Tag: Autumn

Die cut handmade Halloween Card with pumpkin, ghost and black cat. Spellbinders September Club Kits – Seasonal Fun!
Cardmaking Kit · Die cutting

Spellbinders September Club Kits – Seasonal Fun!

Karen Brown1 Comment
Two seasonal die cut fall/Halloween cards featuring Spellbinders September 2025 Large Die of the Month Kit (whimsical pumpkin house) and Small Die of the Month (smiling Jack-o-lantern with black cat, ghost and flowers)

The Spellbinders September 2025 Club Kits are here, and this month’s themes are packed with seasonal charm—perfect for Halloween, autumn, and everything in between! Today, I’m sharing two cards featuring the Large Die of the Month and Small Die of the Month.

👉 A quick reminder: the last day to subscribe is September 27th—so don’t miss out!

Large Die of the Month – Pumpkin House

Adorable Seasonal autumn card with vivid oranges, teals and greens created with Spellbinders September 2025 Large Die of the Month Kit

The Large Die of the Month is designed as an Acorn House, but I gave it a seasonal twist by transforming mine into a Pumpkin House! I can’t seem to get enough orange this month.

A gray squirrel is making his way to the front door, while the acorn cap roof is decorated with green and teal leaves plus two aqua flowers. The playful colors and crisp white background bring the whole scene to life.

It’s whimsical, unexpected, and full of cozy fall personality.

Die cut "pumpkin" house card, with a gray squirrel walking toward the door. The roof is decorated with teal and green leaves and two aqua flowers.

Small Die of the Month – Boo to You!

Card with a smiling jack-o’-lantern, a ghost, a cat, and flowers in bright orange, teal, aqua, and green cardstock on a white card base. Sentiment reads 'Boo to You' in heat embossed lettering.

This month’s Small Die of the Month might be one of the cutest yet! It features a smiling jack-o’-lantern, along with a sweet little cat, a friendly ghost, and whimsical flowers.

I loved carrying over the same vibrant color scheme from my Large Die card—orange, teal, aqua, and green—so the two feel like companion pieces.

I couldn’t resist heat embossing a “Boo to You” sentiment to go along with this cheerful pumpkin scene. The vivid colors—bright orange paired with teal, aqua, and green—make the characters pop against the crisp white A2 card base. A touch of gray and black adds grounding contrast while keeping the vibe playful.

This card is pure Halloween happiness! 🎃✨

Fun handmade Halloween card created with Spellbinders September 2025 Small Die of the Month Kit.

Coordinated Companion Cards

I love how these two cards—though built with different kits—look like they belong together. The shared palette of vivid oranges, aquas, teals, greens, and neutrals ties them into a cheerful seasonal set.

And if you’d like even more inspiration, I’ll also link to my September Stitching Die of the Month card—another beauty from this month’s Club collection.

Helpful Links:

Fall theme apple orchard homemade card. Apple Picking Scene Card | Hero Arts ‘I Pick You’ Collection
Cardmaking Kit · Die cutting · Stamping

Apple Picking Scene Card | Hero Arts ‘I Pick You’ Collection

Karen BrownLeave a comment
Handmade fall card featuring a stamped and stenciled apple orchard scene with ladder, basket, and boots. Apples are shaded red, leaves in green, and scene is framed with a navy die cut rounded rectangle.

Fall is in the air! Today I’m sharing a heartwarming scene card I created with the Hero Arts September Collection: I Pick You. The In The Orchard Bundle instantly brought back childhood memories of going apple picking with my family at Wiggins Farms—where we’d spend the day filling baskets and sipping fresh cider.

This Collection is also part of an Instagram Hop…come hop with us! @karens_mini

Helpful Links:

🍏 Building the Scene

Hero Arts In the Orchard stamped, stenciled and die cut scene card featuring picking apples in an orchard.

This stamp + stencil combo makes it easy to create a layered, idyllic orchard scene. I stamped the images first, then used the coordinating layering stencils to add color with small blending brushes. To give my coloring more depth and dimension, I used two shades of ink for each color family:

  • Apples: Pale Tomato + Cherry
  • Leaves: Fresh Lawn + Green Apple
  • Boots: Lemon Drop + Spicy Mustard

The combination of stamping + stencil blending creates crisp, dimensional images that still look soft and organic. And Hero Arts stencils always line up beautifully with the stamped images!

Handmade autumn scene card of a whimsical apple orchard and featuring Hero Arts "In the Orchard" stamp, stencil and die bundle.

🍎 Finishing Details

Once everything was colored, I die cut my elements to build the orchard scene—complete with a ladder, a basket, and classic Hunter-style boots. For the finishing touch, I die cut a navy frame using my Rounded Rectangle Infinity Dies to bring everything together.

This seasonal card is full of fall charm and is perfect for sending a cozy autumn hello!

Die cut critter card of snuggly animals in bed. Cozy Die Cut Scene Card
cardmaking · Die cutting

Cozy Die Cut Scene Card

Karen Brown1 Comment

Hello, crafty friends! Karen Brown here today with a card that is extra cozy, extra cute, and full of September Hero Studio goodness. This month’s release is all about comfort and charm, and I couldn’t resist creating a sweet little bedtime scene featuring some of the most adorable die-cut critters ever.

Key Products: Hero Studio Fancy Die of the Month and Whole Studio Bonus Gift

I really LOVE this die set and I created another card that you might like to see HERE.

Card Details

For my design, I started with the September Fancy Die of the Month: Cozy Critters. At the center of the card is a fox, tucked snugly into a brass bed, clutching its “lovey”—a tiny stuffed bunny. To set the scene, I crafted a Celestial Blue quilt with lovely etched stitching details and paired it with two crisp Snow White pillows.

At the foot of the bed, a striped orange tabby cat curls up contentedly, holding its own little stuffed animal. This cutie comes from the Whole Studio Kit Bonus: Cozy Kitty, which coordinated perfectly to complete my charming bedtime vignette.

Background & Sentiment

Every good bedroom needs wallpaper, so I created a subtle patterned background. I stenciled soft stars over ColorWheel Chiffon cardstock using the Scattered Stars Stencil (from the Hocus Pocus Collection) with Peony and Contour inks. The result reminded me of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star—a sweet lullaby touch for a bedtime card.

To finish, I added a clean and simple sentiment, “hello there”, from the Message Strips stamp and cut set. It felt like the perfect greeting for this dreamy scene.

I had so much fun creating this bedtime scene with the September 2025 Hero Studio Release. Between the fox, the kitty, and those snuggly quilts, I think this one might be my coziest card yet! I can already picture more cards made with this die set— seasonal quilts, or even personalized critter bedrooms.

Thanks so much for stopping by today, and sweet dreams of your next crafty adventure!

Hero Arts September 2025 Card Kit Inspirational cards. Hero Arts September 2025 Club Kit Release: Fall into Fall
Cardmaking Kit · Die cutting

Hero Arts September 2025 Club Kit Release: Fall into Fall

Karen Brown18 Comments
Two fun homemade cards created with the September 2025 Hero Studio card kit and Fancy Dies Kits.

Hello friends! It’s time for the Hero Arts September Club Kit Release, and this month’s theme is Fall into Fall. 🍁 Autumn crafting is one of my very favorite seasons, and this release is packed with stamps, dies, and sentiments perfect for cozy, colorful cardmaking. I have two very different projects to share with you today—one-layer stamping and coloring, and a layered die cut scene—that both capture the warmth of fall.

Card 1: One-Layer Stamped + Colored Fall Scene

One-layer fall card featuring stamped and colored pumpkins, mushrooms, acorns, and leaves with the sentiment “Fall is my Favorite Color” created with Hero Arts September 2025 Card Kit of the Month. Embellished with enamel dots.

The September Card Kit includes gorgeous fall imagery: pumpkins, acorns, mushrooms, leaves, and more. I wanted to let the stamps take center stage, so I designed a one-layer background that doubles as the focal point.

I stamped a scattering of pumpkins, mushrooms, and leaves across a white card panel, then brought them to life with alcohol marker coloring in classic fall hues:

  • Oranges and yellows for pumpkins
  • Warm tans and browns for acorns
  • Fresh greens, yellows and oranges for leaves

The finishing touch is the sentiment, “Fall is My Favorite Color,” stamped boldly in black. A few enamel dots (also included in the kit!) add just the right amount of shine.

This card is simple, flat, and easy to mail—but still rich in detail and warmth.

Hero Studio September 2025 stamped one layer card featuring alcohol marker colored pumpkins, fall leaves, acorns and mushrooms + a few enamel dot embellishments.

What’s Included in the September Card Kit?

  • Fall is my Favorite 6×8 Stamp Set
  • Fall is my Favorite Coordinating Dies
  • Treehouse Die Set
  • Sunset Enamel Dots
  • Brown Twine, 1 yard
  • 10 Sheets of Cardstock- 1 of each color, 5.5″ x 8.5″ (Truffle, Merlot, Cinnamon, Terra Cotta, Carrot, Coral, Bellini, Beeswax, Saffron, Tuscan)

Receive a FREE adorable Cozy Kitty Die Set when you purchase The Whole Studio!

Hero Arts has many different Monthly Kits that you can subscribe to including:

🦊🐻 Card 2: Cozy Critters Fancy Die Scene

Adorable die cut scene card featuring an adorable brown bear and red fox snuggling in a brass bed with their stuffed animals. Created with the Hero Arts September 2025 Fancy Die Kit of the Month: Cozy Critters.

Next, I dove into the September Fancy Dies: Cozy Critters. This set has my heart! I created a cozy little bedtime scene featuring a brown bear and an orange fox tucked into a brass bed with a green quilt.

  • The bear is snuggling with a little stuffed duck.
  • The fox is holding the sweetest bunny.

The scene is playful, heartwarming, and perfect for fall—but I think it would also make an adorable Valentine’s Day card!

Die cut scene card featuring a brown bear and orange fox tucked into a brass bed with a green quilt. Bear snuggles a duck, fox holds a bunny. Sentiment “Wishing You a Cozy Fall” with a subtle stenciled wallpaper background.

The sentiment, “Wishing You a Cozy Fall,” comes from the September Clear Stamp & Cut Set and fits perfectly with the theme. For the background, I added a touch of subtle pattern using the Retro Rainbow Stencil with Contour Ink. The soft “wallpaper” design adds depth without competing with the cozy critters in bed.

Love this die set? I have another adorable creation that you can see HERE.

Charming Die Cut Scene card featuring cozy die cut critters from the September Hero Studio Club Kits.

Blog Hop

Hero Arts is celebrating this release with a Blog Hop full of inspiration from the creative team. Hero Arts will give away a $50 gift card, drawn from the comments left across the hop. Enter by Friday, September 5th at 11:59pm PT, and the winner will be announced on the Hero Arts blog the following week. Leave a comment on all stops for more chances to win!


Hero Arts Creative Team:
Anna Mahtani
Channin Pelletier
Charlene Madrid
Jeannie Lieu
Jennifer Kotas
Karen Brown You Are Here!
Lea Lawson
Lisa Tilson
Michelle Lupton
Michelle Short
Mindy Eggen
Natasha Polite
Nichol Spohr
Rachel Kleinman
Rosie Lopez
Seeka

cardmaking

Adding a Personal Touch to Your Holiday Greetings | Hero Arts Holiday Catalog

Karen Brown45 Comments
Adorable Hero Arts "Peeking Bear" "Confetti Swirls" Holiday Card.

Who is ready to start creating for the holidays? Hero Arts Holiday Catalog is just full of wonderfulness and I am so excited to share cards I created with these new products.

Handmade card with adorable white polar bear in hat and scarf peeking around the edge with a die cut swirl background,

Adorable Peeking Winter Bear Die

I LOVE this adorable little peeking bear! I die cut him three times and then glued the layers together. I lightly ink blended the edges for some contrast and then added a Cranberry scarf and hat. I used Neutral Heros enamel dots for the nose and mouth. The background is die cut from Arctic cardstock with the new Confetti Swirls Die and then backed with a panel of Mist cardstock. The sentiment is from Cozy Study Stamps.

Supplies Used:

Celebrate Autumn

Handmade card with a fall foliage cover plate and liquid waterccolor leaves.

Autumn is a season of breathtaking beauty, with its vibrant foliage and crisp air. It’s the perfect time to channel that inspiration into crafting handmade cards. A die cut card featuring fall leaves is a wonderful way to capture the essence of the season and share it with your loved ones.

My Process for Creating This Autum Foliage Die Cut Card:

Hero Arts Fall Pattern leaf foliage cover plate die handmade card in yellows, greens, oranges and kraft.

Winter Mail Critters: The Definition of Cuteness!

I really love my third card! The Winter Mail Critter stamps are the cutest! I have a few pics + directions on how I created this card below, so keep scrolling…..

Handmade Holiday card with Hero Arts Winter Mail Critters, White Holiday Collage Hero Transfers, Wax Seals.

Key Products Used:

Handmade Christmas Card featuring a Hero Arts bear and fox each holding a letter with a Rub On Transfer background.

Hero Arts Christmas Card Tutorial:

I started by die cutting two frames and two “tapes” from the Journaling Photo Frame Infinity Dies Set. I then very lightly blended Paradise Core Ink along the edges of the photo background (using the sticky mat in my Stamp Wheel), stamped the bear and fox with my Stamping Tool and Copic colored the images (colors listed below). I also rubbed on a transfer Merry & Bright sentiment.

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.

Copic Colors Used:

  • Browns: E27, E15, E13, E11, E5
  • Reds: R27, R39
  • Pink: RV11
  • Blue: B00
Cute holiday card with critters featured in Hero Arts Journaling Photo Frame Infinity Dies DF125

Blog Hop Info:

Hero Arts will give away TWO $50 gift cards, drawn from the comments left across the hop. Enter by Wednesday, August 28th at 11:59pm PT. The winners will be announced on the Hero Arts blog.

Hero Arts Creative Team:

Channin Pelletier

Charlene Madrid

Heather Ruwe

Ilina Crouse

Jeannie Lieu

Jennifer Kotas

Kailash Naidoo

Karen Brown

Michelle Short

Natasha Polite

Natasha Vacca

Pocono Pam

Rachel Kleinman

Rosie Lopez

Seeka

Special Guests:

Cathy Zielske

Laura Bassen

Mindy Eggen

Final Thoughts

Today I used a bunch of lovely new products from Hero Arts 2024 Holiday Catalog but there are so many other great additions that I know you will love. Thanks for stopping by today and “hopping” with Hero Arts.

cardmaking · Die cutting · papercrafting

Spellbinders New Serenade of Autumn | Colorful Die Cut Cards

Karen BrownLeave a comment
Colorful Die Cut Autumn Cards using Spellbinders Serenade of Autumn Collection

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.

Seasonal Thinking of You Card with die cut leaves, Wheat and flowers.

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.

Using Pre-printed Chipboard stickers for Quick Seasonal die cut cards.

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.

Products Used:

Interested in more…You can also find me at these spots too:

@karens_mini on Instagram

Pinterest: @karenabrown

FaceBook: Karens_Mini

YouTube: Karen Brown

Uncategorized

WWC244 – Helen\’s "All About Occasions" Challenge

Karen Brown4 Comments

Hello and welcome!  This week is \”All About Occasions\” at The Watercooler Wednesday Challenge website and talented Helen is our hostess.  I chose to make a Fall card for my daughter.  I adore this sentiment and really like the pumpkins, autumnal foods and lattes.

I thought  some pattern stamping would be bright, fun and seasonal.  I used Copic markers on this card but did a similar one with Zig Markers.  I like to do   different versions changing up the supplies and then compare when they are finished. 

I entered this card in: Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Fall and Autumn Colors

Recipe:
Jane\’s Doodles Pumpkin Spice stamp set.
Jane\’s Doodle\’s Hello Fall stamp set
Copic Markers

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen 

 Image may contain: text
Uncategorized

Autumn Coffee

Karen Brown7 Comments
Hello and Welcome!  Last year, Jane\’s Doodles had the cutest fall stamp sets so I commented on a blog post.  I would have left the comment anyway but was excited to learn that I would be receiving both sets as a gift from Jane\’s Doodles.  

Random Pattern Stamping with Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers.
I thought  some pattern stamping would be bright, fun and seasonal.

Recipe:
Jane\’s Doodles Pumpkin Spice stamp set.
Jane\’s Doodle\’s Hello Fall stamp set
Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers

I am entering this card in:
Fusion \”Coffee\” Challenge:  I went with the Autumn Coffee/Latte Inspiration focusing on the season, lattes and color scheme in the photo.
Lil Red Wagon \”Fall It\” Challenge:  I used Fall seasonal  items and colors for this fun prompt.

Stamp Ink Paper \”Designer\’s Choice\” Challenge:  I was pleased to see SIP is back!  I went with bright bold seasonal color for my \”designer\’s choice\” creation.

UPDATE: I was so pleased to that this card was selected as a Stamp, Ink Paper \”Winner\” and \”Favorite at Little Red Wagon.
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Thanks for stopping by!
Karen