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Hi crafty friends I don't know about you, but I am always on the lookout for great storage solutions for my home and my craft room is no exception. Pinkfresh Studio do amazing slimline stamp/die/stencil sets and other companies have also released slimline products. Unfortunately, I have never found one solution that will suit all the slimline sizes that I have in my stash. I got my thinking cap on and got it sorted! I even filmed it! My thoughts were that if I am struggling, maybe you are too? When living in Canada, it can be difficult to freely access stamps and new products, so I am generally looking around for a do it yourself solution. I brought some make up brushes recently, to try them out for the details ink blending that is on trend right now, so I will let you know how I get on with that another time. I have downloaded the reel to my Instagram @cherylespiecreates and I have also downloaded the video on to my YouTube channel. So go check either of them out and see if it will work for you. One tip...the reason I used the very thin red tape (1/8") is because it is completely clear when the red tape is removed and, the thinner the tape you get, the less chance of seeing it. Enjoy the video!

Hello, crafty friends! I am thrilled to be a guest designer on the Spellbinders blog in the month February showcasing their new Cardmaker III release!! Today, I am sharing 3 projects using stamps from this brand-new release to help you get inspired. So, let’s talk about the projects that I made just for you guys to get inspired for this release. This is a matching collection of a card and complimentary tags, so two projects really! I loved the In Bloom background stamp as soon as I saw it and immediately thought-heat embossing! For the card, I heat embossed on a lilac card base panel with white embossing powder. It looked wonderful and just popped straight off the cardstock when drying. I then heat embossed a sentiment in gold from a previously released stamp set called Sunday Drive. After die cutting this down and centred it on the embossed panel, I added some Spellbinders die cut florals in three different colours. These would eventually match the gift tags I planned to make. Let’s talk gift tags…how lovely would it be to receive a handmade card, but then also receive a matching/complimentary gift tag on the gift? Matching items can be so appealing, so that’s what I did for my second project. You remember the three colours used for the florals on the card? Well, I used the same colours and heat embossed the new In Bloom stamp on each of these colours. This time though, I heat embossed with clear embossing powder. The effect this technique gives is amazing! I then cut out the tags using a die from my stash. Again, I heat embossed the sentiment from the Sunday Drive stamp set, but this time in white to help it stand out from the background. I then added some more die cut Spellbinder’s florals and some silver ribbon to finish the project. My third project is a clean and simple card with lots of white space. To begin with I cut out an oval shape from masking paper and placed it on my card base. Using some distress oxides, I ink blended the inner oval space. I used the darker pink first at the bottom, then faded out to a lighter pink as I moved up the oval. While the masking tape was still applied, I splattered gold across it. Once dried, I removed the masking tape and stamped some of the images from the new stamp set from the Cardmaker III collection called whimsical Butterflies. I heat embossed a sentiment in gold which is also from the stamp set and added this on a flag cut banner. To finish, gold bling seemed appropriate. Well friends, thank you for stopping by and I hope you go check out my post on the Spellbinders blog today. I hope my projects have inspired you with this wonderful new release and you will pop by again! Bye for now.....

Hi friends Today I am sharing a card and a matching tag that I created to promote the unique release of this gorgeous Sunflower Set which includes washi, stamp, die and stencils. The sunflower is the national flower of Ukraine and Pinkfresh Studio decided to release this beautiful set today, Monday March 7th, 2022 only in their store. All the profits from the sale of these Sunflower products purchased in the Pinkfresh Studio store will be donated to a charity supporting Ukraine. How wonderful is that?! I filmed myself while creating and below is a link to my You Tube video...enjoy Take care, and I will see you again very soon.

Hi crafty friends! I am thrilled to say, I am participating in another Altenew blog hop this month! Today's blog hop is celebrating the release of Altenew's latest Craft-A-Flower: Sunburst Azalea. I absolutely love die cutting and dimension so the Craft-A-Flower line has a place in my heart. You may have found your way here from the super talented Nathalie DeSousa if not, you can start at the beginning of the blog hop which commencing at the Altenew Card Blog Giveaway Prizes $200 in total prizes! To celebrate this release, Altenew is giving away a $50 gift certificate to 2 lucky winners and a $20 gift certificate to 5 winners! Please leave a comment on the Altenew Card Blog and/or each designer’s blog post on the blog hop list below by 03/13/2022 for a chance to win. Altenew will draw 7 random winners from the comments left on each stop of this blog hop and announce the winners on the Altenew Winners Page on 03/15/2022. Craft-A-Flower Monthly Subscription HERE This is a monthly subscription plan for Altenew's Craft-A-Flower die set. When you sign up, you are guaranteed a spot in our monthly Craft-A-Flower releases and will receive a set each month - at a specially discounted price! ($35.99 →$29.99) Let's Look at my Design I used the Craft-A-Flower Sunburst Azalea dies to create two different size of cards. A full size slimline and a mini slimline card. Pink & grey always look so classy together, so I decided to use cardstock in these colours as the focal point. To frame both cards I used the timeless Slim Deco Cover Die Set. By adding different stamped sentiments, it helped me visualize that I can use the Sunburst Azalea for any occasion I would want. Also, you can use it in whatever cardstock colour you want. That's one the beauties of the Altenew Craft-A-Flower series. I hope you enjoyed visiting today? You are welcome to stop by anytime for further inspiration or you can visit my Instagram @cherylespiecreates as I try to post new designs 4-5 times a week. Your next stop on the blog hop is the amazing Jenny Colacicco so go show her some love and support. Until next time....

Hi crafty friends! Today I am excited to be participating in the blog hop celebrating the release of Altenew's March 2022 Folktales & Stories Collection Release ! You may have found your way here from the super talented Michelle Short if not, you can start at the beginning of the blog hop which commencing at the Altenew Card Blog Giveaway Prizes $300 in total prizes! To celebrate this release, Altenew is giving away a $50 gift certificate to 2 lucky winners and a $25 gift certificate to 8 lucky winners! Please leave a comment on the Altenew Card Blog and/or each designer’s blog post on the blog hop list below by 03/10/2022 for a chance to win. Altenew will draw 10 random winners from the comments left on each stop of this blog hop and announce the winners on the Altenew Winners Page on 03/12/2022. Free Gift Altenew are running a free gift promotion to celebrate this release: Get a FREE brand new Folktales & Stories Mini Inspiration Guide with every order from 03/04/2022 through 03/06/2022. Shop HERE! Get a FREE brand new Folktales & Stories Stamp & Die Release Inspiration Guide Ebook (worth $5.99) with every order of high-value Sweet Moments Bundles. Shop HERE! *Exclusions apply. Get a FREE brand new Online Cardmaking Class with every order from the new Folktales & Stories Stamp & Die Release Collection from 03/04/2022 through 03/10/2022. Shop HERE! Let's Look at my Designs Cat Life Seriously...how cute is this stamp set?! Cat Life is available now! When I saw the different images on this set, I immediday thought of the masking technique. I stamped my first image, which would be the one in the forefront of the design then I stamped the image again on masking paper. I used the masking paper to cover this first image. What that enabled me to do was add further cat images by repeating the process. Because I had masked a few cats by this time, I could also ink blend the background over the masking paper. When done, I peeled it all off and coloured the cats with my Copic markers. So fun! If you don't want to mask, you can get a Cat Life Stamp and matching Die Set Bundle. You can just ink blend a background then and add the die cuts over the top. Rosy Blooms Well, if you know anything about me, then it will be that I am a flowers girl! When I saw this beautiful Rosy Blooms Stamp & Die Set I just had to make a card with a matching tag. I have been enjoying doing this lately. I made this design pretty bold by ink blending the background, plus some silver splatters. I then added some stripes to help break it up a little. I used complimentary Copic markers to colour the florals, adding some bold green leaves. As silver seemed the way to go, I die cut that fabulous Simply Friend sentiment in shiny silver cardstock. to finish, I just added a little sentiment on both projects as I visioned giving both to a dear friends birthday coming up later this year. Tree of Fantasy What an unusual stamp set die set! I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with this set at first. I absolutely loved it so wanted it to stand out but also be subtle at the same time...not sure that makes sense, but hey! It's a layering stamp set, but not too complicated and it's pretty mind blowing how the finished tree looks. So realistic! I shaded the backdrop just a little a minty green, so your eye would not be drawn away from the image. I also used the sentiments from stamp set, then finished with just a little bit of gold bling. Geometric Botany Stamp This stamp is a big one and so useful for background stamping. It could be heat embossed no problem, but I decided to do something a little different. This is a set of mini notecards with matching envelopes. I stamped a lot! I used my Copic markers to add a touch of colour, then I used shiny gold cardstock for the Simple Greetings die cut sentiments from the set. I added a strip over a gold die cut circle, which is where I will add the recipients name. Just something a little different but hopefully inspiring for you. I hope you enjoyed visiting today? You are welcome to stop by anytime for further inspiration or you can visit my Instagram @cherylespiecreates as I try to post new designs 4-5 times a week. Your next stop on the blog hop is the amazing Terri Koszler so go show her some love and support. Until next time.... https://www.cardgrotto.com

Hi crafty friends! Today I am thrilled to be participating in the blog hop celebrating the release of Altenew's latest Build-A-Flower: Giant Bellflower, and it's a beauty! You may have found your way here from the super talented Nathalie DeSousa if not, you can start at the beginning of the blog hop which commencing at the Altenew Card Blog Giveaway Prizes $200 in total prizes! To celebrate this release, Altenew is giving away a $50 gift certificate to 2 lucky winners and a $20 gift certificate to 5 winners! Please leave a comment on the Altenew Card Blog and/or each designer’s blog post on the blog hop list below by 03/06/2022 for a chance to win. Altenew will draw 7 random winners from the comments left on each stop of this blog hop and announce the winners on the Altenew Winners Page on 03/09/2022. Let's Look at my Designs This full slimline card was the perfect size for my first idea for the Giant Bellflower Stamp & Die Set. I used the foliage part of the stamp set to give the illusion of the flower climbing up a wall. I used the colour combo of cool greys and Altenew's Sea Shore Dye Ink Collection, primarily Mountain Mint, Volcano Lake & Lagoon. To finish, I added a simple sentiment and some bling, which tied all the colours together. My second card is the classic A2. Quite a different take with this design compared to my first card. To begin with, I heat embossed the Giant Bellflower in gold. I slowly added pink layers from Altenew's Cherry Blossom Dye Ink Collection, primarily Pink Diamond, Pinkalicious & Rubelite. I placed the completed flower on a pink backdrop from Altenew's Blends Paper pack. To finish, I die cut the Fancy Hello is gold. Obviously, I added to gold bling to bring it altogether. Do you enjoy the Build-A-Flower series? Then why not join the Build-A-Flower Monthly Subscription Plan where you can save 14%. I hope you enjoyed visiting today? You are welcome to stop by anytime for further inspiration or you can visit my Instagram @cherylespiecreates as I try to post new designs 4-5 times a week. Your next stop on the blog hop is the amazing Terri Koszler so go show her some love and support. Until next time....

Hi friends I hope you are well and sticking to your new year resolutions?!..I am trying to. The pandemic and not seeing my family and now being over 50, has played havoc with my waistline! How about you? I continue to really enjoy my craft room and sometimes some stamp sets can set my crafty world alight, hahaha. This stamp set is one of them. It's called You Have My Heart by Simon Says Stamp, and the two cards I am sharing today feature a large stamp out of the set. Card #1 is a classic A2 size. The pic doesn't show the dimension well, but I have actually dry embossed the base panel with a die by SSS called Fine Petal Background Plate. You can see it better in the video. Then, I hot foiled the LOVE sentiment, also by SSS. As there are no coordinating dies for this foil plate, I die cut a square around it and added it to the top left corner. Finally, I coloured the floral image with my Copic Markers and then popped it over the square using dimensionals. I added the extra sentiment, just to finish it off. Card #2 is a regular slimline size. I had no choice to make a slimline, because the hot foil CONGRATULATIONS is huuuuge! This is a super smooth card, so I wanted a little dimension. After colouring the flowers I added extra around the centre image. I then finished off the florals with some gold dots, and used my white pen for highlights. Dimensionals are really helpful for dimension, so I popped the focal image up on them. I added the ready made sentiment that you can purchase at Simon Says Stamp, and I think it finished the card off nicely. Well, whatever you have planned this coming weekend, I hope you have some time to yourself doing what you love. See you again very soon.

Hi crafty friends You should know by now that I am a huuuuge Pinkfresh Studio fan and I love creating with their products. They release some amazing florals and the Cosmos Bunch is no exception. It is illustrated by the talented Emily Midgett and Emily has now rejoined the Pinkfresh Design team for 2022. The Cosmos Bunch stamp set is one small floral and it has coordinating stencils and die. I used the stencils with these cards and decided on a lovely color combo of Coral Reef & Warm Buff. This is now my favourite combo, until i move on to the next favourite! hahaha. I wanted to demonstrate how the stamp set can be used on different card sizes to inspire you to try it. These are the classic A2 and the classic slimline bases. You will notice that to create the background on the A2 size, I first stamped the florals in black. Following that, I placed the die cut image over the top after I had cut out the base using the Blanket Stitched Rectangles Die Set also by Pinkfresh Studio. To finish, the card would not be complete without a hot foiled sentiment and the gorgeous LOVE is from the Brushed Sentiment Hot Foil set also by PFS. With the slimline, I stamp the image directly onto the cardstock then stencilled them. Then I die cut the cardstock using the Blanket Stitched Essentials Slimline Dies I added a smaller sentiment, then again added the Brushed Sentiment Hot Foil HELLO. I love how pretty my cards turned out. Well, I will love and leave you for now...see you very soon!

My Favorite Things have been creating fabulous stamps as long as I have been cardmaking, maybe even a little longer. I started seriously crafting in approximately 2009 ish. MFT were some of the very first stamps I ever purchased and still have them today. As you know I like florals and cutsie. MFT do both well and when I saw this stamp set called Magnolia Blossoms, it was ordered! To create my card and matching tag, I just lightly ink blended the background to help make the images pop. I then coloured the blossoms in my favourite pink Copic markers, adding some extra depth with R85. I die cut the images and stuck them on the bases with dimensional. I love the gift tag and was proud go myself for going off centre and hanging it off the side! Made me feel all artsy! Hahahaha. All of the products, stamps and dies, including the tag and the frame are all MFT goodies. I really like the idea of a card with a matching tag, probably because of Christmas I had been making tags anyway and of course, its a great addition when gifting. I am looking forward to sharing some super stuff with you in 2022. I have been a busy beaver for a stamp company, so keep your eyes peeled and all will be revealed very soon. Bye for now,

Hi friends...Happy New Year!!! I was reviewing my Best 9 2021 as a number of peeps were on Instagram and it made me reflect on really how my crafting had grown during the last year. When I look at my most popular Instagram posts, I am not surprised as to what showed up and the companies that inspire my creativity - Pinkfresh Studio, Gina K Designs, Pigment Craft Co, MFT Stamps. I have great respect for all of these companies and all the small businesses that have tried to navigate the last 18 months. There have been positive and negative experiences in the pandemic, and it has impacted everyone around the globe in some way. People have lost loved ones and my heart goes out to them. People have lost loved ones not just because of Covid itself, but because of the impact it has had on the health system. The casualties of the pandemic also include those people who have lost loved ones because of surgeries being postponed, treatment delays and time running out because specialist appointments had to be cancelled. We are living the history that in years to come our future generations will learn about in history class. They will hopefully be wiser, and will discuss how the pandemic came to be and what was learned because of it. Hopefully science will grow in leaps and bounds and continue to find ways to protect the human race. Phew, that got a bit deep didn't it??? BUT New Year is a time of reflection. From my little corner of the crafting world I want to take this opportunity to thank those companies that believed in me in 2021 and felt I had something to offer and inspire other crafters...Pinkfresh Studio, Altenew, Pigment Craft Co & Spellbinders. I hope I can grow in confidence with talking to the camera a little more in 2022, so I can share me a little bit more. While I think sharing who you are as a crafter and some personal info is such a lovely way of connecting in our virtual world, I just find this a little hard and can not for the life of me think of why anyone would be interested or care about who I am or what I do??? I think thats why I have a dream to work on one of my favourite stamp companies design teams...to be part of a team of crafters, and have purpose. Anyway, I have really had a good chat today and I hope it has given you a bit of insight into who I am. 2022 already has some work in the pipeline with a stamp company whom I will be guesting for. I made quite a number of cards before christmas for them for their magazines and stamp packaging. Also, I have been invited to guest blog with the same company with a new release, so watch out for that! I hope I can grow in confidence with talking to the camera a little bit more in 2022. While I think sharing who you are as a crafter and some personal info is such a lovely way of connecting in our virtual world, I just find this a little hard and can not for the life of me think of why anyone would be interested or care about who I am or what I do??? I think that's why I have a dream to work on one of my favourite stamp companies design teams...to be part of a team of crafters, and have purpose. Let's look up and look forward to 2022 as it could be full of wonderful surprises!!!

Hello craft friends! Thank you for joining me from that talented lady Bridget Casey You are here because I am participating in a unique and exciting blog hop today. The hop takes you and us down memory lane, sharing projects created as designers and guest designers with Altenew during 2021! I am also sharing over on my Instagram too! Above is a collage of some of the cards I designed in the earlier part of this year with Altenew when I did a stint of guest designing. Top Left: I absolutely loved the Grid Cover Die It was perfect as a backdrop for florals. It reminded me of trellis work, and can be cut in whatever colour works for your design. The florals are the beautiful Vintage Garden Suite that included stencils, stamps and dies. Top Right: One of my favourites. Isn't it funny that sometimes it's the simplest cards that end up being favourites? I did a bit of ink blending just lightly to offset the florals. I stamped the Tall Foliage stamp over it, then stamped, coloured & die cut out the florals from the Adore You stamp set. Bottom Left: There's that Grid Cover Die again, but this time in black. Pink and Black can be so striking when put together, and that's what I did here. The orchids in the Spotted Orchid stamp set are so life like and really stamp well. To finish this card I added gold, yes gold for extra bling! I die cut the Fancy Hello out of gold shiny card stock. The font is sooooo gorgeous and elegant. Bottom Right: Tall Foliage, one of my absolute favourite Altenew releases of this year. So versatile, so simple, and so easy to use. For these cards, I teamed them up with the Deco Cover Die Set to show how to make a slimline but also a classic A2 sized card. Win Prizes To celebrate the hop, Altenew is giving away a $30 gift certificate to 5 lucky winners and a $15 gift certificate to 4 lucky winners! To enter for your chance to win: please leave a comment on the Altenew Card Blog HERE Leave a comment on my blog below. Share Altenew projects with #AltenewBest2021 on social media by 01/06/2022 for a chance to win. 9 winners will be announced on the Altenew Winners Page on 01/08/2022. Thank you so much for joining me today, I hope you feel inspired. Now pop on over to the blog of Dana Joy to see more Altenew inspiration. UPDATE Jan 8th, 2022 The winner from my blog comments is....drum roll....sunchild21 - CONGRATULATIONS!! You have won a $10 Altenew gift card. To claim your gift card please contact Altenew at winner@altenew.com by 01/18/2022 with the subject line Altenew 2021 Year In Review Blog Hop Winner from Linkcrafty Card's Blog. Happy New Year to you! I hope 2022 brings you love, good health, laughs and socialization! Bye for now

Hi friends! Well, it's Christmas Eve and Santa is on his way. You know, this time of year can be wonderful for some and absolutely horrid for others. I have lived on both ends of this spectrum. When I was young, Christmas was a very scary time for me as Im afraid my parents should not have been allowed to be near children. Thats all I am going to say on this, but please remember those that suffer during these times and try send out love and warmth into the world if you can. My cards today are the official cards of the season that I have sent to my children. I try to make two cards that are very special for them every year. My children and I absolutely love this time of year because after my bad upbringing, I was determined my children would feel love, security and happiness especially at Christmastime. I think my hubby thinks I am crazy because I try to think of everything I possibly can. Oh, and Christmas tunes play all month long! hahahahaha. When I saw this die set from Spellbinders I love it!....You can not get any more festive than an image of Santa's boots coming down the chimney! If I remember rightly, this was one of the die sets from the Spellbinders Monthly Kits. Not sure if they will be releasing it in the future as a stand alone die for everyone to purchase. Well, I want to thank you for all the support and love I have received over the last year, especially over on Instagram. let's look forward to 2022 and hope its a brighter, prosperous and social one!!1 Bye for now, and Merry Christmas!