Hello and welcome! Karen Brown here and I have a very fun project to share with you today featuring this delightful Vintage Birdcage die. I love color and texture and I used lots of both on this card.
I buffed the embossed script with a microfiber cloth so the embossing was ink free.
I die cut the birdcage 3 times. Twice from Deluxe Smooth Cardstock and once from White Glitter Cardstock. This white is my absolute favorite glitter cardstock. It is hard to photograph but is so beautiful in person. I also cut 2 birds and 4 hearts from glitter cardstock.
Can you have too many dog stamps? I think not! I am loving Spellbinders + Simon Hurley’s new Big Hugs stamp and die bundle. These cute critters – Pug dog, Panda bear and Zebra – are sure to be favorites in my family. I love this set so much I went a little crazy making cards!
Pug Dog Masculine Birthday Cards
My first card is for my husband and I wanted to make a quick little scene. I stamped and Copic colored my Pug (complete with a festive party hat), embossed a brick wall, ink blended a background and heat embossed a cute sentiment.
I like to keep Get Well cards on hand and this card is sure to make the recipient smile. This card came together very quickly. I stamped and Copic colored my Pug and added a blue mat for interest. Just two Copic markers!
Tutorial + 18 Tips and Tricks for Making Wax Seals:
With a Sharpie marker, I put a dot on my seal so it was easy to keep track of where the top of the design is.
I read that it helps reduce soot if you trim your tea candle wick, so I did this.
I put 4 beads in the warming spoon and it took 2 minutes to melt.
I poured the wax and found it is easy to make a circle pattern, but I do like seals that aren’t perfectly round.
Don’t press the seal into the wax, just gently position and allow gravity to work.
After experimenting, I found that if I wanted a thicker, more button like seal you should pour the wax and then wait 15-30 seconds before gently dropping the seal into the wax. The card with the pink seal was done this way.
If you like a thinner seal with a higher rim then place the seal immediately after pouring.
I found if I used just my thumb and pinky or middle finger that I was better able to center the seal more precisely.
I left the seal in the wax anywhere from 15 to 90 seconds. The time didn’t seem to matter and no wax was ever left on the seal itself.
I also found it helps to move your pours around on the silicone mat so you don’t get warm spots on your work surface.
I also let my seal cool in between pours.
If you don’t like a seal, you can remelt it.
You can mix colors for a lovely marbled look. I really love the blue and green combination that I made which is shown in the upper left of the first photo. I also love blue and gold together and you can see two with that combination in the upper right corner on the blue card.
You can add flakes, glitter or pearls to the melted wax.
I used a paper towel to clean the spoon when changing wax colors.
I used a Decocolor marker on some of my seals (see the card with the green seal). I have Gold but wish I had bought silver too. Just lightly go over the raised ridges.
I experimented using Posca Pens too. They work, but I did like the result of the Decocolor markers better. The navy wax seal was highlighted with a silver Posca.
I can’t seem to get enough of the fun florals in this month’s Premium Kit! (If you would like to see my first card featuring these dies, click HERE. ) I love the fresh look of these blooming dies and I so enjoyed creating and working on the layout for this card.
This Valentine Wreath die is SO beautiful! It has the simple yet elegant look of Letter Press and I thought it would be quite striking with a fresh bright blue and clean white color palette. I stamped the wreath with Indigo Core Ink and then die cut the wreath, an extra floral cluster (which I added to the bottom of the wreath) and the sentiment. I cut down an A2 Top Folding Card Base to 4 1/4 x 4 1/4″ and adhered my die cuts with foam adhesive squares.
Hero Arts will give away a $50 gift card, drawn from the comments left across the hop. Enter by Sunday, January 14th at 11:59pm PT, and the winner will be announced on the Hero Arts blog the following week.
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.
kennyscards.com 