Tamara's Paper Trail

Tuesday, February 24, 2026

Sweet Bugs and a Sweet, Easy Card Layout! MCM Layout - Feb 23, 2026

Happy Tuesday! Not gunna lie ... motivation to get stuff done today is VERY low! I'll get there. Slowly, but surely. Not enough pressure, I figure. We ARE complicated creatures, aren't we?? lol

Last night was REALLY fun for me. I haven't done a MCM in 4 weeks, as I was on holidays and sworn off social media. It's HARD to get back into the daily grind for sure! Whilst I AM plodding along I have (so far) managed to stay fairly relaxed and "balanced". Maybe TOO relaxed ... is that a thing? lol.

If you popped in to watch last night you know that I CASEd a great little layout from the Canadian Field Success Manager, Genevieve Ko. A very easy, basic layout which of course, I spotted as a great one for our MCM get together. Genevieve used the Sweet Bugs Bundle. I changed a few minor things but they layout is hers. I then used the Lovely Arrangements bundle to use the same layout, showing the versatility of it. Here are the cards we made ....

The only "real" change I made was that I embossed the white layer, used a different die for the sentiment and switched up the embellishments. Quick, easy and oh so cute!

The Lovely Arrangements bundle is PERFECT for this layout, as the circle die cut is virtually the same size as Genevieve's DSP layer above. I used some Last Chance (retiring) embellishments, Streaked Dots, to "use what I've got". This one came together in just 15 minutes "on the fly".

If you want to make a card that is similar, here is the "recipe" of the pieces you need to prep ...

... and here is the Mystery Card Monday (MCM) Facebook Live replay, showing you how to put all the pieces together ...

Once again, a great layout for "quick and simple" but you can also add texture, layers and/or more die cuts/embellishments to jazz it up. My kind of card. I hope you try it!

So that's it for this week. If you would like to join me LIVE for my MCM (Mystery Card Monday) sessions, you can catch me on my FaceBook Page here at 7:00 pm Mountain Time every Monday ... or on my YouTube Channel here at the same time (I stream live to both). Like and Follow my FB Page and/or Subscribe to my YouTube Channel. I'd love to have you - the live community is AMAZING and so much fun!

If you live in Canada and would like to purchase any of the items I used for my cards, just click any of the pictures below and you will be taken to my Stampin' Up! online store. Thank you! I appreciate your support!

Stay amazing!

Tamara

Product List

Sweet Bugs Bundle (English)

[167002]

$64.75

Lovely Arrangements Bundle (English)

[167176]

$67.50

Cute As A Bug 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper

[166994]

$17.00

Lovely Blossoms 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper

[167168]

$17.00

Stylish Shapes Dies

[159183]

$41.00

Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[159276]

$18.00

Petal Pink 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[146985]

$20.00

Blackberry Bliss 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[133675]

$20.00

Crumb Cake 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[120953]

$20.00

Cloud Cover 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[165621]

$20.00

Mossy Meadow Classic Stampin' Pad

[147111]

$12.25

Secret Sea Classic Stampin' Pad

[165285]

$12.25

Old Olive Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

[154892]

$15.00

Blackberry Bliss Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

[154877]

$15.00

Cloud Cover Stampin’ Blends Combo Pack

[165287]

$15.00

Beautiful Pattern 3 D Embossing Folder

[167097]

$14.50

Streaked Dots

[165902]

$12.25

Early Espresso & Old Olive Linen Thread Pack

[165986]

$12.25

Baker's Twine Essentials Pack

[155475]

$15.00

Stampin' Dimensionals

[104430]

$6.00

Stampin' Seal

[152813]

$11.00

Bone Folder

[102300]

$11.00

Take Your Pick

[144107]

$16.50

Paper Trimmer

[152392]

$39.00

Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine

[149653]

$191.00

Tuesday, January 27, 2026

Card Sketch for the Win! MCM Layout Jan 26, 2026

Happy Tuesday! Once again, getting up at "the crack of stupid-o-clock" has its benefits ... namely, getting blog posts done lol.

I'm THRILLED with how the cards from Mystery Card Monday turned out! Look ....

When I first sat down to create I knew I wanted something quick and "duplicatable" ... so I turned to my page of Card Sketches for inspiration. This is the document I used ... and I chose the layout on the very bottom row, left side.

"Where can I get this document!?!", I hear you cry. It's from the Stampin' Up! Blog. Here is where you can download the template document. You just need to provide Stampin' Up! with your email and it will be sent directly to your inbox. I highly recommend it! It's a FANTASTIC resource for those times when you just need a little inspiration and/or "jumping off" point for designing a card. The template worked in my favour last night, for sure!

My first card uses the Woolly Friends Bundle along with the Easter Joy Specialty Designer Paper. The front sides of that particular paper is NOT my favourite ... but the BACK sides are great! That's one thing I really love about our papers - two sides to every piece; one side bold, the other side subtle.

I MUCH prefer the subtle pattern but both absolutely work! I love the Woolly Friends bundle for it's versatility - Just Because, Easter, Baby .... LOTS of options!

If you are newer to card making ... or are mass producing, you may want to keep the layout a bit more basic. To do that you can either leave the white layer UNembossed, or you can skip that layer entirely!

Want to "fancy it up" a bit? You know my rules of thumb: add layers, textures and/or embellishments. This is one "stepped up". I used the Lovely Arrangements Bundle and Lovely Blossoms paper. I added a layer to each of the patterned paper pieces that were 1/8" larger (2-ticks!). A few more die cuts and you have a "fancier" card that started with the same basic layout.

This next one uses the Endless Love Bundle and Made With Love Paper. Same layout. Same PATTERN. I added a layer of Real Red around the patterned Paper. I kept it quick by using our heart punch (which appears to be retired. I REALLY must stay on top of what is current lol), rather than the dies. Quick and easy!

Finally, I showed you that the layout can be INSPIRED by the card sketch, and doesn't have to follow it exactly. I had the pieces cut for this next one, using Brushed with Beauty DSP. I used a STRIP of embossed card stock (rather than a full sheet layer) and, instead of using a large circle for the focal point, I used die cut words and two smaller circles. The sketch was just a starting point that got my creative juices flowing. Amend as you like!