Alex Syberia Designs August Release: Happy Cuties and Peony Corners | Blog Hop & Giveaway

 Hello, crafty friends!  Today is Alex Syberia Designs' August Release day!  We are celebrating with a blog hop filled with lots of inspiration for this wonderful new release!  You can check out all of the wonderful products in the Happy Cuties and Peony Corners release over in the Alex Syberia Designs shop.

Of course, there are prizes!  Alex Syberia Designs is giving away a $15 or £15 gift card to three lucky winners.

This giveaway is open internationally.  All three winners will be selected from entrants who take part in the blog hop by 11:59 BST on August 16, 2026.  The winners will be announced on the 'Giveaway Winners' page of the Alex Syberia Designs blog on August 17, 2026.

The blog hop order is below. Be sure to at each stop for more fabulous inspiration and leave comments for more chances to win.

Now on to my card that features the new Mermaid Kitties stamp set and coordinating dies!

First I created the underwater background for my Mermaid Kitties images.  I started out with the new Glistening Water stencil and white cardstock.  I used two shades of blue ink and blending brushes to color through the stencil.

I replaced the Glistening Water stencil with the Sun Rays stencil.  I turned it so the rays appeared to be coming from above the water and were shining down through the water.  I used a palette tool to spread some transparent glossy texture paste through the stencil.  I removed the stencil and used my fingers to lightly sprinkle some clear glitter onto the wet paste.  Then I set the panel aside to dry.

Next I stamped three of these cute Mermaid Kitties and the shells and sea grass with Copic marker safe black ink.  After I finished coloring the images I cut them all out with the coordinating dies.

Once the stencil and textured panel was dry, I wanted to make the sun rays stand out more.  I placed the Sun Rays stencil over the panel again and used blending brushes to add more of the same ink colors.  Then I glued the panel to an A2 card base.

I used foam adhesive and glue to adhere the Mermaid Kitties images to the card.  There are two small bubble stamps in the Mermaid Kitties stamp set and I placed them, one at a time, onto a small stamp block and stamped them around the images with two shades of the blue inks.

The sentiments are three of the seven included in the Mermaid Kitties stamp set.  I stamped them with black pigment ink and cut them out with the Mermaid Kitties dies.

This was so fun to make!  There are also six more adorable Mermaid Kitties included in this set.  If you want to see more of this release, check out all of the goodies in Alex Syberia Designs' shop!

Here is the blog hop order!  Stop by to see more and comment for chances to win on of the three gift cards!

Blog Hop Order:

Alex Syberia Designs

Bobbi

Brenda

Carol <<<that's me!

Hanh

Keisha

Lea

Martin

Mona

Nicoletta
Samantha

Sylvie

I always appreciate you using my affiliate links to shop (never any additional cost to you)!

Congrats Card with Watercoloring, Texture Paste, and Stencils

Hello crafty friends!  Today I'm sharing my heat embossed and watercolored card I made with the gorgeous Perfect Peonies stamp set and Honey Cuts.

First I used a piece of the pink cardstock from the Hive Hues Garden Party cardstock pack.  I trimmed it to 4-¼" x 5-½" and then placed the Geometric stencil from the Luxurious Lines stencil set over the panel.

I spread some transparent matte texture paste through the stencil, applying it just to two corners.  I set it aside to dry and immediately cleaned up the stencil and the pallet tool.

When the texture paste had dried, I added just a bit of coordinating ink with an ink blending brush.  Then I added splatters with a very diluted solution of the same paint I used on the flowers.

Next I stamped one of the gorgeous florals from the Perfect Peonies stamp set with clear embossing ink onto Bristol Smooth cardstock.  Note:  I treated the cardstock panel with an anti-static pouch before stamping.

Then I added silver embossing powder over the stamped image and used my heat tool to set the powder.

Now let me tell you, my watercoloring skills are not very strong.  Therefore, I tried to keep the watercoloring very simple by first applying my lightest shade of color first.  After that dried I went in with a darker concentration of that same color to add just a bit of dimension.

Once my watercoloring had dried I cut it out with the coordinating Perfect Peonies die.  I added foam tape to the back to pop it up on the card front and trimmed off any leaves that were over the edges of the card.

The sentiment is one of six included with the Perfect Peonies stamp set.  After I heat embossed it in silver on white cardstock, I cut it out with the coordinating die.

I added a few coordinating Pastel Pearl Stickers around the sentiment and floral for a touch of bling.

I hope I've inspired you to try your hand at this simple watercoloring style!  It was actually very enjoyable for me.  Thank you so much for stopping by today!  Be sure to check out my reel I will have later today on my Instagram!

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You're My Queen Of Hearts Valentine Card

Hello crafty friends! Today I'm sharing my vintage Valentine card that features Honey Bee Stamps' beautiful Queen of Hearts stamp set. This set is made from red rubber and I totally love the crisp stamped image you get! You can also stamp the entire piece all at one time!

First I worked on my stenciled background. I inked up a 4" x 5-¼" piece of white cardstock with three pink Distress Oxide Ink colors. For my ombre pattern I used Picked Raspberry, Kitsch Flamingo, and Spun Sugar.

After using my heat tool to dry the ink a bit, I placed one of the two Scattered Hearts stencil over the inked panel. I added Picked Raspberry Oxide ink through the stencil with an ink blending brush.

Before I added the texture paste with the second stencil, I stamped the four hearts in the Queen of Hearts set with the pink Distress Oxides randomly over the panel.

Next I placed the second Scattered Hearts stencil over the panel. Then I added some pretty Frosted Petal Glacier Paste through the stencil with a palette knife. I carefully removed the stencil and set piece aside to dry.

Next I stamped the Queen of Hearts girl with Intense Black ink onto white cardstock. (Did you know that the Queen of Hearts set is made so you can use all of the images separately?) Next I colored her with my Copic markers. I used these colors:

• dress: C5, C3, C1, C00
• parasol & other pink elements: R39, RV25, RV06, RV04, RV02, RV10, RV00
• hair: E59, E57, E55
• leaves/grass: G17, G25
• skin: E11, E51, E50

I used glue to adhere the dry stenciled panel to an A2 folded card base.

Next I cut out the Queen of Hearts with the coordinating Honey Cut. I added foam dots to the back to pop it up on the A2 card.

I stamped extra hearts from the Queen of Hearts with Picked Raspberry Oxide ink and cut them out with the coordinating dies. I used foam squares to adhere them to the card.

The sentiment is also another separate stamp in the Queen of Hearts stamp set. It is stamped with black ink and cut out with the coordinating die.

Since I was thinking her pretty white dress would have a sparkly overlay in real life, I used a clear glitter pen to add lots of sparkles on her dress!

I hope you've found some inspiration today for your card making!  Be sure to check out the entire Perfect Match release for other fun themed products.  Thank you for stopping by!!

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Anniversary Card With Stencils and Watercolor

Hello Honey Bee friends! Have you been loving the new Vintage Love release as much as I have? Today my anniversary card features the gorgeous Blooming View stamps and coordinating dies. I absolutely love the florals, but also the window which has so many possibilities with other sets too!

I started by using a fun stenciling technique for my A2 card background. I trimmed a piece of paper from the new Textiles & Texture: Vintage paper pad to 4-¼" x 5-½". Then I lightly sprayed the back of the Vintage Flourish stencil with Pixie Spray. This is a beautifully detailed stencil and the spray will keep the small parts of the stencil secure.

Next I used a pallet knife to spread some transparent matte texture paste through the stencil. I removed the stencil and immediately washed it and the knife. When the piece was dry, I used an ink blending brush to add some very light brown ink over the entire piece. This makes the detail of the stencil pop! Check out this photo I took about half way through the process.

You can really see what a difference the ink makes. (The ink wasn't thoroughly dry and is much lighter after some time.) I adhered the panel to my A2 card base with glue.

Next I stamped the images from the Blooming View stamp set with clear embossing ink onto Bristol Smooth cardstock. I added gold embossing powder and heat set it.

Then I used various watercolors from my stash to color the florals. I used a gold metallic watercolor on the window. Tip: Use a scrap piece of Bristol to experiment and combine colors to find what you like. This prevents me from making a color mistake on the actual piece.

I die cut all of the dry pieces with the coordinating Blooming View dies. I love that the window has two dies! I used the outer die to cut a piece of vellum to fit behind the window and used glue to adhere it to the card.

The gold embossed sentiment is one of several in the Blooming View stamp set and is cut out with the coordinating die. I used foam dots and narrow foam tape strips to adhere the florals and sentiment to the card.

This was a super fun technique to used with patterned paper and stencils! I hope you've enjoyed my card making process and have found inspiration here! Thank you so much for stopping by!

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Welcome To The Neighborhood!

Hello crafty friends!  Today I'm sharing my card featuring Honey Bee Stamps Spring Wreath stamps and dies, along with a textured brick background.  Our neighborhood is a newer one and the home next door is about finished so I'm going to need a card to give to our new neighbors! I love giving a handmade card to new neighbors along with a plate of fresh baked cookies! I think it adds a personal touch and is a great way to share your creativity!

I made the background panel first so it would have time to dry. First I added color to my texture paste by mixing in a couple drops of Lost Shadow Distress Ink refill.  (If you don't have the refill, you can smoosh the ink pad onto your mat.)  Just put the drops on your craft mat, scoop out your texture paste and mix it up. I used a palette knife to spread the paste through the Salvaged Bricks stencil on a piece of 80# Neenah.

Next I stamped all of the images from the Spring Wreath stamp set onto 80# Neenah with Intense Black ink. I always stamp all of the images of a set so that I will have all of the options available for my card. I used my Copic markers to color the images. These are the colors I used:

• pink flowers: RV09, RV06, RV04, RV02
• blue flowers: BV08, BV04, BV02
• flower centers: Y19, Y08
• leaves: G24, G43, YG61

I cut the images out with the coordinating Spring Wreath Honey Cuts. I added foam tape to the back of the wreath and four of the small flowers. I'll save the other pieces for another project.

The sentiment is from the No Place Like Home set and stamped in Intense Black ink. I die cut it with the coordinating Honey Cut. I added foam tape strips just to the middle part of the sentiment since part of it will overlap the wreath.

Next I trimmed the Salvaged Brick panel to 4" x 5-¼". I used Bee Creative glue to adhere it to a coordinating gray cardstock A2 card base.

Then I removed the backing of the foam tape and adhered the wreath, flowers, and sentiment to the card.

Tinting texture paste for stencils is one of my most favorite techniques to do!  Have you tried this technique?  It's so fun!  Thank you so much for stopping by today!

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Congratulations Card with Floral Wreath

 Hello friends!  Today my card features Rubbernecker Stamps beautiful Floral Wreath set with the coordinating Floral Wreath stencil set.

First I created the stenciled background layer.  I add white opaque texture paste through the Tree Branch stencil, sprinkled it with glitter and set it aside to dry.

Next I added Color Fuse inks through the Floral Wreath stencils.   I used Fern, Juniper, Clover, Lavender Orchid and Magenta ink colors.  Then I used my MISTI to stamp the Floral Wreath outline stamp with Versamark and heat set it after sprinkling on silver embossing powder.  I cut the wreath out with the coordinating Floral Wreath die.

The silver heat embossed sentiment is a stamp from the Best Friends, Etc. set.  I trimmed it into a strip with fish tail ends.

I die cut the largest Nested Deckle Rectangle die from 80# Neenah, added thin foam tape to the back and adhered it to an A2 card base.

I added thin foam tape to all of the other elements and adhered them all to the card.

This beautiful card looks like a lot of work, but in reality it's so much easier to make than it looks!  If you plan ahead and stencil the texture paste ahead of time, it's super quick!

I always appreciate you stopping by, and I thank you!

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I'll Always Be There For You! -- A Mixed Media Background Card

Hello crafty friends!  Today I'm sharing a card featuring Rubbernecker Stamps beautiful new Layered Daisy Bouquet stamp set.  I've created a mixed media background to show off these pretty flowers.  Read on for the details!

First I created my background on a 4" x 5-¼" piece of watercolor cardstock.

• Using a brayer, I swiped on two shades of yellow ink onto the watercolor cardstock.  I used Lemon and Autumn from the Color Fuse #1 set.
• I let that dry, then added some random stamping with the French Script background stamp and Amaretto ink.
• Next I sprayed the back of the Leaf Stencil with Pixie spray.
• Then I spread some texture paste through the stencil.  I didn't cover the entire stencil, but just applied the paste here and there.
• When the piece was dry, I used a glue pen to add glitter to the dry texture paste.

Next I stamped the outline stamp of several of the flowers and leaves from the Layered Daisy Bouquet set in black ink.  Then I used the included layering guide to stamp each layer with blue ink from Color Fuse #7.  For the leaves I used Color Fuse #10.  I fussy cut the images and arranged them on my card with glue and some with foam tape.

I stamped the sentiment from the Layered Daisy Bouquet set in black ink.  I popped it up with foam tape for more dimension.

This was super fun to make!  I like how the texture paste absorbs some of the yellow inks to create a subtly textured background!  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Keeping Christmas Blog Hop - August 2020

How can it be August 25 already?!!  I don't know where the time goes!  Haha!  Well, that does mean it's time for more Christmas card inspiration from the talented gals in the Keeping Christmas Blog hop!  Check out the hop list below.

I have a couple of fun and quick cards I made using this cool ornament stencil called Striped Baubles.  This is from a small company in Dallas called A Colorful Life Designs.  I discovered this company when I was visiting a crafty Facebook group and someone used the most beautiful cloud stencil (which evidently has gone viral) and it really is awesome!  (I have no affiliate with them, but I do love being a crafty enabler!  LOL!)  Anyway, back to the cards,  I do enjoy stencils with glitter paste, embossing paste and all the fun pastes out there.  I did make a few more backgrounds but ran out of time to finish in time for the post (you can see a peek of them below.)  Here are the two cards I did finish.

My first card is embossing with metallic gold embossing paste. After I die cut the panel with a stitched rectangle die I blended on some Candied Apple and Black Soot Distress ink on the card stock panel.  I heat embossed the sentiment in gold on some heavyweight vellum.  I added some foam tape to pop it up on the card base.  I added a few gem stickers and it was done!  Except for the drying time, these are quick cards to make.

For the next card I added Nuvo Glimmer garnet red glitter paste on gold foil card stock.  I've had this beautiful sentiment from Impression Obsession for a number of years and still love it.  I just checked and they still have it at THIS link.  I die cut it twice from white card stock and once from gold mirror card stock.  I adhered the layers and added it to a vellum oval.

These backgrounds are so fun to make with pastes.  I still haven't tried inking it up with dye inks and I think I'll be doing that soon!

Thank you so much for stopping by!  Now go check out the other, what I know will be, amazing cards from the other ladies!

Hop list:

Kelly Lunceford (Creator)

 

Claire Broadwater 

 

Lori Tecler

 

Nance Salkeld 

 

Nina Forsyth

 

Marybeth Lopez

 

Nancy Penir

 

Carol Hintermeier

Bright & Cheery Thanks! | Honey Bee Stamps

Hello my friends!  I love bright colors, stenciling and texture paste and this cheerful card sure covers that!  I've used Honey Bee Stamps awesome Flower Builder background stencils for my card, along with a few other stamp and die sets.

These are the steps for the stenciled background:

• First, I sprayed the back of both stencils from the Flower Builder background stencil set with Pixie Spray.  This makes stenciling SO easy!
• I put the flower petal stencil onto a piece of Neenah Solar White card stock and blended Squeezed Lemonade Distress Oxide ink through it with a Background Blender brush.
• Next I lined up the flower center stencil.  These stencils have etched lines on them that are A2 sized and make it very easy to line up the layers.  I inked Ground Espresso Oxide with a Blender Brush.
• The next step is to put the flower petal stencil back over the flowers and then spread some clear glossy texture paste through the stencil.  I used some that I've had in my stash forever!
• Set this aside to dry.
• When the piece was dry, I used a blender brush and green ink to color the background.  How fun is it that the clear texture paste resists the ink?!  Once I finished the inking, I used a dry clean towel to buff the green ink off of the flowers.

For the dimensional flowers I repeated the stenciling steps above with the Distress Oxide inks, but no texture paste this time.  I lined up the Flower Petal Cover Plate die with the flowers and ran it through my die cutting machine.  I picked out a few flowers to use and inked up the edges of them with Mustard Seed Distress Oxide for dimension.  Then I used some flower shaping tools to form them into a cupped shape.  I used a leafy branch die from the Spring Bouquets die set to die cut several branches from white card stock.  I used my Copics to color them to coordinate and shaped them with the flower shaping tools.  I found some brown sparkly stuff in my stash and added it to the centers for a touch of sparkle.

To assemble the card, I trimmed the stenciled piece to a  5-¼" x 4" and die cut a rectangle in the center of it with an A2 Double Stitched Frames die.  Adhere this to a top folding card base.  I die cut a sentiment from the Grateful Heart die set cutting the "thanks" three times and adhered the layers together.  I die cut the shadow for it from black card stock and adhered the letters to it.  I love this die and the beautiful font!  Before I adhered the leaves, flowers and Thanks, I needed to position them all so I could decide where to stamp the rest of the sentiment.  After I arranged them and the Thanks, without gluing, I took a photo of my arrangement to remember it.  Then I did stamp surgery on the sentiment from the Grateful Hearts stamp set, and positioned those.  I set the card into my MISTI, removed the floral pieces and picked up the stamps with the MISTI door.  I used Versafine Onyx Black ink to stamp it.

  Now it's just a matter of using the photo and adhering the flowers, leaves and Thanks into place--I could fiddle with this for a long time--LOL!  I didn't need to since I had taken the photo and need to remember to do this more often!

I hope that you've enjoyed my bright and cheerful card today!  Stay safe--stay crafty!!

Supplies:

Honey Bee Stamps products:

Flower Builder background stencils
Background Blender Brushes

Flower Petal Cover Plate die

A2 Double Stitched Frames

Grateful Heart stamps and dies

Spring Bouquets dies (for the leafy branch)

Other supplies:
Pixie Spray

Distress Oxide Inks:  Squeezed Lemonade, Ground Espresso, Mustard Seed
Heartfelt Creations Flower Shaping Essentials Kit