Hello!
Happy Wednesday to you!
Crafting Sunshine: My First Blog Post of 2026
Happy New Year and welcome to my first blog post of 2026.
Finding Sunshine on a Gray Day
It’s cold and gray here in central Ohio today, so I decided to craft myself a little sunshine.
Gathering My Craft Supplies
To bring some brightness to my day, I reached for two wonderful products I received as Christmas gifts: The Altenew Garden Cosmos Layering Die Set and the Luminious Diamond Rings Background Stencil, both from Altenew. I paired these with my beautiful Blending Inks from Lisa Horton Crafts to create something cheerful.
Creating the Background
I began by inking the stencil with Peanut Glow Colour Shift Blending ink. I applied the ink more heavily toward the bottom of my A2-sized panel and used a lighter hand as I moved upward. This created a lovely gradient effect for the background.
Once the panel was inked, I glued it to the front of a top-folding A2 card base, preparing the perfect canvas for my floral elements.
Designing and Coloring the Florals
I die cut the floral pieces from white card stock, then colored them using Picked By Paula Matt Blending inks in Georgia Moss and Gaugin Grapefruit—both by Lisa Horton Crafts. This gave the flowers a vibrant and fresh look.
For the leaves, I die cut them from green card stock, choosing the Summer White Core card stock from Lisa Horton Crafts for a natural touch.
Assembling the Card
Following the instructions on the back of the Die Set packaging, I assembled the flowers and arranged them on the inked panel. To add dimension, I used both glue and foam squares to attach the floral elements to the card front.
I completed my sunshine card by adding pearl embellishments, giving it a finishing touch of elegance.
Share Your Sunshine
I hope you’ll take some time to craft yourself a little bit of sunshine to share. Feel free to share your creations in the comments—I’d love to see your creativity in action.
This Week’s Card
Here’s the card I created using these products.
Super simple, incredibly easy, and very elegant. I hope you’ll give it a try. The color combinations you can use to make this card are endless. Happy crafting!!
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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Thank you for stopping by.
I hope to be back on Wednesday, January 7th with another fun card to share, and I hope you’ll join me.
Until next time,
Live Graciously!
Wow, what a cheerful and inspiring guide! I love how you turn a gray day into a burst of sunshine with your card-making. The way you layered inks and added dimensional florals really makes the design pop—it feels so lively and joyful. I appreciate how you break down each step in such a clear, approachable way; even someone like me, who’s usually more of a “watch first, then try” type, can follow along without feeling overwhelmed. Your suggestions for color gradients and finishing touches like pearls are simple yet make a huge difference.
As someone who often travels and needs smooth documentation, I also can relate to the joy of planning carefully—just like crafting a card, having the right steps and guidance makes everything easier. I usually rely on GovAssist (https://www.facebook.com/govassist) as my expert guide, and reading posts like yours reminds me how much clarity and preparation matter, whether for travel or crafting. Thanks for sharing such a warm, uplifting project—it’s the kind of creativity that brightens the day and inspires others to give it a try!