{BYSHC} Christmas in July 2026 Linky Party - Day 1

It's finally here! The first day of the Build Your Stash Holiday Cardmakers Christmas in July 2026 Linky Party! If you have been with us before you know we are in for a week of inspiration, sponsors, and prizes to give away.  

My first card is a shaker card, and I have to admit, it's one of my favorites! I started by creating the gorgeous poinsettia background with the Hero Arts Poinsettia Window Layering Stencil, blending traditional red and green inks for a classic Christmas feel.

Then the die cutting began! I reached for the Arched Stacklet Dies  from our wonderful sponsor, Taylored Expressions. The largest arch created the base panel, while three smaller arches became the green frame, the window opening, and the shaker element.

The shaker sits on the front of the card, with the shaker mix tucked between two pieces of clear acetate and 1/4-inch foam tape. 

For a fun interactive surprise, I used the smallest arched die cut on the inside of the card so it's visible through the shaker window when the card is closed and even more noticeable when it's opened.

To finish everything off, I added a beautiful foiled "Merry Christmas" sentiment from another generous sponsor, Gina K Designs, and a few sparkling red glitter jewels from Pinkfresh for the perfect finishing touch.

This card was such a joy to create! It's definitely a "looker" with all the sparkle and dimension, and I couldn't think of a better way to kick off the Linky Party than with a card that makes a big festive first impression!  I can't wait to see what you add to the gallery this week. Thanks for stopping by my blog.

In kindness, Cathy

Addicted to Stamps & More Challenge #521 - Make Your Mark

Welcome back to the newest "Make Your Mark" challenge at the Addicted to Stamps & More Blog!

For this challenge, I was asked to create a good-bye card for the Community Manager in my 62+ active living cooperative here in Minnesota. The theme for the card was "You Are Our Sunshine," and I had so much fun bringing that idea to life. This is one of the two cards I created, and I absolutely love how it turned out! I made this version a little less literal than the first card (which I'll post at the end of the month for a Color Dare Challenge) and had fun pulling together a variety of supplies from my stash.

I started with Waffle Flower's A2 Postage Collage Die and added several of the Postage Collage Wild Flower Stencil panels. To keep with the sunshine theme, I colored all of the flowers in cheerful shades of yellow.

The two bolder sunshine panels with the sweet smiling faces are from Concord & 9th's Pure Sunshine stamp, stencil, and die bundle. I also pieced together the sentiment from that same set.

The bottom right rectangular panel was created using candle flames from the Make A Wish birthday set by The Greetery—a fun way to create a unique sunburst effect! I finished the card with a layered die-cut sentiment from Cathy Zielske and Simon Says Stamp, using a contrasting salmon cardstock color. I think that pop of salmon adds just the right amount of warmth and dimension.

With all of the layered elements, this card ended up measuring just under 5" x 7", making it a wonderfully substantial card.  Can' wait to see how you "make your mark" in our latest challenge.  Thanks for stopping by my blog.

In kindness, Cathy

Color Dare Challenge #712

 How about switching to a little navy, red, and green for this week's Color Dare Challenge?!?

Unfortunately, I have had a need for sympathy cards over the past few weeks, so the Color Dare challenges have been a great jumping-off point to build my stash.  

For this card, I wanted navy to be the primary color. I pulled out my treasured (and very old!) SU! French Script background stamp and inked it with white pigment ink. Then I used oval stitched nesting dies to create an olive frame for the focal point.

The flowers are Memory Box dies - called Wildflower Stems.  I found them in the sale room at my local stamp store, so they're new to me even though they're not readily available anymore.  Keeping with the challenge colors and taking advantage of the “free” extras of white and neutrals, I tried to make the blooms resemble white coneflowers with brown centers. It was easy to ink the stems green while leaving the tips white to create the look of fresh buds.

The panel behind the flowers is splattered with green ink, Distress mica spray, and brown ink for added texture and interest. I knew I needed to incorporate the red from the challenge palette, so I tied a piece of red twine around the stems for a simple finishing touch.

I loved the challenge of these three colors together because they made me think a little harder about the card design.  Hope you find inspiration and join the Color Dare Challenge.  Thanks for stopping by my blog.

In kindness, Cathy

Dragonfly Dreams July Challenge: Christmas with Glitter or Sparkle

I'm back with my July card for the Dragonfly Dreams Challenge Blog. ! This month's theme is Christmas with Glitter or Sparkle, and I'm always happy to make Christmas cards in July.

For this card, I pulled out the Pine Trees Stencil from Simple Stories. I ran it through my Platinum 6 using the embossing pad to add some texture before blending green ink over the raised design to create a festive background. I finished it with splatters of white and gold Distress Mica spray paint for a snowy, shimmery effect.

To incorporate this month's sparkle theme, I layered the strand of lights from the Let Your Light Shine Stamp and die set from Gina K Designs and added gold glitter paste over the stenciled light bulbs for lots of festive sparkle. The Concord & 9th sentiment was die cut from gold glitter cardstock and layered onto a white backer to help it stand out against the background.

To finish the card, I added a few gold and silver glitter dots, keeping the sparkle going and adding the perfect finishing touch to this Christmas-in-July creation. Hope you are able to join in the festivities this month!  Thanks for stopping by my blog!

In kindness, Cathy

Color Dare Challenge #710

This week's beautiful Color Dare challenge colors were the inspiration for my card, although I ended up creating two additional cards using other color combinations while I had everything out!

  

My card features a newly acquired stamp, stencil, and die set from Concord & 9th. I had been patiently waiting to purchase Kristina Werner's Long Line Lilies collection, and I was thrilled to finally pick up the stamp, stencil, and die set during Concord & 9th's recent sale.

The purple background was created with a favorite die from Reverse Confetti, and the die-cut lilies are attached to a frame made with dies from a Pinkfresh Studio class kit.

I hope these beautiful colors inspire your creativity over the next two weeks. Thanks so much for stopping by my blog! 

In kindness, Cathy

ATS&M Challenge #520 - Die Cuts or Stencils

Challenge #520 on the Addicted to Stamps & More blog is Die Cuts or Stencils.  I opted for all die cuts this time around.

 For this challenge, I created a mini slimline card and am back with another design using some of the blooms I die cut from Papertrey Ink's  Into the Blooms Fun Flowers dies that my SIL loaned to me last March. I added a few other die-cut flowers and leaves to the mix and arranged them into a colorful bouquet.

The background was created by inking up an old favorite from my stash—the Pinkfresh Studio Lush Vines hot foil plate—and running it through my embossing machine. I then die cut a portion of the panel using Papertrey's Vase Collection 11 and inked it in brown to create the textured vase.  The sentiment is Kristina Werner's Written Words 2 stamp and die from Concord & 9th.

I think I ended up making ten different cards from all of those die-cut flowers! You can find a few more of them here on my blog. 

I hope you'll join us for this fun challenge at Addicted to Stamps & More! Thanks so much for stopping by my blog.

In kindness, Cathy

Color Dare Challenge #708

 Back with a new challenge on the Color Dare Challenge Blog. 

I used all three colors for an 80th birthday card I made for a neighbor. It’s a shaker card featuring the “Wish” stamp and die set from Pretty Pink Posh — one of my go-to sets whenever I need a quick birthday card with a little something extra.

I stamped the “wish” word with VersaMark ink, heat embossed it in white, and then ink blended over the top. Since it’s a shaker card, the little bits inside get to steal the show! For this card, I dug into my stash of patterned paper, die cut the word, and added purple and turquoise splatter along with a few spritzes of Distress Mica Spray for extra shimmer.

I stamped the party hats and present, colored them with my Copics, die cut them, then finished the card with the sentiment and a few enamel dots. Quick, fun, and full of sparkle!

There are so many possibilities with this color palette, and I can’t wait to see what everyone adds to the Challenge #708 gallery. Thanks so much for stopping by my blog!

In kindness, Cathy

Addicted to Stamps & More #519 - Any Occasion

The newest challenge on the Addicted to Stamps & More Blog is sure to spark your creativity because it is an "Any Occasion" challenge!

I made the mistake of watching Altenew's New Release in March and HAD to have the Creative Cuts Botanical Waltz Layering Dies. It's one of their keyhole die sets and comes with flowers and leaves.  I cut all of those pieces from white and pulled my inks out for a little shading, and created this fun card. I made another quick card from the same set, which you can see here.  I know I will be pulling these dies out again in the future!  

I hope you are able to join the Any Occasion Challenge!  Can't wait to see your makes in the gallery. Thanks for stopping by my blog.

In kindness, Cathy

Dragonfly Dreams June Challenge: Masculine Theme

 Today's card is for the Dragonfly Dreams June card challenge.  It's a masculine theme, so I made a birthday card for my brother's 70th birthday.  He is celebrating by having visiting us and spending a week playing golf.  

Color Dare Challenge #706

Back with another color palette to play around with at the Color Dare Challenge #706! This is such a fun challenge — you are given two colors, and the third color is your choice. The only catch is that it needs to be something other than the free colors of black, white, neutrals, or gold!

I added a turquoise-green as my third color, which may have been influenced by the three colors in my last Color Dare challenge!  But these saturated colors needed another bold partner and paired perfectly with the fun Garden's Edge Stamp, Stencil & Die Set from Concord & 9th. A bonus for me was that this set also includes two “friend” word dies! I used the script version for my card. The stamp set includes two border designs, and it’s intended to have a whimsical, flowy feel, so the stencil and stamp are not meant to line up perfectly.

Once I finished creating the floral pattern, it was time to assemble the card. I went to some oldies in my stash for help.  The card base is a hand-drawn lines background stamp from MFT. To bring in more of the orange, I pulled out my “splatter” stamp from Stampin’ Up!. The verdict is still out on whether I like the splatter, but the clusters of gems and the inked edges seemed to tone all of those little dots down a bit!

I hope you’ll join us for Color Dare Challenge #706 — I can’t wait to see what you choose for your +1 color! Thanks for stopping by my blog.

In kindness, Cathy

ATS&M Challenge #518- Birthday Theme

“Birthday” is the next theme over at the Addicted to Stamps and More Challenge Blog!

For my card, I used Kristina Werner’s Audrey Blooms Stencil Pack, a layered stencil set that actually creates two card fronts filled with these fun blooms. I may have gone a little “splatter crazy” by picking up some of the stencil ink colors with salmon, blue, green, metallic Distress spray, along with a bit of plain old water for extra texture and interest!

The little scalloped frame is from Kristina's A2 Detailed Frames Dies. I glued together three layers of cardstock to give the frame some added dimension, then created the sentiment using a “happy” die cut paired with the “birthday” portion of a letterpress die from my stash.

To finish the card, I added a few enamel dots for the perfect final touch.

I hope you’ll have time to play along with us over the next two weeks! Thanks so much for stopping by my blog. 

In kindness, Cathy