Tag: Card Kit

Cardmaking Kit · papercrafting

Hero Studio December 2024 Release and Hop

Karen Brown13 Comments
Hero Arts Hero Studio December 2024 Release and Card Inspiration

If you’re already dreaming of decking your craft room with fresh supplies, Hero Arts December Release is about to paint your world with inspiration! This month’s theme is color, and it’s bursting with playful possibilities. Imagine stamps that bring your designs to life, a fancy circle-shaped die perfect for creating a BOLD striking focal point, and a die-cut box of crayons that’s as whimsical as it is nostalgic. And let’s not forget the butterflies—because no colorful creation is complete without a touch of fluttery elegance. It’s everything you need to make your cards shine brighter.

A Kaleidoscope of Creativity: December’s Theme is “Color”!
Bold, colorful and bright sun and floral die cut card with created with the Inlay die cutting technique for a stained glass look.
A Colorful Recipe for Success: Hero Studio December Card Kit of the Month

I wanted a bold color palette with variations in shade so I grabbed the new Sky Ombres Hero Transfers for die cutting my Floral Circle Fancy Die (part of the December Card Kit). I used the Inlay Die Cutting Technique which produces a beautiful “stained glass window” look.

  1. Cut the circle frame from Pitch Black Cardstock
  2. Select the colors you want from the Sky Ombres Hero Transfers and rub on white cardstock. I enjoy using Rub-On Transfers and I love the beautiful gradients in this sampler.
  3. With the Floral Circle Fancy Die, cut a circle in a 5″ x 5″ white cardstock panel and stamp the sentiment (included in the kit).
  4. Glue the white panel created in step 3 to a second 5″ x 5″ panel of white cardstock.
  5. Insert your black frame in the round window.
  6. Die cut your colors using the panels you created in step 2. Inset these into the black frame. I kept all the die cut pieces in a small bowl until I was sure I had all the pieces I needed to create my stained glass. I placed each piece prior to gluing to make sure they were all in the correct spot. Once I was happy with my placement, I put glue in the “well” and then placed and glued the die cut components.
  7. This techinque is great for mass-producing cards. You can see two of the leftovoer frames in the top right corner of the photo. These would be beautiful just glued to a card for a bright clean and simple look.
Bright happy circle die cut card featuring a sun and two happy flower blooms with a "You Color My World" sentiment.

What’s Inside the Kit?

Curious about this month’s kit? Let’s take a peek inside the December Kit:

• Clear Stamp Set, 6” x 8” • 15 Coordinating Dies • Floral Circle Fancy Die • 5 Reinkers, 1/2 oz. (Purple Galaxy, Blue Hawaii, Green Apple, Lemon Drop, Fruit Punch) • Plastic Watercolor Palette

5 Wonderful Kit Options:

For this blog post, I created with the December Kit, The Clear Stamp and Dies Kit and two Extraordinary Extras, but there are 5 kits plus 6 Extras available. You can also buy the Whole Studio, which includes all 5 kits at a wonderful savings.

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

Clear Stamp and Die of the Month: Floral Butterfly

Stamped, colored and die cut Floral Butterfly card on an ombre background created with Hero Rub-On Transfers.

For a card that truly takes flight, try stamping the gorgeous Floral Butterfly as your centerpiece. Use alcohol markers to bring it to life with vibrant shades—blend rich oranges, sunny yellows, and lush greens to make those petals pop. Once your butterfly is a kaleidoscope of color, grab your coordinating die and cut it out. Adhere it to an ombre blue sky background, fading from light to dark, for a dreamy effect. I created my background panel by “rubbing” on the Sky Ombres Hero Transfer onto cardstock. So easy and beautiful! It’s like sending a little piece of summer to your favorite person, no sunscreen required! 🦋✨

Key Products Used:

Bright fluttery stamped and die cut butterfly handmade card created with Hero Arts December Cling of the Month Stamp and Die kit called Floral Butterfly. Hero Arts: CD1224, RT138

Box of Crayons Fancy Dies

Hero Arts Box of Crayons Fancy Dies inspirational die cut handmade card. Hero Arts DF229

Make their birthday extra colorful with a slimline card that’s all about the crayons! I used Box of Crayons Fancy Dies and started by die-cutting a cheerful box of crayons and filling it with every shade imaginable—this is your chance to go full rainbow mode. Hero Arts recently introduced a limited edition sampler of Rainbow Cardstock that is perfect for your favorite colorful die cutting.

I die cut each crayon in two shades of each color and then trimmed the top of the lighter toned “label” with scissors to make for a more realistic crayon look.

Key Products Used:

Rainbow die cut crayon handmade birthday card created with Hero Arts Box of Crayons die kit

Blog Hop:

Hero Arts will give away a $50 gift card, drawn from the comments left across the hop. Enter by Sunday, December 8 at 11:59pm PST, and the winner will be announced on the Hero Arts blog the following week.

Hero Arts

Hero Arts Creative Team:
Channin Pelletier
Charlene Madrid
Ilina Crouse
Jeannie Lieu
Jennifer Kotas
Kailash Naidoo
Karen Brown You Are Here!
Lydia Fiedler
Michelle Short
Natasha Polite
Natasha Vacca
Rachel Kleinman
Rosie Lopez
Seeka
Special Guests:
Mindy Eggen
Nichol Spohr
Kelly Taylor

Happy Crafting! And be sure to let your creativity shine bright and colorful.

cardmaking · Cardmaking Kit · stitching

Stitching Die of the Month | November 2024 | Spellbinders

Karen BrownLeave a comment
Handmade stitched card tutorial with Spellbinders Novebmer 2024 Stitching Die of the Month and a die cut Dalmation dog.

Today, I’m excited to share a simple yet charming project featuring a stitched frame and an adorable die-cut Dalmatian named Dottie!

I am using Spellbinders Paper Arts November Stitching Club of the Month and Roller Disco Dottie from the Out and About Collection.

Frames add so much interest and I think this new stitched kit will become a staple in my craftroom. I can never have too many nesting inifity dies and this one would also be so pretty “unstitched”!

Cross Stitch Nested Card Front and Tag Kit

Adding handstitched details to your cardmkaing projects.

Stitching Kit Tips and Tricks:

  • I started by die cutting my Stitching Kit pieces with my Platinum 6 die cutting machine. This month’s kit has 7 wonderful cutting dies. I die cut the frame twice and glued them together for easier stitching. The frame is Teal Topaz and the stitched inset is Waterfall that I used from The Assorted Cardstock pack. This bundle has GREAT colors!
  • I die cut Dottie twice and assembled.
  • Spellbinders has a nice selection of stitching accessories in their shop that you can find HERE. Today, I used DMC 964 that is included in the Color Essentials Cool DMC Bundle. This thread bundle was selected to coordinate with Spellbinders cardstock colors.
  • When I started stitching, I took two strands of floss, separated them one at a time, brought them together and then stroked and lengthened them until they seemed tame and ready to use.
  • I usually stitch with size 22 Tapestry needles.
  • I used thin double sided tape to secure my floss to the die cuts. I like that this tape is easy to hide behind the die cuts and I don’t even bother to take the top release paper off the tape.
  • Remember to keep your floss taught as you stitch.
  • 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. 
  • When I was done, I added a bit of Bearly Glue to the ends so that they would stay in place.
  • I assembled my piece with Bearly Glue and Craft Foam.

I thought it would be fun to include a process photo of my stitching in progress. I have a comfy chair by a window that I like to stitch in.

Process photo for a handstitched greeting card with a die cut dalmation puppy.

Helpful Links:

Spellbinders Club Info:

  • 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.

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen