also added some bling in the form of clear crystals, as well as a straight to the point sentiment.

The second card was also coloured in with Copics, but in peachy/orange tones, and greens. This was also cut out with the coordinating diecut and I did a similar thing to add texture and interest to the background. On this one I used the new Heart and Stars Coverplate, and it’s so sweet!

This one was finished off with a Fancy Script Hot Foil sentiments, that was foiled with gold foil, and then cut out with the coordinating diecut. I naturally cut out another two to layer them up so they would stand out a bit more. Oh, and Matte Gold pearls were added too.

I also have a little sneaky peek of one of the cards I will be sharing for tomorrow’s Instagram hop, with the absolutely stunning Chrysanthemum Slimline stamp, coordinating diecut and coordinating layering stencils set!

Now for the fun stuff!!

Pinkfresh is giving away the entire release on their blog post and their YouTube post, so don’t forget to comment there! There are also TEN $25 gift vouchers up for grabs along the blog hop, all you have to do is leave a comment to be in with a chance to win, so the more you comment, the bigger chance to win!

InLinkz lineup can be found via THIS LINK

Winners will be announced on March 8th, 2022 on the Pinkfresh GIVEAWAY PAGE. Remember that you must check that page and claim your prize within two weeks.

Thank you so much for stopping by today! Lots of love and happy crafting!

You can find me on various social media platforms, by clicking the links below.
My blog (that’s here)
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My YouTube channel
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Stamp of Goodness rubber stamp

Stamp Of Goodness coordinating die

Coordinating Layering Stencil

Hearts And Stars Coverplate

Fancy Script Word Hot Foil

Fancy Script Word coordinating diecuts

Matte Gold Pearls

Chrysanthemum Slimline stamp

Chrysanthemum coordinating diecut

Chrysanthemum coordinating layering stencils

Pinkfresh Studio December 2021 Stamp, Die, Stencil, and Hot Foil Release

Hi guys! Today I am super excited to celebrate the last release of 2021 from Pinkfresh Studio with a blog hop! The rest of the design team and friends of Pinkfresh have really knocked this release out of the park!

For my projects I have used lots and lots of the gorgeous In The Meadow Washi tape. Oh and the coordinating In The Meadow diecut and In The Meadow stamp set.

It’s such a gorgeous washi, and once I got on a roll with it, I couldn’t stop. Get it? On a roll? *snickers at my own pun* I also made a YOUTUBE VIDEO, showing the entire release and all the projects I made!

I rolled out the washi tape onto wide strips of sturdy card stock, I used 110lb Neenah card stock for this, and then used the coordinating diecut to cut out all the pieces. The coordinating diecut is absolutely genius as it’s all one piece, all you have to do is line it up and it cuts out everything in one go. Same with the coordinating stamp set, so freaking genius!

Once you have your pieces cut out, and why not do a big bunch while you are on a roll? *snickers again, it’s a solid pun* Keep the rest of the pieces in a little storage pocket, either from Avery Elle or the slimline pouches from Picket Fence Studios, and pop that into your Extra Large storage pocket that works a treat for keeping all your coordinating goodies together.

On this slimline card I have used another new fun goodie: The Blanket Stitch Slimline and Mini Slimline Rectangles diecuts. You get the Pinkfresh regular slimline AND mini slimline diecuts in one, and they both have that lovely blanket stitched detail around the edges.

The card is finished off with a sentiment from the Always Uplifting stamp set, and a hot foiled Celebrate that’s cut out with the coordinating diecut.

On the first card I used the slimline size and on the next one I used the mini slimline size, of the Blanket Stitched Slimline Rectangles.

I also heat embossed the sentiment from the In The Meadow stamp set, in Rich Gold from WOW! Embossing. Before stamping up the sentiment I used the new Cottontail Embossing Tool all over the panel, this is a super-duper new anti-static tool from The Rabbit Hole Design, that contains Kaolin clay, rather than baby powder (which I can not stand the smell of, yuk)

The In The Meadow flowers are then arranged around the sentiment, and with that this mini slimline card was done. It really is so quick and easy to make a beautiful card fast with these washi tapes!

Next up, I made a couple of A2/5.5″x4.25″ cards, because I had to make all the sizes, basically.

For this card I used only the big pieces, but one of them I trimmed down to fill out the flower meadow. These pieces are arranged on a slightly smaller piece of white card stock, which is then adhered to the card base with foam tape for some dimension.

To finish off this card I used the Love from the Brushed Sentiment hot foil set. I did it in Rose Gold foil and then cut it out using the coordinating die.

I couldn’t resist adding the new Sparkling Champagne Metallic Pearls, because they are gorgeous! I love them (surprise, surprise)

I used them on my second A2 card as well, because well, I couldn’t put them away. On this card I adhered the In The Meadow pieces from the top, for another look.

This card is done in a similar way, only I didn’t use foam tape for the background piece. On this one I used the foam tape behind the flower pieces instead. I also used the new Heart Grid Hot Foil plate, again with Rose Gold foil.

The sentiment is from the In The Meadow stamp set, and I stamped it up with Black Hybrid ink on a banner that I cut out with the Essentials Slim Stripe diecuts.

Of course I had to use the Sparkling Champagne Metallic Pearls on this one too.

As I had so many flower bits left over, I decided to make a little tag too!

This is the Foldable Shaker Tag, and it’s so clever as you can get two tags out of one diecut. I added a little bit of Key Lime ink by blending it super softly, and then placing the flowers onto the tag.

It’s finished off with a Happy Holidays diecut sentiment, from the Holiday Circle Frames set and a few Sparkling Champagne Metallic Pearls.

That’s it from me for today, but don’t forget to hop along with the rest of the design team and the guests, as there is so much inspiration! Unfortunately I can’t get the InLinkz thingy to work, but the next stop is the amazing Heather Hoffman.

As always there are some amazing GIVEAWAYS:

-We will be giving away the full release on the Pinkfresh blog & YouTube channel.

-We will be giving away a total of TEN $25 gift cards along the hop. As per usual with blog hops – the winners will be picked from the comments, so the more you hop and comment, the better your chances of winning!

Winners will be posted on December 14, 2021 on the Pinkfresh GIVEAWAY PAGE. You have to check this page yourself, and get in touch if you are one of the winners. Do not forget, but you have two weeks to claim your winnings if you are on the list!

InLinkz lineup here.

PS I have used compensated affiliate links in this post, at no extra cost to you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart if you chose to support me by using my links, I really appreciate the support!

As mentioned, there is also a YouTube video for the release and all the projects I made. You can CLICK HERE to watch it.