Hello and welcome to the January My Monthly Countdown as we approach Hero Arts first kit release for 2024! I must say, this kit is a beauty full wonderful products that I know you will love. The kit goes live tomorrow (Monday, January 8th) so stay tuned. Meanwhile, sit back and enjoy some inspiration, sneak peeks and giveaways.
WIN A KIT BEFORE YOU CAN BUY IT: Just leave a comment on this (and every) Countdown to Creativity post. Hero Arts will randomly draw one lucky winner from comments left across all countdown posts on the Hero Arts blog. The winner will be announced first thing Monday morning, January 8th, before the kit launches at 10am Pacific. The more you comment, the more chances to win. Good luck!
MMH January 2024 Premium Kit
My project today features The Premium Kit and boy did I have fun playing with it! I started off by die cutting this delightful breezy flower in five of my favorite colors and then I lined them up in a row so they formed a border at the bottom of my card. Clean and simple die-cutting, but I think it has a lot of interest.
Be sure to stop by and visit the Hero Arts Blog for more inspiration and then I will be back on Monday with another post featuring the Premium Kit + some great Add-On Products.
I am so excited about the 2024 Spellbinders Clubs! Today I am sharing a fun Bumble Bee themed card using the January Stitching Die Club Kit and it is perfect for Spring, Birthdays, Get Well and Hello cards…I think it is so fresh and fun! This Club Kit is now available for individual purchase HERE.
I created this card over the holidays and it was ideal to work on while I sat around the fire and visited with family.
Spellbinders has a nice selection of stitching accessories in their shop that you can find HERE.
When I started stitching, I took two strands of Gold Floss (DMC 725), separated them one at a time, brought them together and then stroked and lengthened them until they seemed tame and ready to use.
When I move from one area to the next, I run the floss through the just finished stitched area to keep the thread secure. This gives a nice look on the finished project.
Don’t stitch with threads that are too long or they are likely to knot. This is a lesson I relearned on this card.
When I was done, I added a bit of Bearly Glue to the ends so that they will stay in place. You can also add a backing by die cutting another Bee body. Your backing can be a different color to add more interest.
A Few Notes About Spellbinders Club Kits
Clubs Preview on the 1st of each month.
Club members can cancel, upgrade or change clubs from the 1st-5th of each month. Popular Clubs frequently sell out during this period so club members get first dibs on everything.
NEW for 2024: Club Members get EARLY access to new releases on the 6th!
On the 6th, Clubs become available to non-members.
On the 27th, Club registration closes for the current month.
If a club did not sell out, you can buy under “Shop Past Clubs”. Past kits are available on the 10th of the FOLLOWING month.
I enjoy looking back through my projects, and as we end the year, I wanted to write a post about my most popular Spellbinders cards. I loved so many of my creations, but these are the crowd favorites for 2023.
Fan Favorite 2023 Card
By far, my most popular card on Instagram, Pinterest and my blog was this pink Be Bold Blooms Hello card. I wrote a blog post on how to use this kit three ways, and all the cards were well received. You can read my original post HERE.
My most popular Christmas card in 2023 was my Simon Hurley teal Snow Globe. I call it a CAS Die Cut Card….limited color palette but high visual impact. You can read my original post HERE.
Shaped dies can really change the look of your cards and projects so I loved Spellbinders Stylish Ovals Collection. You can see 4 cards I created with this collection HERE.
This giant die cut bow kit was one of my favorite releases this year! So versatile…..perfect for the holidays, birthdays, showers, graduation etc. You can read my original post HERE.
Hello My Monthly Hero lovers and welcome to the December 2023 Release Hop and Giveaway! I am excited about this month’s kit….so much wonderfulness! December’s theme is the Alphabet (Classic) and Numbers (Premium).
• XL Alphabet Clear Stamp Set, 8″ x 10″ • Alphabet Cover Plate Die • 10 Pack of Watercolor Pencils • 6 Sheets of Luxe White Watercolor Paper, 8.5″ x 11″ • Water Flow Brush
I love them both, but this post is about the Classic Kit plus a very fun Add-On product. I am sharing three different cards with three very different looks today.
Inlay Diecutting with the Alphabet Plate Cover Die
This card might look difficult, but it all came together in one hour. I started by die cutting the alphabet 5 times from different colors of cardstock: Papaya, Kiwi, Passion Flower, Dove White and Granite. I saved the white die cuts to use on a future project, and then attached the white background to an A2 cardbase. Next, I laid out the letters until I had the colors where I wanted them. With the layout done, the gluing went very quickly. I added a simple heat embossed sentiment from Hero Art’s Message Strips Stamp and Cut XL (DC286). I love the bright simplicity of this card.
A bonus is that I have TONs of leftover die-cut letters to use on future projects! It is such a time saver to be able to cut 26 letters with one pass of the diecutting machine.
There is something so therapeutic about covering a card front with stamps and then coloring them in. My daughter was so captivated by the XL Alphabet Clear Stamps that she created two fun word signs with images for her office.
GIVEAWAY:
We will give away a $50 gift card, drawn from the comments left across the hop. Enter by Sunday, December 10th at 11:59pm Pacific, and the winner will be announced on the Hero Arts blog the following week.
I love versatile supplies in my craft room and Spellbinders just released a lovely All Occasion Bow etched die kit that is perfect for so many occasions. The bow is part of the beautiful Merry & Bright Collection but I will also be using it on Birthday, Wedding/Shower and Graduation cards.
My Card Process:
My first step is usually color selection. I have a Christmas paper sampler pack (see note below) that I thought would work beautifully for this project so I chose aqua, teal, pinks and greens from this pad.
I divided the All Occasion Bow dies into two piles. The bottom layers were all cut from teal and the top “highlight” die cuts were from aqua. Once I organized my dies between bottom (teal) and “highlights”, I didn’t need to think about which color paper to use and the die-cutting went very quickly.
I assembled my bow with foam adhessive squares, and then decided I wanted to anchor the bow with a focal point label. Spellbinders/Simon Hurley have a beautiful Playful Poinsettia Embossing Folder that I embossed and then die cut using a retired Ornamental Labels Die. This nesting die set has an interesting shape and I love the subtle interest this step adds to my card. I glued this die cut and embossed label (using craft foam and Bearly Glue) to a white A2 Top Folding Card Base.
Now that the basics were done, I wanted to embellish my bow with floral elements and a tag sentiment. I used Spellbinders Petite Blooms and Sentiments, which is also from the Merry & Bright Collection. I especially love the “For You” etched tag die! I like to die cut lots of elements and then I sit down and play around with different layouts. I added some enamel dots for flower centers. For the bow, I wanted to add pops of color but the bow is so beautiful I didn’t want to cover too much either. Its always a balance, isn’t it?
Christmas at the beach anyone? I am excited to share 2 cards featuring Simon Hurley’s new Snow Globe holiday collection from Spellbinders. I created 2 bright colorful little vignettes that I think are quite fun!
Bright Tropical Christmas Card
For my first card, I was simulating a tropical sunset (including palm trees!) with Santa and reindeer flying overhead. I used the Snow Globe etched dies and added the palm trees from the coordinating Nativity Scene. The entire die bundle is wonderful with snowmen, homes, deer and nativity….endless combinations
I love making backgrounds from colorful strips of paper. The background was so easy….I cut 1/4″ strips of colored paper and then adhered to a piece of cardstock. Funny story, I usually use a tape runner for this but halfway through, my tape runner ran out and I didn’t have a refill. No worries though, I just finished the panel with liquid glue, and you can’t tell a difference in the end result. If you’d like to see a quick video on how to create a rainbow striped background, click HERE. (I shot this as a reel for Instagram, but also posted it to YouTube, so the YouTube orientation is a little unusual.)
After my background was complete, I die cut all my components and then assembled my card with Bearly Glue and craft foam (for dimension).
PRO TIP: I like using a combination of liquid glue and craft foam as it allows me to micro-adjust the placement of my die-cuts. I slid the Globe around until it was centered, which is harder to do with Adhessive Foam Squares. I do use double-sided foam squares a lot when placing flowers.
CAS Die Cut Chritmas Card
For card #2, I did a more traditional wintry Christmas scene using Teal Topaz and Brushed GoldCardstocks. I love the contrast of the bright white against the teal sky. And, the gold adds a subtle elegance to the snow globe.
Hello papercrafters, I am back with some lovely seasonal die-cut cards for Fall! I chose some traditional autumn colors and then added beautiful pops of blue. Spellbinders just released this fun collection called Autumn Serenade and I used the Autumn Sealed Sprigs dies along with the coordinating Chipboard Stickers and pre-printed Die Cut Shapes for my cards. I found the stickers and shapes to be real time savers when assembling my cards.
I just got back from a trip to Colorado, and I found the changing folliage was so inspirational for these projects.
Using Pre-Printed Stickers and Die Cut Shapes for Quicker DIY Cards
For my first card I used the Sprigs die kit and then added a sentiment plus heart die-cuts to finish my card. This Die Cut Shapes Kit includes 138 pre-printed pieces with lots of sentiments, botanicals, pumpkins, butterflies etc.
For card #2 I used this showy Chipboard Hello Banner Sticker to complete my fall bouquet. The Chipboard set includes 27 chipboard stickers pre-printed with a variety of sentiments, gold embellishments, butterflies, birds, pumpkins, leaves and flowers. I love this little package and will be using it on future projects.
This Sealed Sprigs Collection reminds me of one of my 2022 Favorite Die Sets called Floral Reflections and you can see that Blog Post HERE.
My Process:
I started by selecting colors for my two cards. I used colored paper from two different sampler packs (listed below).
Next, I die cut my leaves and botanicals. I played around with layouts and then used the Press and Seal Method to keep my arrangement in place as I flipped it over and added foam adhessive squares to the back.
I knew I wanted a banner across the “crossed stems” on each card. The HELLO is a lovely chipboard sticker and the “Thinking of You” is a preprinted die cut. The gold accents add a nice bit of shine to the cards.
Die cut flower and leaf silhouettes over a rainbow striped background makes for a colorful high impact card. I love Altenew’s Sweet Blossom’s Layering Dies and wanted to play with them again (You can see my first card HERE). This time I wanted to use just the outline dies so you could see the beautiful background I created.
I created a short video (below) to show how I made my background panel. I love rainbow striped backgrounds so I have two pouches (see final photo) where I keep my pre-cut colored cardstock strips. The pouch on the left has a variety of widths and all the strips in the right pouch are cut to 1/4″ widths. It is easy to take a paper trimmer and cut lots of strips and then it is so quick to make a colorful background. For this card, I used PaperTrey’s Perfect Match Colored Cardstock.
Click HERE to see a card where I used just 1/4″ strips.
For this card, I wanted variety so I used colored cardstock bands from both packets. I like to use Altenew’s Glue Tape Runner when making these types of backgrounds.
I wanted my flower bloom to sit on a stem, so I did a little surgery on the larger leaf die cut, and with scissors, I cut off the top three leaves. This left me with a stem and an additional little leaf cluster to use on my card.
I wanted substantial die cuts, so using the Sweet Blossoms and Vertical Greetings sets, I die cut each element three times and then glued them together.
Quick Video: How I Created This Rainbow Striped Background
Simple die-cuts can make high impact creations for cards, scrapbooking or any other papercrafts. Today, I created 2 quick and easy cards using Spellbinders + Stampendous new Hugs Collection.
For Card #1, I made a Get Well card using the new Kitty Hugs (S5-587)etched die kit . I played around with layouts and in the end decided to keep my card very simple. I die cut my kitty from white card stock and then used my Stylish Ovals nesting diesto make a shaped background and card. The background is my alltime favorite Waterfall cardstock. I added a few pops of color with the facial features, bow tie, star and fish, which are all included with the die kit.
To make my shaped card, I took an A2 top folding card baseand taped the top of the largest Stylish Oval die just above the fold, so the card base would remain in one piece, and then ran it through my die cutting machine. I hot foiled a quick sentiment and then assembled with adhessive squares.
Sweet Die Cut Card for a Baby Shower
I am co-hosting a baby shower this month so Card #2 is for Baby Juliette. This die set is called Bear Hugs (STP-586). I love the simple sweetness of the pinks and whites.
The gift box , ribbon and bow are also from the Hugs Collection and the die set is called Hugs Accessories (S5-590). The set also contains several hearts, envelops, letters and a swag…very cute.
I can see so many occasions when I will use these sets again!
Rainbow colors in cardmaking are always a good idea! I recently received a new cover die from Waffle Flower Crafts called Flourish Panel and it is a real beauty! I couldn’t decide whether to have the rainbow panel on the top layer or below the lattice so I opted to do it both ways. I still can’t choose which way I like it better. What do you think…..I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
How To Add Dimension on Die-Cut Cards
I have step-by-step directions (with process photos) below. On one card I die-cut the watercolor panel and on the second card I used the rainbow colors as a background.
Cardmaking Tutorial: How I Made These Two Die Cut Cards
Step 1: Make Your Rainbow Watercolor Panel. Today, I used watercolors for my colorful focal point. On the panel with the rainbow on the top layer, I used Kuretake Watercolors to blend a rainbow. I went over the watercolor panel twice to get an intense color. On the second, panel, I used inexpensive Crayola Watercolors and it worked beautifully! You could also ink blend your background.
Step 3: You could stop die-cutting here, but I wanted a lot of dimension, so I die cut two additional panels so I could stack my layers.
Step 4: Glue Your Layers Together. Using Bearly Glue, I glued three lattice layers together for a substantial top panel. Be sure to weight them down after gluing so they stay nice and flat. I have a large acrylic block that I use. I also adhered the layers to an A2 Top-folding card.
Step 5: Add A Sentiment. I always need Birthday Cards so I used Waffle Flowers new Print and Script Birthday Sentiment Dies. I love that they come with both a cursive and block font with coordinating shadow dies. I cut the sentiments from white cardstock and the shadows from Navy.
Now I have two bright cheerful birthday cards to share.
kennyscards.com 