Tag embossing powder

Shine like the stars

2026: January Cards

CraftyK Leave a comment

As I mentioned in my 2025 annual post, I am moving this to monthly. I know I can manage to complete one card a month and this is a way to post with more frequency. I have less interest in posting about individual cards and more about sharing the finished pieces as inspiration for your own creations.

Most of my supplies are second-hand, so I’m not always able to point to where you can buy more. I hope you can find inspiration in the shapes and layouts for your own paper crafting journey. I am available to chat live a couple days a week on Twitch about paper crafting. I do cross stitch on stream, but happy to chat paper. I usually have my finished cards nearby as well.

January 2nd was an intense day of card making. I had thank yous to make for Christmas gifts and had other paper/stamps set out to make some other cards. My sheet of silver paper with shiny dots is now all used up. A few cards did make it to the Ko-Fi shop.

The sympathy cards with cats were inspired by people I know who have lost their cats recently. I haven’t lost my first cat yet, but she is quite old now and I’m sure I’ll be a mess when it happens. Maybe someone will send me a sympathy card when the time comes.

Shine like the stars

See finished projects on Instagram @craftyk.3

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2025 Cards

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My annual card gallery is here! Check out every card created in 2025 by month of creation. The end of 2024 brought on just shy of two dozen new cards. Each year I strive to improve, learn and try new techniques and create some beautiful cards. 2025 saw twice as many with 49 new cards created. I started up my Ko-Fi shop at the end of 2024 where you may find some of the cards below listed for sale.

I set out the year to grow in the card making space. This meant posting about it and at the very least making at least one card per month.

For 2026 I plan to release a post each month with the cards made the previous month. There may be a little more info about how they were made, but I still strive to keep my musings short. I feel that you shouldn’t have to wait all year before seeing all the cards created.

Use these as inspiration for your own cards!

Most of my supplies are second-hand, so I’m not always able to point to where you can buy more.

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

See finished projects on Instagram @craftyk.3

and watch live on Twitch CraftyK3

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2024 Cards

CraftyK Leave a comment

If you don’t want to read the nuances about the cards I created in 2024, this is where you can see them all by month of creation. After the surge of cards made in December 2023, I hope these cards don’t disappoint. I’m also hoping you see an increase in quality and creativity.

Use these as inspiration for your own cards!

February

May

June

September

October

November

December

Follow current projects on Instagram @craftyk.3
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With Heartfelt Sympathy (2)

CraftyK Leave a comment

This is the first time I’ve “repeated” a card. I try so hard to make each card unique and they still are as minor things are different. I felt that a white/cream card and my flower and butterfly embossing folder with sympathy stamp work so well together.

I’m still new to stamping and am trying to get used to the fact that some cards are going to look similar since the stamps don’t change. For the last couple of years I’ve had access to my Cricut and printers so I was able to use different fonts and create new things all the time. Now it’s a bit different with access to a limited number of supplies.

With this card I did do something very different and found a second stamp with text that fits with the theme of the card.

As you can see I used the same ink color inside. I did not emboss it (clear embossing powder on the ink) like I did with the outside. This card is also different because I used the embossing folder directly on the card creating texture inside.

Whew so much use of the word embossing this time!

To finish off the card I took a larger stamp I have to the back of the envelope. Usually I use lots of stickers, this time I decided to add something that won’t get ripped off in the mail. I have noticed with the clear rubbery stamps you can affect the way the ink appears. This time I dragged the ink pad across and it created the lines. Normally I would dab it which creates a more printed “dotted” look. Just something to keep in mind as you get started with stamps.

I’m still learning with stamps so you can see where I had a little hiccup I guess? My hand jumped a bit when I was pulling it up and it left a little shadowing. I may also be pushing the stamp down too hard. I’m guessing it doesn’t need near the pressure I put on it which may have also caused the extra ink deposits.

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With Heartfelt Sympathy

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When you have 9 funerals in 18 months, it changes your perspective on life. While I’ve had a really long break between funerals now, that streak having come to an end last year, I really feel for those who can’t come together right now when a family member dies.

I still can’t say the right things, and of course the cards I make are blank inside.

At work we were informed that a co-worker lost her husband over the weekend. We can’t sign a card as a company since we are all at home, so we were provided the address to send a card if we wanted.

Due to the aforementioned funerals I had actually purchased various sympathy stamps. But I still have a blank card to write something to and about someone I barely know. I can only hope that what I wrote is appropriate and what they need right now. I don’t try to be different, but I tend to be with the fact that I know reading yet another card that says I’m sorry for your loss is just another card. So I tried to say something, but not sure if it was right.

I used an embossing folder on a gradient grey cardstock and stamped in the blank area using a dark blue pigment ink. I then used clear embossing powder on the stamp. I attached the embossed and stamped part to folded white cardstock with double sided tape.

cards_0520_05

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ice cream card laying down

We ALL scream for ICE CREAM

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The actual cross stitch on this card is probably the smallest one I have done all year. When I asked my cousin’s husband some things she likes one of his answers was ice cream. I remembered I had saved this pattern years ago from a cross stitching website that had free patterns from their magazine available. It’s so cute I knew it was just what I needed.

close up of ice cream cone

Since the stitching wasn’t going to take up a huge space on the card I wanted to add some stamping. This included a few firsts for me. I tried out a white pigmented ink. I have a purple fine glittery embossing powder that I decided to try out on the white ink. I still haven’t figured out how to keep the powder on just the ink and not loose it all from everywhere, so it looks a bit messier than I intended. I’m still trying to figure out this whole embossing thing.

focus on stamping

It was fun to watch this one as the heat gun finally started to solidify the powder. It did take a really long time and the paper warped. The card was under a big book to try and flatten it out before sending.

ice cream cone with no backstitching

I also remembered to photograph it before the backstitching. It’s amazing what some outlines can do to a pattern. You can tell what it is, but it really pops once it’s done. I almost forgot the stem, but luckily realized it before I put everything away.

front top view of ice cream card

I know I said that I did some new things, another new thing was mixing stamps. I didn’t want a bunch of white space so I went through my stamps to find something to fill in the space with. I chose the lollipop as it’s another type of sweet. In the same set I found this small confetti looking stamp. I don’t know that I used it as intended, but I tried to put it around in different areas to fill in the space. I feel that I could have done some more maybe? It’s like using a brush in Photoshop, but this can’t be undone. Once you stamp, it’s on there. Makes me scared to use it.

So this was a first in trying out layering different elements. The different ink colors, stamps from different sets, and embossing some ink. I took some hot pink construction paper to put behind the ice cream cone. The pink paper is attached with double sided tape and the cone is attached to that with foam tape. I think I might have a foam tape addiction? I’m using it on just about every card that doesn’t have a frame. I felt that the yellow paper would mean losing the pink of the ice cream, so I made the shadow thing behind it to bring back the pinks.

Stitching

Started: September 7th
Finished: September 7th

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full front of ice cream card

cat face

Happy Kitty

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Hopefully you like cats. I do. I have 2 of them. My cousins have several cats among them as well. The cousin who is getting this card however had to give up his cats after finding out one of his kids is allergic. Yet the whole family still loves cats. They are all getting a cat card to at least have a non-allergy causing cat around. I cannot guarantee the card is free of cat hair either. I usually have one on my lap while attempting at stitching.

happy cat thread

This pattern is part of a set from a quilt book. I tried to highlight the symbols and colors I would need, yet missed the pink. It’s not in the picture when I started, but I had to go find some pink for the ears by time I was done.

stitching top

This was a pretty fast pattern to work on. It was the designing of the card that took a while.

I had no idea where to begin. I went through both paper drawers a couple of times before finding the blue geometric patterned paper from a book I bought last year.

The pattern was small enough to add some stamping with a birthday message. That paper was easy to find, I find myself using it a lot. It’s not white and has some character to it.

bottom view

I used my Cricut to cut out the blue paper and ivory paper for stamping on. I have a corner rounder cutting thing I used to round the corners. I was lazy and didn’t design the box in Illustrator and the Cricut program doesn’t allow for rounded corners.

After stamping I decided since I had my clear embossing powder by me to emboss just the word birthday. A little got on the letters above, but not enough to change the effect I was going for.

front of card standing

For not having a clue how to start designing this card I think it came together really well. Bringing in the additional element of the stamp helps offset the smaller cross stitch design.

Stitching

Started: May 9th
Finished: May 11th

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front of Happy Cat

the otter stitching

Otter Love

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The newest addition to the family by marriage loves otters…and Harry Potter. While Harry Potter is great, a little harder to come by cross stitch patterns. And for some reason I remember her otter love before HP.

I went searching for an otter pattern on Etsy and ended up with one from dailycrossstitch.com that is pretty adorable.

the pieces

There are lots of browns in this pattern, with pops of color with the pink and blue. It’s a very easy pattern to work which is good when you need to move through them quickly.

standing front view

This card ended up using a few new things I have learned about over the past year. First is the super new interfacing fabric that I think I mention every post now. The next is embossing powder for stamping.

The fun curves of this pattern lent itself to being one that is cut out and mounted. Since it doesn’t take up the full space I also decided to pull out some stamps. Then I read that the ink was the kind you can emboss with…and found I had bought powder called “Tinsel”. Knowing that Iris has mailed just glitter in an envelope before I couldn’t help but add some to the card.

close up of stamping

I haven’t figured out how to “clean up” the powder before running the heat gun over it making everything permanent. So this attempt looks messy to me along with some areas being heavier on the glitter than others. Overall it’s a cute card that came together nicely.

Stitching

Started: April 21st
Finished: April 29th

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front only