Meet Your Hosts
Justine Hovey
Laurel Beard
Laurel Beard is a cardmaker who believes creativity shouldn’t be complicated. On her YouTube channel (80K+ subscribers), she shares fun, approachable tutorials, and as host of the Stress Free Cardmaking Summit, she helps crafters rediscover the joy of making simple, meaningful cards.
Meet Your Speakers
Alicia McNamara
Alicia McNamara lives on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia. She is married and has two precious boys (13 Years old and 8 Years old). Alicia is a Primary Teacher turned Homeschooling Mum and passionate crafter.
Alicia began card making approximately seventeen years ago and started scrapbooking around eleven years ago. Her work has been featured in the Australian Cardmaking Stamping and Papercraft Magazine, Kaisercraft Workshop Magazines, and Creative Papercraft Magazine. She has also been an ambassador for several popular scrapbooking companies.
Alicia currently designs her own scrapbooking and card making kits and printables. She delights in crafting on a budget, finding quick and efficient methods, and is passionate about sharing her love for crafting with others.
Alyce Keegan
Alyce Keegan is the founder of Kit and Clowder Colouring Classes, an award-winning company with a community of over 30,000 colourists worldwide. With a background in Art Therapy, Alyce focuses on self-care, confidence, and creativity, encouraging you to step outside your comfort zone, embrace mistakes, and release perfectionism. Her classes include free private tutoring and are broken down into simple beginner steps, making them perfect for all skill levels. Proceeds from class sales support free workshops for the Queensland Children’s Hospital and Cancer Council, providing access to art therapy for those in need. Join the community at http://www.kitandclowder.com or http://www.facebook.com/groups/kitandclowder.
ARDYTH
Ardyth is a talented cardmaker from Toronto, Canada, known for her ability to capture the essence of any inspiration piece using supplies she already owns. To help fellow creators achieve inspired results without simply copying, she developed the LIMES method, a fun, easy-to-remember five-step checklist. This innovative approach offers structure without limits, and allows crafters to use what they have (along with their imagination!) to create cards that truly shine!
Debbie Jenkins
Debbie J is the vibrant personality behind Debbie J’s Crafting Corner. With a passion for clean and simple designs, Debbie brings her unique flair to the world of crafting.
However, Debbie J isn’t afraid to dive into new tools and techniques. From the hot foil to die cutting to betterpress, she’s created with them all.
And, Debbie’s philosophy is refreshingly simple: Crafting isn’t rocket-surgery! Through her upbeat attitude and encouragement, she inspires others to embrace their creativity and dive into the world of crafting with confidence.
Chanti Art Creations
Robin of Chanti Art Creations is all about peace, love, and creating. She has dabbled in scrapbooking for years and got into card making in the fall of 2021 through her desire of connecting with people of all different cultures. She wanted to make Christmas cards for her penpals around the world and went to YouTube for inspiration. The first video she watched was Laurel Beard. Since then she has watched multiple videos, taken parts in summits like these, and experimented in her own craft room. She finds so much beauty in diversity and believes we can all learn from each other if we’re open. Each of us has so much to offer – different styles, techniques, personalities, etc., that together we make a beautiful community.
Desiree Kuemmerle
Desiree is pretty much fluent in all crafty things… As far back as she can remember, some type of craft has been part of her world! Paper is it for her now… so many ways to tangle, manipulate, cut, color and ink! She loves making mini works of art and making them come to life! This is her therapy and a way to inspire others to ALWAYS, Be Creative!
Einat Kessler
When she was a young girl Einat used to sit on the carpet at her grandparents’ house with a huge scrapbook on her knees looking through it with amazement. These albums, created from scratch by her grandfather took her imagination to faraway places and sparked her creativity years later. When her first son was born her grandfather suggested she would create a scrapbook to document his life. Einat was bit by the scrapbooking bug and the rest is history.
Today Einat is a versatile designer, who dabbles in various crafts from scrapbooking, art journaling and altered art to mixed media and 3D paper crafts. She teaches online classes, writes ebooks and has 3 memberships. She shares her projects and designs on her blog, FB page and very successful YouTube channel.
EllyMae Habets
EllyMae, the creative force behind Silhouette Secrets+ and Swift Creek Customs, has been empowering crafters worldwide since 2016 through detailed blog tutorials, in-person events, and online classes on her Teachable site. Recognized as a top troubleshooter in the industry, she is a Maker & Creator who seamlessly blends software and technology into her crafting. EllyMae’s expertise spans cutting machines, sublimation, and a variety of industry products, with a special focus on Silhouette and Siser cutting machines, including the Juliet® and Romeo®. Whether guiding users through troubleshooting, exploring new materials, or teaching advanced design techniques, EllyMae is dedicated to helping crafters unlock their creative potential.
Erin Reed
Erin Reed brings a fun, romantic, and sometimes funky feel to her projects. She is a military wife, a stay at home mom of 2 boys and 2 girls, and Canadian transplant who lives in Texas. Her first love is family. Her second love is crafts in all forms including scrapbook layouts, art journals, cards, sublimation, mini albums, mixed media, altered items, home decor, and DIY. She has been published in many magazines, books, and websites over her over 12 years of professional crafting career. Check out all her crafty adventures over on her YouTube Channel!
Juliana Michaels
Juliana Michaels is a mixed media paper crafter who has been designing projects in the paper crafting and scrapbooking industry since 2008. What began as a love of scrapbooking has grown into a passion for card making, mixed media, and all things paper. Most recently, she’s found her creative home in mixed media, where she can fully explore texture, color, and layers.
Juliana shares her creativity on her blog, YouTube channel, and through the online classes she teaches—helping fellow makers build skills, confidence, and creative joy. A retired Physical Therapist turned Graphic Designer, she’s also a big fan of coffee and Mexican food. When she’s not crafting or working behind the scenes, you’ll likely find her working out, reading, antiquing, or spending time with her family, fur baby, and friends.
Justine Hovey
Justine Hovey has been a cardmaker in the papercrafting industry for over 15 years. As a content creator, crafter and teacher, she loves combining her passion for creating with her passion for teaching. Over the years she has been on many design teams and moved into creating papercrafting courses that solve all the common crafter needs. She loves showing new techniques over on YouTube and creating beautiful cards using her favourite techniques: embossing and foiling. Additionally, she is one of the founders of the Paper Crafters Get Organized summit and Stress Free Cardmaking summit. In her free time, she enjoys taking her dog for walks, reading, travelling and spending time with her family.
Katy Ingram
Katy is a card maker from the southeastern coast of North Carolina. She was a stay at home mom until the last one fled the nest a couple years ago and is now a caregiver to her mother-in-law who has dementia.
She has been card making for 7 years and started her Youtube channel about 5 years ago as a way to share her creativity with others. Katy enjoys being able to share her love of ink blending amongst other card making techniques, to inspire YOUR creativity.
Laurel Beard
Laurel Beard is the queen of stress-free cardmaking—teaching over 83,000 YouTube subscribers how to make stunning cards without the overwhelm. With 650+ free tutorials, multiple sold-out virtual summits, and a handful of wildly practical online classes under her belt, Laurel’s mission is simple: make cardmaking fun again. No glitter explosions, no perfectionism spirals—just clear steps, creative ideas, and a good laugh along the way. She created the Stress Free Cardmaking Summit to help crafters ditch the chaos and actually enjoy the process.
Linh Van
Hi! I’m Linh @LVHandcrafted and I love interactive and pop-up cards! There’s always so much to learn in papercrafting, and I find great joy in adding my own twist and sharing what I’ve learned.Linh lives in Seattle, WA with her husband and their two dogs. She’s been crafting since high school but took a long break to start her career. Now (many years later) she is her own boss working as a business consultant, so she can balance her time and do more of what she loves – papercrafting! There’s always so much to learn in papercrafting, and she finds great joy in adding her own twist and sharing what she learns.
Mary Polanco
Mary Polanco has been paper crafting since 2007 and started her YouTube channel in 2016. Her style is eclectic, dabbling in multiple techniques and designs for her card making. She is well-known for her money-savings tips and crafting-hacks videos and also hosts live, monthly, workshops on a variety of paper crafting topics.
Mary is a US Air Force Retired Veteran with 23 years of service, and is currently full-time student studying Leadership Psychology. She resides in the USA with her husband and their two children.
Nicki Baxley
Nicki Baxley is a passionate card maker, YouTuber, and crafting expert with over 15 years of experience. Known for her ability to provide detailed, fun tutorials, Nicki excels at making complex techniques accessible for both beginner and advanced card makers. Her favorite crafting techniques include embossing folders, die cuts, and heat embossing, which she often incorporates into her designs.
Nicki’s YouTube channel, Nicki Hearts Cards, is a hub for creative tutorials, live crafting sessions, and product reviews. She focuses on teaching crafters how to get the most out of their existing supplies, empowering them to create stunning cards without constantly buying new tools. Through her classes and content, Nicki inspires crafters to embrace creativity with what they already have, making card making fun and accessible for all.
Sassy’s LLC
I’m Sara Lihz; I’ve been making cards for over 15 years, but in 2021, after a year of giving up my craft room to make a work-at-home office for my husband, I realized how important card-making is to me. When my husband noticed, he moved out of my craft room, bought me a Gemini Jr., and helped me reclaim part of myself that I lost somewhere between having two children and surviving the pandemic while teaching college students from my kitchen table.
In 2023, I launched my first Emergency Card Kit on YouTube, a free printable with sentiments and card sketches to help card makers start creating more quickly and more affordably; to help make the therapy of my favorite art more accessible for all. I release new free Emergency Kits on the first Friday of every month.
Shannon Lee Smith
Hello, I am Shannon Lee Smith, the crafty owner of Cards By Shannon Lee. I’m currently living in Pahrump, Nevada, an hour west of Las Vegas, with my husband and dog. Together, we have a blended family of four sons, one granddaughter, two grandsons, and two great-granddaughters, who are the center of our world.
As of September 2021, I am new to blogging/vlogging. I love to collect card-making supplies, but I also spend as much time as possible creating handmade cards for family and friends.
Although I am new to instructing, I have a blog, a YouTube channel, and a website (currently under construction), which I am using to inspire crafters the same way that I have been inspired by others in this crafty business.
Tantalaya “Craftwithte”
I am a full time credit manager at a furniture and I have completed my Masters degree in costuming design. I have 3 cats yes 3 cats which I have now accepted I am a cat lady. I moved to NC in 2004 and by 2007 I found my love of crafting. I joined a craft group with my local church making trading cards and slowly working up to greeting cards. For 6years I have been on the my little scrapbook store design team. twice a month I do live videos and projects for the store. At the same time I have a YouTube channel that I started July 2015. In my spare time I like to cook and bake but mostly enjoy making crafts and sharing with you all.
Therese Calvird
Therese started her cardmaking journey in 2005. She has been blogging since 2010 and has over 1000 video tutorials on her YouTube channel! She loves to try all different cardmaking techniques and share how-to videos with step-by-step tutorials.
Her fun style tends more toward clean and simple easy card making that anyone can achieve. Interactive cards and being able to recreate them with what you have in your stash has been her most recent passion. So, join Therese, and she will walk you through some simple tips and tricks to create an easy DIY Interactive Wiper Card!
Wendy Lee
Wendy Lee is a celebrated crafting expert, educator, and creative force behind CreativeLeeYours.com. With over two decades in the crafting industry, she is a trusted source for innovative techniques, inspiring projects, and expert tutorials. Her passion for paper crafting and commitment to empowering others shine through every project. As co-founder of the Cultivated Creativity program, Wendy curates monthly DIY papercrafting kits that spark joy for crafters of all levels. Her step-by-step tutorials and engaging social media content have helped countless individuals discover the therapeutic benefits of crafting. Known for her approachable teaching style and ability to simplify complex techniques with warmth and humor, Wendy’s presentations are both educational and fun. At the Stress Free Cardmaking Summit, she will share expert insights to help attendees craft with confidence and ease.
