Hello friends! I am so excited to be participating again in Altenew’s A Year In Review Instagram Hop. I really enjoyed looking back through my projects and selecting some favorite creations.
Rainbow Color Cards
Interestingly, all of these cards were in blog posts I created in March! The first three were part of Altenew’s March Release, which I think knocked it out of the park. This was also my most popular blog post for 2023.
The first card (above) makes a “2 For 1” card and you can read the post HERE plus see the second card.
There’s something undeniably captivating about a vintage valentine, where every delicate stroke of ink and carefully chosen sentiment carries a timeless charm. This new House Mouse Candy Hearts rubber stamp had a very retro look to me, so I went with an old-timey mixed media vibe.
Easy One Layer Vintage Look Mixed Media Valentine Tutorial:
I started by creating my background. I masked off a border and then used two shades of tan Distress Ink to ink blend my background. (Antique Linen and Frayed Burlap)
With the masking tape still on the cardstock, I then used the same tan inks to stencil and stamp bits and pieces on the background. Most of the stamping was “second generation” where I stamped first on a scrap and then onto my background so that the pattern would be subtle. I also added light stenciling to the background. Cathe Holden has some great stamps and stencils that I added here and there. I also used a bit of stamping with white pigment ink, but it is hard to see in the photograph. To finish I added a touch of Gold Wax to a few places around the border.
Carefully remove your masking tape. I used Post It Tape, which is the best!
After my background was dry, I stamped the Valentine Mouse with Versafine Black Pigment Ink.
PRO TIP: For a crisp look, keep the stamp in your Misti stamping platform and restamp the image after you are done coloring. You won’t believe how much this one step will elevate your project!
I used Faber Castell Polychromo Colored Pencils to color the mouse and candy hearts.
Remember to restamp the image and let dry.
The cute sentiment is included with the stamp set and finishes off my one layer valentine.
Hi everyone, Karen Brown here! I am one of the new members of Hero Art’s Creative Team and I am excited to share my new video (see below). I am loving the new Hero Arts Alphabet Letter Dies and I thought they would be fun and festive on my gift tags.
Using the the Nesting Tag dies, I die cut 5 tags from Paradise, Cherry and Dove White Cardstock. My first card I call “Joy to the World” and I chose to use the “J” die from DF167. I cut the “J” three times from Cherry Cardstock and glued them together for a nice substantial element. For a quick sentiment, I trimmed “Joy to the World” from the White Holiday Collage Hero Transfers kit and then rubbed onto the bottom of my tag. I think it is the kid in me, but I just love doing this!
R is for Robert and I used DF168 to die cut the R. For interest, I also die cut two linear accent strips using The Hole Punch Edge Fancy Die.
B is for Brown (my last name) and since I love rub-ons so much, I covered the top tag with a Hero Transfer with text from A Christmas Carol. The “B” die is included in Letter Die set DF165.
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 am thrilled to announce that I have been selected to join the Hero Arts Creative Team! This incredible opportunity allows me to collaborate with a group of talented and passionate artists who share a love for crafting and creativity. I am beyond excited to explore new techniques, experiment with Hero Arts’ amazing range of products, and inspire others on their own artistic journeys. Together, we’ll embark on a creative adventure filled with endless possibilities, and I can’t wait to share the magic that unfolds along the way! Stay tuned for a whirlwind of innovative projects, tutorials, and inspiration that will surely ignite your own crafting passions. 🎨✨ #HeroArtsCreativeTeam
The background was so easy! I rubbed on the fun Twas the Night Before lettering from the White Holiday Collage Hero Transfers (RT121) with a bone folder and all the writing transfered to the paper perfectly on the first try. The card background is Paradise cardstock.
I wanted a pop of red, so I stamped and die cut a Merry Christmas Wax Seal using Crimson Core Ink. I also put a dab of Hero Wax Gold to add a little depth and shine to the “photo tape”
I assembled my card with foam tape and it is ready to send.
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?
Cute creatures + easy Copic coloring makes for an enjoyable afternoon! Spellbinders was kind enough to send me an advance copy of the new Fransformer Snowy Friends by Stupendous cling stamp set and I can’t remember the last time I enjoyed creating a card more. FransFormers are flexible clear stamps that you can squish, squeeze, shape and adjust plus they are just loads of fun!
My card is 5 1/2″ square which allowed me to add three snowmen. I used the same stamp for the left and right snowbabies, but you can see I was able to shape them so they each have their own personality. I did a little easy Copic coloring and I was done.
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.
Hello, I have a super quick post today sharing two fun collage birthday cards that I created by cutting wonky shapes from paper. So easy, anyone can make them and they require minimal supplies. I think they are so cheerful and happy.
I started by going through my acrylic gel press and scraped scraps but you could just as easily use ready made paper. I picked out some melon (just made these for my last post on covering journal covers: read HERE), green, blue and gray. After I was done sorting I decided to add some red to the mix too. I then cut out silly whimsical shapes and glued them onto an A2 notecard. I handlettered a quick sentiment to complete the card. Nothing precise or perfect here!
Now that I see card #2 finished, I think it has a real Eric Carle vibe.
Supplies:
Colored Paper or Mixed Media Scraps
Scissors
Glue (I used UHU stic glue)
Card Base
Black pen (for sentiment)
I found this cardmaking session very satisfying. What do you think? Would you try this?
kennyscards.com 