Handmade Paper Flowers Card with Distress Oxide – A Soft, Textured A6 Set

 Hello and welcome back to my creative corner. 

Today I’m sharing a new card project that felt like a little return to the things I truly love in crafting. And if you’d like to see the full process, I’ve also prepared a step‑by‑step tutorial on my YouTube channel, where I show exactly how this card and the matching A6 box come together.

There’s something special about revisiting techniques you haven’t used in a while, and this time it was handmade paper flowers. I started with the background, because that’s always the part that sets the tone. Soft colours, gentle blending, and a touch of texture - such a simple combination, but it always creates a beautiful base. And of course, I used my favourite Distress Oxide inks. They blend so smoothly and give that velvety finish I adore.

The flowers were definitely the heart of this project. I haven’t worked with handmade paper for a long time, and I forgot how lovely it is. It’s soft, flexible, and shapes so naturally that every petal ends up looking slightly different - just like real flowers. Forming each petal by hand is one of those calming moments that remind me why I enjoy making flowers so much.

To bring everything together, I added an oval frame that gently anchors the composition without overwhelming it. For the box, I chose a different stencil pattern so the set feels coordinated but not identical. I like when the card and the box complement each other while still having their own personality.

This project came together slowly and pleasantly, layer by layer, until everything found its place. It reminded me how much joy there is in the process itself - not just in the finished piece, but in every quiet moment of creating.

Used materials (Craft & You Design):

• CW340 Die – Tulip – handmade paper flowers
• SC009 Stencil – Ferns – card background
• SC016 Stencil – Chevron pattern – box background
• CW324 Die – Oval Doily – frame
• Distress Oxide – colouring and blending

Full tutorial here:

Thank you for stopping by
Natalia x

Bright & Beautiful – Floral “Hi There” Card

Hello everyone! 

Some projects come together so effortlessly, and this one definitely felt like that. I reached for the Bright & Beautiful collection again, this time playing with the Just a Little Note clear stamps & dies bundle. The floral elements in this set have such a lovely flow to them - perfect for building a soft, welcoming focal point.

I stamped and die‑cut all the pieces first, then coloured everything with Distress Oxides. I love how the inks blend on the flowers and leaves, giving them that slightly textured, hand‑painted look. Once the colours were down, the whole wreath started to feel alive and full of movement.

To keep the design clean, I placed the sentiment in the centre and let the florals frame it naturally. A few tiny details around the background helped tie everything together without taking attention away from the main cluster.

It’s a simple card, but full of colour, warmth and that gentle handmade charm I always enjoy creating.

Send HUGS,
Natalia

Bright & Beautiful – Butterfly Shutter Circle Card

 Hello all,

Some days I just feel like playing with colour, and this card came straight out of one of those moments. I reached again for the Bright & Beautiful collection, because the shapes and textures in this release make it so easy to build something fun and uplifting.

The Shutter Circle in/out dies were the starting point - I love how they frame the centre without feeling heavy. From there, I blended Distress Oxides through the Boho Circles and the Boho Petals layering stencils, letting the colours overlap and create those soft transitions. It gave the background a lovely mix of movement and pattern.

The butterfly from the Sending Love stamp set felt like the perfect focal point. I coloured it entirely with Distress Oxides too, so everything ties together in the same soft, inky style. To finish the card, I added a simple sentiment cut with the Sentiment Strip Craft Die, keeping the whole design light and cheerful.

It’s a bright, happy card with lots of texture and a playful mix of shapes - exactly the kind of project that reminds me why I love this hobby.

With love,
Natalia

Cute Birthday Party Card New Polkadoodles Stamps & Dies

 Hello everyone!

I’m back with another project from the brand‑new Polkadoodles release, and today I’m sharing a sweet and cheerful Birthday Party card. This release has been such a joy to create with - full of fun, cute elements and so many possibilities for mixing stamps, dies and stencils.

For this card, I used the Party Fun A6 stamps & dies, which include the cutest birthday icons. I coloured the cupcake, the gift, the ice cream and the tropical drink, then arranged them inside four scalloped panels to build a playful little party grid. Each image has its own space, but together they create a lovely, cohesive birthday theme.

For the background, I reached for the Celebrate Layering Stencils x4 A5 from the same release. They add a soft, layered texture that fills the space beautifully without taking attention away from the main images. I love how the subtle letters and shapes peek through and tie the whole design together.

This release really shines when you start combining all the elements - the stamps, outline dies and stencils work so well together, making it easy to build fun, colourful scenes. I’m having such a great time exploring all the pieces and I can’t wait to share more inspiration soon.

Thank you for stopping by today. I hope this happy little card brings you a smile and inspires your next birthday make! 

Natalia xxx

New Polkadoodles Release – Celebrate Die, Stamps & Stencils + My Colourful Birthday Card

 Hello everyone!

Today I’m sharing a bright and happy birthday card created with the brand‑new Celebrate die from the latest Polkadoodles release - and I’m so excited because this collection goes live today!

This release is full of beautiful new products:
✨ three stamp sets,
✨ two die sets (including the Celebrate die I used here),
✨ and a range of new stencils perfect for backgrounds, layering and adding extra texture to your projects.

For my project, I started by making a colourful, loose watercolor background. I originally created it just to cut the letters out, and once I saw how pretty the colours looked inside the die‑cut shapes, I knew I had to turn it into a full tutorial. I backed the letters with foam to give them that chunky, dimensional look - almost like a chipboard piece - and it works beautifully with the soft, blended colours in the background.

I’ll be sharing the full step‑by‑step video on my YouTube channel, where I also repeat the background technique when creating the frame. It’s a simple design, but the colours and layers make it feel really joyful and perfect for any celebration.

If you’d like to see more inspiration with the new release, make sure to check out the Polkadoodles website and the rest of the design team - there’s so much creativity in this collection and I can’t wait to play with the stamps and stencils next.

Full tutorial here: 

Thank you for stopping by, and I hope this colourful card brings a bit of brightness to your day! 💛

Sending HUGS!
Natalia x

Bright & Beautiful – Shutter Circle Card Inspiration

 Hello my lovely crafty friends,

Today I’m sharing another project made with the Bright & Beautiful collection, this time built around some of my favourite dies from the release. I started with the Shutter Circle in/out dies, which create such a fun focal point and give the whole card a lovely layered look. To bring in more movement and texture, I used the Boho Circles 4 x Layering Emboss‑Ink Stencil Set, blending everything with Distress Oxides for those soft, dreamy transitions.

For the details, I added delicate elements from the Leafy Flourish dies and the sweet little hearts from the Heart String dies. The sentiment comes from the Just a Little Note clear stamps - simple, but it fits perfectly with the gentle feel of the card.

Every piece is coloured with Distress Oxides, which ties all the layers together and keeps the palette cohesive and soft. It’s a light, airy card with lots of texture and a pretty mix of shapes - such a joy to put together.

With love,
Natalia

Thinking of You Card with Boho Perfect Poppies Stencil Background Polkadoodles Inspiration

 Hello and welcome back!

Today I’m sharing another card created with one of the backgrounds made using the Boho Perfect Poppies x 3 Layering Emboss‑Ink Stencil Set from Polkadoodles. This time I went for a warm, sunny colour palette - yellow, orange and soft blue - and I love how cheerful and uplifting this pattern feels once it covers the whole panel.

For the focal point, I added a simple tag with a red heart, a tiny bow and a clean sentiment label. It’s a small detail, but it brings a lovely contrast to the busy floral background and keeps the whole design light and friendly. This card has a soft “thinking of you” vibe, perfect for sending a little kindness someone’s way.

If you’d like to see how this card looks up close, you can watch a quick YouTube Shorts video where I show the finished design and the background in action.

Working with this stencil set is always fun - the three layers let you build the pattern step by step, and every colour combination gives a completely different mood. I’ll be sharing more cards made with these backgrounds soon.

Products used:
Boho Perfect Poppies x 3 Layering Emboss‑Ink Stencil Set — Polkadoodles

Thanks so much for stopping by - see you in the next post!

Natalia x

Amazing Card with the Boho Perfect Poppies Stencil Background

 Hello everyone!

Today I’m sharing another card made with one of the backgrounds I created using the Boho Perfect Poppies x 3 Layering Emboss‑Ink Stencil Set from Polkadoodles. This time I went for a bold colour palette - deep purple with yellow and white details - and I love how striking this pattern looks once it’s repeated across the whole panel.

To finish the card, I added a layered focal point with textured leaves, a bright flower and two soft purple hearts. The black sentiment label brings everything together and adds a clean contrast against the colourful background. It’s a simple design, but the combination of colours and layers makes it feel really special.

If you enjoy working with stencils or you’re looking for new background ideas, this set is such a fun one to experiment with. You can keep it simple with ink blending or try more textured techniques - every version looks completely different.

More cards using these backgrounds are coming soon, along with quick Shorts showing how each one was made.

Products used:
Boho Perfect Poppies x 3 Layering Emboss‑Ink Stencil Set — Polkadoodles

Sending HUGS!

Natalia

Sending Love – Valentine’s Day Inspiration

 Hello my lovely crafty friends,

With Valentine’s Day here, I wanted to share a bright and cheerful card created with the Bright & Beautiful release from Polkadoodles. For this project, I used the Sending Love clear stamps & outline dies bundle, which includes the sweetest little birds and heart elements - perfect for a soft, romantic design.

The background combines Distress Oxides with the Chevron 2 x Layering Emboss‑Ink Stencil Set, and I added a soft layer of pink texture using the Butter stencil to bring in that extra touch of warmth and movement. All the stamped images are coloured with alcohol markers, giving the birds their vibrant tones and making the whole scene feel lively and full of personality.

It’s a simple Valentine’s card, but full of colour, sweetness and that handmade charm that makes these little projects so special.

With love,
Natalia

Layered Heart Card with the Boho Perfect Poppies Stencil Background Polkadoodles Inspiration

 Hello and welcome back to my creative corner!

Today I’m sharing a card made with one of the backgrounds I created using the Boho Perfect Poppies x 3 Layering Emboss‑Ink Stencil Set from Polkadoodles. This stencil set has quickly become one of my favourites - the three separate layers (flowers, stems and leaves) make it so easy to build a full pattern and play with colour in endless ways.

For this card, I chose a bright red and blue background and paired it with a soft layered heart in the centre. I added a striped heart on top and finished everything with a clean black sentiment label. It’s a simple design, but the bold background really brings the whole card to life and makes the sentiment stand out beautifully.

If you’d like to see how this card came together, you can watch a quick YouTube Shorts video and a long video where I show the finished look and the background in action.

If you enjoy working with layered stencils or you’re looking for new background ideas, this set is such a fun one to experiment with. You can keep it simple with ink blending or try more textured techniques - every version looks completely different.

More cards using these backgrounds are coming soon, along with more Shorts showing each design.

Products used:
Boho Perfect Poppies x 3 Layering Emboss‑Ink Stencil Set - Polkadoodles

Thanks for stopping by today - see you in the next post!

Natalia

Three Ways to Use a Layered Stencil for Colourful Backgrounds

 Hello everyone!

Today I’m sharing something a little different but so much fun - three backgrounds created with one stencil set that actually comes in three separate parts. You get a flower layer, a stem layer, and a leaf layer, which means you can build the whole pattern step by step and play with colours in so many ways.

At the beginning of the video, I walk you through the stencil itself and show how the pieces line up. Then I share the first background I created off‑camera — a simple ink‑blended panel in pink and green, made by blending through all three layers. I’m also adding a quick look at the same pattern in a red and blue colour combination, because this design works beautifully in so many different palettes.

After that, we move into the main part of the tutorial, where I create two more backgrounds using completely different techniques. It’s always amazing to see how much variety you can get from one stencil set, and these two approaches give the pattern a totally new feel.

Link for the stancil: 

Boho Perfect Poppies x 3 Layering Emboss-ink stencil set 

I hope this inspires you to revisit some of your layered stencils and try a few new ideas with them.
In the next short videos I’ll show you how to turn these backgrounds into quick, simple cards - perfect when you want something easy but still eye‑catching.

See you soon,
Natalia