Hi, crafty friends! It’s a well known fact that I love to color. However, after having been on a couple of design team where coloring has not been my focus (thank you Kort & Godt and Papiria), I’ve grown very fond of cards with loads of die cutting. Today I’m sharing three same, but different cards featuring lots of die cut pieces. I have a stamped sentiment on one of the cards and have done a tiny bit of ink blending on another, but it’s mostly die cutting, and I’m here for it.
I’m also here for the Briar & Blooms die set from Concord & 9th, which honestly did most of the work on these cards. For this first card, I took my inspiration for the colors from the Summer Breeze color palette on the Concord & 9th website. They’ve got some great color resources, and this particular palette consists of Nectar, Pimento, Clementine, Clover and Harbor. I also threw in Sprout for a second green. I die cut the base of the wreath from Clover, and the remaining pieces from the other colors. I also die cut one base wreath from Rustic White cardstock from Papertrey Ink, but I only needed the inside negative part of that to stamp my sentiment on.
I used the Quilted embossing folder from Concord & 9th to create some texture behind the wreath. This embossing folder is a great one, but it was part of the 2025 Winter Retreat and is not available for purchase. Thankfully, there are other embossing folders out there which will work just as well to create some interest in the background. I adhered the embossed panel to a card base I created from the same Rustic White cardstock. I stamped a sentiment from the Flower Field stamp set from Kristina Werner using Pimento ink on that negative inside piece I’d already die cut. I adhered it in the center of the card and puzzle pieced the actual wreath around it, adding small pieces of foam tape to the outside edges of the wreath only. I finished off the card with a few Concord & 9th dew drops flanking the sentiment.
The first card was so much fun to create, I decided to make another. The example picture on the packaging for the die set is beautiful in soft, very muted tones, and I tried to pick colors that were close. Here, I used Artichoke for the base wreath, Pistachio for the remaining greenery, Spiced Cider for the large flowers and a few of the buds, Nectar for the remaining buds and the side facing flowers and finally Eucalyptus for the small flowers. Oh, I also used Buttercup for the flower centers. This is definitely a more muted palette than the first, it has a bit of a fall vibe to me.
I leaned into the fall vibe and chose to mount my wreath on a card base I created from Rustic Cream cardstock from Papertrey Ink. This is also very muted, and I love the little specks that are in the paper, creating a bit of interest. I die cut the word thanks in the Briar & Blooms die set from Champagne cardstock (also Concord & 9th), backed it with a layer of Rustic Cream and adhered it across the center of the wreath, before finishing off the card with some Satin White sequins from Altenew.
While I was working on card number two, I came up with the idea to create one more wreath in a “blossoming fruit tree” color combination. The fruit trees have just started blooming, and it’s the best thing ever. We have a blood cherry tree outside our front door that started blooming over the weekend. The apple trees (which my color combo is based on) have not started blooming quite yet, but they’re not far behind – I love this time of year! Anyway, back to the card. I don’t have the new Basil green yet from Concord & 9th (other than a small sample that was in this year’s Winter Retreat kit, which I turned into a swatch tag), but when you ink blend Parsley ink on Parsley cardstock, you get a darker color that works well. I did that, then die cut the base wreath from the dark version and die cut the rest of the greenery from plain Parsley. Once again, I used Buttercup for the centers, but I switched out the Nectar I used on the previous two cards for Ballet Slipper, which I thought worked better here. I also slipped in Sweet Pea for a few of the buds for a little more pop of color.
On the base of the Sweet Pea buds, I ink blended with Sweet Pea ink. On the large open white flowers, I ink blended with Ballet Slipper, adding a touch of Carnation (RIP – I’m sad to see this color leave the C9 color spectrum) in the very center. I also used Carnation for the Ballet Slipper buds and side facing flowers, and I used whatever pink ink was left on my brush on a few of the tiny white die cut flowers. For those I used a Y19 Copic marker in the center. It’s a good match for the Buttercup cardstock, and those centers are too small to ink blend. I used the very tip of the marker, no more was needed.
I loved the soft color palette so much that I wanted a soft look in the background, too. I opted for the Stippled Plaid press plate from Pinkfresh Studio and inked that up on a piece of Betterpress Bisque cardstock using Peachy Glow ink from Altenew. The soft yellow ink acts as a neutral on the cream cardstock, which in turn is a neutral on the Stamper’s Select White cardstock from Papertrey Ink that I used for my card base. I popped everything up on foam tape, then die cut the word hello once from white cardstock and once from Gold Shine cardstock from My Favorite Things. I stacked the two and stretched my hello across the center of the wreath. I tried to add a few different embellishments, but in the end, I decided not to use any – and honestly, I think this card looks great without it!
In the end, the apple tree color combo version wound up being my favorite of the three. What do you think? Maybe you have another favorite?
I created a scene with quite a few images from the Lakewood collection from Purple Onion Designs, illustrated by Holly Mabutas. 
I don’t use watercolor a lot, but a palette with watercolor paint is a lot more travel friendly than 360 Copic markers, and I was on vacation in the mountains when I painted this last summer. Only having access to watercolor forces me to play with them and familiarize myself with them, which is a good thing.
The images are all stamped using Obsidian ink from Altenew, which is a pigment ink that works well with watercolor. The paper is Fabriano Artístico cold pressed watercolor paper. I used my Mijello Mission Gold watercolor paints and brushes of varying sizes. I’m not an expert watercolorist, so the coloring’s pretty basic.
I trimmed my panel, stamped a sentiment from the 
I colored the image with Copics, choosing a very bright green combo for the ground and the leaves. I didn’t want all the flowers to be the same color, so I went for a crocus look. I love all the details you get in a real crocus, but they’ve yet to bloom, I guess it’s still too cold.
I used the largest die in the Wonky Stitched Rectangles STAX die set from My Favorite Things to turn my colored piece into a panel with a fun detail along the border. then adhered it to a panel of Butterccup cardstock from Concord & 9th, which I in turn adhered to a top fold white card base created from Stamper’s Select White cardstock from Papertrey Ink.
I couldn’t find the right shade of purple in my cardstock collection, so for the sentiment, I colored a scrap piece of X-Press It with one of the colors I used on the florals. I let it dry, then stamped and white heat embossed a sentiment from the 
I decided to keep it very simple, only adding a few Iridescent Dew Drops from Pinkfresh Studio to embellish. There are a few different colors in the mix, I chose a few of the purple ones. I did also come in with a black Glaze pen from Sakura to add a touch of dimension and shine to the eyes. It doesn’t really show up in the photos, but you can definitely see it in real life.
I colored the image with Copics, adding a simple free hand background of a couple of hills with a few trees, a path for the bunny to walk on and some blades of grass in front. My original plan wasn’t a scene at all, I had planned to add a big Happy Easter die cut, but changed my mind and added the hills and sky instead. I think this looks better than what I had planned.
I used the largest die in the A2 Stitched Rectangles STAX 1 set from My Favorite Things to create a little bit of interest along the perimeter of my panel. I stamped the word spring from the 
I die cut the word HAPPY from the Birthday Script die set from Kristina Werner three times from Stamper’s Select White cardstock from Papertrey Ink (the same cardstock that I used for my card base, I love this cardstock) and stacked them. I adhered my stacked word above the stamped spring to complete my sentiment.
I decided to die cut tiny butterflies to use for embellishment. I didn’t have any cardstock in the color I wanted, so I colored scraps of X-Press It blending card with the same colors I used for the bunny’s outfit, before using the butterflies die from the Greenhouse Greetings die set from Concord & 9th (it’s a die set from the 2024 C9 summer camp). I scored my tiny butterflies down the body, adhered each of them with a tiny bit of glue and added Rosewater Jewel Drops from Tonic on the bodies of the butterflies to finish.
I actually didn’t start with the coloring on this one. I printed the image on a quarter sheet of X-Press It blending card, which is what I always use for Copic coloring. I put a circle mask on top of the penguin, then used the Hurra stencil from Create a smile and some inks from Concord & 9th to create my background. I used Sweet Pea, Clementine and Buttercup, creating a gradient between the three colors. Once I took the stencil off, the white of the background felt a bit stark, so I went in with the 1″ blender brushes from Pinkfresh Studio and did a soft blend of the background using the same three colors.
Once I removed the mask, it was time to color the penguin. I used Copics, went for a pretty bright palette and added a bit of black glaze pen to the eyes, then a dot with a white Sharpie on top once the black was dry. This gives the eyes a bit of shine.
I used the largest die in the Double Stitched Rectangles die set from My Favorite Things to cut my panel down slightly. It also adds a fun stitching detail to the edge. I then adhered my panel to a top fold card base I created from Stamper’s Select White cardstock from Papertrey Ink.
I used a sticker from Kort & Godt for my sentiment. I like my sentiments with some dimension, and to get dimension with stickers, I first use antistatic powder on the back to remove the stickyness, then add foam tape. I finished off the card very simply with some clear dew drops from Concord & 9th. There was so much color going on, I thought clear was the best option.
I used quite a few Copics for this, but that hat alone needed quite a few.
I colored the image with Copics on a piece of X-Press It blending card and nestled one of the sentiments in the little nook between the bunny and the egg. I die cut the panel using the largest die in the Stitched Rectangles STAX 1 set from My Favorite Things.
I adhered the panel directly onto a card base I created from Caribbean Sea prestige cardstock from My Favorite Things and finished off the card with a few dew drops from Concord & 9th. Simple, yet sweet, right?
Lots of pastels for this one.
I printed the image onto a piece of X-Press It blending card, adding a digital watercolor background behind the image before printing. I colored the image with Copics and opted for a warm yellow for the actual number and the book, an analogous color palette always works well.
I die cut the panel using the Postage Stamps infinity die set from Hero Arts, then stamped the sentiments from the Bursdagsbillett stamp set from by.cino (hipp hipp hurra) and the A06 stamp set from Norsk Stempelblad AS (det er din dag i dag) using Clover ink from Concord & 9th. I also used second generation stamping of a couple of the images from the CS0879 stamp set from Marianne Design in the corners of my large postage stamp. I mounted my postage panel onto a card base I created from Summer Sunrise cardstock from Papertrey Ink, then die cut and mounted the Hipp hipp hurra sentiment using the MSTN Say Anything die set from My Favorite Things, before finishing off the card with Clover and Honeycomb enamel dots from Concord & 9th, as well as a dot of a black Sakura Glaze pen to each eye for a little bit of shine and dimension.
Simple color palette for this one.
I used the Triangle Piercing die from C9 to cut into the card base. I then used Sulky metallic sewing thread in color 7003 and a size 26 tapestry needle for my stitching. I was initially planning on having the floral swag span the width of the card and adhering it directly to the stitched background with a sentiment below, but somehow it evolved into something else, I was just along for the ride. I trimmed a piece of Sea Glass cardstock to cover the bottom two rows of rectangles and adhered this to the card base, planning on adhering the flower where the panel ends. Then I found an already die cut frame (I realize now that this is the Classic Rectangle Frames die set from My Favorite Things) in my stash cut from Champagne cardstock from C9, which was the perfect size to add to the card.
I adhered the Juniper die cuts directly to the line that separates the Sea Glass from the card base, then mounted the Sea Glass ones on top, before finishing off with the flower on another layer of foam squares.
I die cut the word celebrate from Champagne cardstock from C9 using the Sweet Sentiments die set from Altenew. I die cut the shadow from white and mounted it on foam squares to make it float across the frame. I usually stack die cut words, but this gives a different look and worked better for this card. I finished very simply with a few champagne glitter drops from Pinkfresh Studio.
I stamped 
I colored Tofu and the sentiment with Copics, adding a black dot of Sakura Glaze pen to the eyes once the coloring was complete. This creates a tiny bit of dimension, as well as a bit of shine.
I used a Quickie glue pen to create a burst from the flame, then sprinkled on Rock Candy distress glitter. This adds a tiny bit of sparkle and some subtle texture.
To finish off, I added a 5 mm pom pom from Cousin DIY to the top of the party hat.
I used lots of Copics for this one. I wasn’t quite happy with the color of the cupcake liner or the party hat, but it is what it is. The card is still cute!
I started by stamping the word happy from the Happy Birthday Words stamp set from Kristina Werner onto five different colors of cardstock from Concord & 9th. I used Lakefront, Parsley, Buttercup, Sorbet and Carnation. I heat embossed them all with white embossing powder from Ranger and stacked the letters for dimension, choosing a different color on top for each. This gives a bit of a rainbow look from the side.
I cut a white panel to 3 1/2 x 4 7/8″ and used the Balloon Party stencil from My Favorite Things to add ink blended balloons in the background. I used the same ink colors as my cardstock colors for the letters, and added a gradient on each of the balloons, concentrating the color on the base of the balloon, then fading as you go up the balloon. I adhered my letters staggered onto the stenciled background.
I stamped and white heat embossed the word birthday from the All the birthdays stamp set from Concord & 9th onto a scrap of Black cardstock. I added a few extra layers of cardstock behind it, before adhering it near the bottom of the pink Y.
I cut slivers of the same colors of cardstock to create some interest on the card base. I like the beveled edge you get from die cutting as apposed to using a trimmer, which is why I used one of the frames in the A2 Thin Frames die set from Kristina Werner for this. I put a scrap of each color cardstock along the sides of the die for a bit of selective die cutting. It was then super easy to butt the strips up against each other. I adhered the strips horizontally across the card base, added foam tape to my panel and adhered it in the center of the card.