Monday, October 5, 2026

Hugging Heart

Hello, 
It feels so good inside to put pieces together, in life and with cards. I've had the arms and heart panels for 4 cards cut out for months and little by little I cut layers, Slightly brushed ink over the arms and heart, thought about how to put it together and then placed all the little flowers. The heart sits on a pop up mechanism that Jennifer McGuire simply cuts from two short strips of cardstock. She has showed the pop up mechanism in many of her tutorials. The cards with pop up will into your usual size A2 envelopes by the heart flattening off to one side when in the envelope, then popping back up out of the envelope. 

If I could do this over, I would cut another panel of the same paper as the arms because when you lift the arms up, you can see the entire cut out portion behind them. But I didn't think about that until after I glued the layers down. Maybe that will help someone to cover up the hole behind the arms.

I made 4 similar designs of this card to cheer some friends up. I'm amassing a big collection of cards to send out. It feels good!

Waffle Flower Hugging Hands die
GKD pattern paper from way back
I forget which set this sentiment came from. (Stampin' Up?) It'll come to me a few weeks from now and wake me out of a sound sleep. Thank you, Lisa "lovinpaper" at SCS for letting me know it is SU "Go to Greetings" stamp set! You are a rock star 🎸
Kraft cardstock by GKD
Memento Inks
Sizzix and other company flowers and leafy branch dies, Martha Stewart flower punches (sorry I forget to add a post-it note with all the company product names into backs of die cuts I make on the more challenging days)
Little enamel dots for flower centers by Stampin' Up


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If you are going through difficult times, know that I care. I'm climbing up my own hard path, some days harder than others, but it helps me feel empathy for all of you who also have times of trouble. 🙏 Aloha, friend

Saturday, October 3, 2026

Happy World Cardmaking Day 2026! 🥳

Hello!
Here is a card that makes me smile. It's an Acorn House for a squirrel who is busy gathering his winter food stores. Isn't he cute? But those teeny tiny pieces though. My weak blurry eyes and shaky hands have the most hard time adhering these together. I end up with glue all over my fingers, alcohol ink from shading the die cuts and then using a paint brush with talcum powder to dry off any sticky areas. Much better after that. And what an adorable die cut scene! I added glossy accents to the glass and his eye. There's shimmer on the leaves, mirror card for the sentiment and a little twine bow for interest. I used SSS stencil set for cloud and hill. 

Spellbinders Acorn Acres Club



Here's to a better day for everyone tomorrow because life is so very hard at times 🙏