Tag: Feminine

Girly Spa Day handmade card with Enjoy Today sentiment. Girly Spa-Themed Die Cut Card | Wrapped in Care – December 2025 Club Kit
Cardmaking Kit · Die cutting

Girly Spa-Themed Die Cut Card | Wrapped in Care – December 2025 Club Kit

Karen BrownLeave a comment
Feminine die cut card idea: delightful spa day theme card of a girl in a spa towel turban enjoying a day of beauty.

The Spellbinders December 2025 Large Die of the Month, Wrapped in Care, is an absolute delight—especially if you love creating feminine cards with personality. This adorable die set builds the sweetest girl wrapped in a fluffy spa towel turban, fully embracing her day of beauty. It’s charming, whimsical, and so customizable, which made it perfect for creating a card for my daughter. Naturally, I personalized her hair and skin tone to match!

To build the scene, I embossed my background using a past Embossing Folder of the Month, which gave the card a serene, peaceful spa vibe. The textures really elevate the focal girl and tie the whole design together. For colors, I reached for my ColorWheel cardstock, one of my favorite studio essentials. The shades are Chiffon, Cascade, and Celestial, with additional details cut from scraps.

This blog post also highlights my trusty Swatching Dies and Stamps, which are invaluable when choosing harmonious colors.

Die cutting process photo showing the assembly of my December 2025 Large Die of the Month card.

I included a process photo that shows my Spellbinders Shears, my Craft Stax Tray Set (perfect for corralling all the tiny die cut bits), and of course, I used my trusty Platinum 6 die cutting machine—the real MVP.

A simple chipboard sentiment—“enjoy today”—finishes the card with the perfect message for a little self-care moment.

If you love spa themes, feminine cards, or die cutting with loads of personality, the Wrapped in Care kit is going to be a favorite.

Helpful Links:

Spellbinders December 2025 Die of the Month: Wrapped in Care die cut handmade girlfriend card.
Purse theme handmade card. Spellbinders November 2025 Large Die of the Month – Charmed to Know You
cardmaking · Die cutting

Spellbinders November 2025 Large Die of the Month – Charmed to Know You

Karen BrownLeave a comment
2 handmade purse theme cards created with Spellbinders November 2025 Large Die of the Month Kit.

Today I’m sharing two darling purse-themed cards using the Spellbinders November 2025 Large Die of the Month Kit – Charmed to Know You. This set is pure cuteness with so many ways to personalize your bag design. Think mini luxury handbag boutique… but in cardstock form!

This die kit creates a fabulous purse with dangling charms, handles, layered details, and all the embellishments your fashionable heart could want. While it’s designed for 5” x 7” cards, I also made a 4” x 6” version because these purses are just too cute not to size-down and play.

💡 Crafter tip: I keep a clear pouch full of scrap cardstock and it was PERFECT for cutting the tiny charms. Little paper leftovers finally had their big couture moment!

💜 Card 1 – Cream & Lilac Glam

Feminine birthay card featuring a die cut handbag with three cute charms dangling from the handle.

For my first card, I created a Alabaster cream purse with brown leather straps and brushed gold hardware — classic and chic!

I paired it with a lilac background (ColorWheel cardstock) and added a darling mini change purse, a pink scarf, and two charms:
✨ a sweet little bear with a matching pink neck kerchief
🍒 happy smiling cherries

The finishing touch? A gorgeous La Dolce Vita hot foil sentiment on lilac cardstock:

Make it a Day to Remember

And yes — this purse absolutely feels like it’s ready for brunch, shopping, and maybe a macaron or two.

🖤 Card 2 – Chic Neutrals & Lucky Charms

Fun girly birthday card featuring a gray and gold handbag with three charms hanging from the gold hardware: two dice and a pink pig.

My second purse fits a 4” x 6” card base and features granite and anchor gray cardstock with a brushed gold chain handle — sleek and modern!

I got playful with my charms:
🐷 I turned the Caboodle Bonus Gift pig into a charm
🎲 and added two dangling dice on each side

A sweet mini pink bow sits above all three — because even edgy handbags deserve a touch of sweetness.

The sentiment is a dainty Glimmer-foiled “Happy Birthday” — perfect for the girly-girl in your life who loves a little luxury and whimsy.

2 handmade die cut cards featuring cute charms and purses created from the November 2025 Spellbinders Large Die of the Month Kit.

🌟 Final Thoughts

This month’s Large Die of the Month is a handbag lover’s dream — charming (pun absolutely intended), customizable, and so much fun to style. Try different color palettes, charm combos, and sizes to create purses for every personality.

Interested in my other November Card Kit Creations?

Helpful Links:

cardmaking · Stenciling

🧡🩷 Custom Plaid Two Ways with Hero Arts Houndstooth Layering Stencils

Karen Brown1 Comment

Plaid, but make it personal! Today I’m excited to share two bold and beautifully customized cards using the new Houndstooth Layering Stencils from the Case Closed Collection by Hero Arts.

Click HERE if you’d like to read my companion Case Closed Blog Post.

This two-piece stencil is already becoming one of my favorite backgrounds—it’s quick, clean, and incredibly versatile! Whether you’re going soft and sweet or crisp and classic, this pattern plays nicely with every palette.

2 colorful Houndstooth Plaid cards created with Hero Arts Layering Stencils.

A Few Tips Before You Ink

Here’s what made my stenciling process smooth and successful:

  • Stencil Orientation Matters: Make sure the Hero Arts logo is facing up. To keep my layers aligned even after rotating for even inking, I added a tiny arrow sticker pointing to the logo. It’s a game-changer!
  • Alignment Squares Are Your Friend: I marked the alignment squares lightly in pencil before starting so I could line up both layers of the stencil perfectly—no guessing, just precision.

Feminine Florals in Pink & Orange

Feminine floral thhinking of you card with a pink and orange stenciled Houndstooth plaid background

For my first card, I created a lovely pink and orange plaid background using Creamsicle and Taffy inks. I die cut the stenciled background with the Pointed Arches Infinity Dies to create a shaped card—hello, visual interest!

I originally tried a single color mat but it felt flat. Splitting the mat—Coral on the left, Azalea on the right—instantly made the card pop with contrast. I layered on a cluster of Copic-colored florals from the Wild Flower Bundle, a heat-embossed “Thinking of You” sentiment (included in the bundle) in white on black cardstock, and five black enamel dots for a finishing touch.

Copic Colors: YR02, RV11, W0

Handmade card with Hero Arts Houndstooth Plaid layering stencil. The card is shaped with pink and orange color palette.

Masculine Congrats in Blue & Green

Masculine Congrats Card in blues and greens with a stenciled Houndstooth Plaid background,

Card two leans cool, classic, and masculine. I used Periwinkle and Moss inks with the Houndstooth stencils for a bold plaid base, and then die cut it using one of my tried-and-true favorites—Nesting Postage Infinity Dies.

I die cut the bold Congrats sentiment from black cardstock three times, stacked and glued for dimension, and added a soft vellum mat underneath to make it stand out. The sentiment comes from the Congrats and Yay Stamp & Cut Set. Everything was mounted on Periwinkle cardstock and attached to an A2 card base.

Hero Arts Houndstooth Plaid stenciled card in masculine blues and greens.

💡 Why I Love These Stencils

The Houndstooth Layering Stencils are officially a staple in my craftroom. They’re:

  • Fast and easy to use ✅
  • Perfectly crisp results ✅
  • Easy to customize with ANY color palette ✅

You can try monochrome, neutrals, school/team colors, or even select the recipient’s favorite colors. The options are endless—and this stencil plays well with nearly every kind of stamp or sentiment.

2 cards with customized Houndstooth plaid stenciled backgrounds. Card 1 is floral with pink and orange plaid. Card 2 is a masculine Congrats in blue and green plaid.

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Altenew Academy Level 1 Final Project

Karen Brown5 Comments
I\’ve been working my way through Level 1 at The Altenew Academy and just completed my Final Project which was to create a set of \”feminine\” and \”masculine\” gifts sets.  I have to say I learned so much and had loads of ideas but I would like to show you the cards I created for my final project.  I incorporated lessons I learned in:
  •  Let It Shine where we discovered how to add just the right amount of sparkle and shine to a card.  I used metallic heat embossing and  metallic watercolors on my feminine cards.
  •   Easy Die Cutting where we learned to use die-cutting to up the \”Wow\” factor.  I used die-cuts on each of my cards as I think they add loads of impact and felt this unified both card sets.
  •  Easy Ink Blending – I used several ink blending techniques on my masculine card set. My two favorites were the soft blue background on the Healing Wishes card and the die-cut spotlight circles on the Get Well Soon card.  

For my \”feminine\” cards I wanted subtle metallic touches combined with watercoloring. I kept the set cohesive by using cream card stock/watercolor paper, floral images, a pink and green watercolor palette and navy die-cut sentiments.
For this first card, I created a metallic watercolor background which is so pretty in person.  I then stamped, heat embossed and watercolored the floral images.  After the flowers dried I added a pearlescent  white gold watercolor wash over the top which gave the flowers a beautiful sheen.  I die cut the images and attached with foam tape. The next photo shows the first three card in process.

Here are the cards that round out the gift set.  On each card I used big bold die-cut occasion sentiments cut from navy cardstock. 
                     



I really like this feminine spray and think the navy die-cut sentiments are  beautiful and anchor the look of this set.

The painted Lotus die-cut is so pretty in person.

I did want to share this process photo as well.

The Feminine Set

For my \”masculine\” cards I chose to use an overall blue theme with ink blending techniques and Altenew\’s Garden Grow as the unifying elements.  For my first card, I ink blended a background and used peek-a-boo die cut  windows to spotlight my images.  During quarantine, I\’ve been sending so many encouragement cards that I wanted to include one in this set. 

I made a companion card using the die-cut circles from the card above.  I ink blended the spotlight circle, added die-cut images and anchored with a strip of masculine brown paper.

The next two cards have a soft ink blended background to draw the eye to the die cut.

I thought a birthday and recovery card would round out the gift set.

Here is an in-progress photo.  The die cut elements were attached to each card with foam tape.

PRO TIP:  I blended one background on Neenah (Birthday) and the second on Bristol (Healing Wishes) to see which provided a smoother look.  The Neenah panel (below left panel that is now the Birthday Card) is whiter but the Bristol (right panel that is now the Healing Wishes card) is far easier to blend on and resulted in a smoother background.  In the future, I will remember to blend my backgrounds on Bristol cardstock.

And here is the masculine set.


We were challenged to use a recycled element in each set.  For the feminine set I recycled a small Kraft gift bag and for the masculine set I re-used an elegant chocolate brown box.  I heat embossed some tags to top each set.  

Altenew Products Used:
Altenew Weekend Doodles stamp and die bundle
Altenew Best Mom stamp and die bundle
Altenew Inked Lotus stamp and die bundle
Altenew Garden Grow stamp and die bundle
Altenew Mini Branch stamp
Altenew Jet Black Crisp Die Ink

I am so glad you stopped by.  I\’d love to hear what you think about these card sets.  Thanks!
Karen



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Beautiful Day

Karen Brown4 Comments

Here is a feminine card to send to a girlfriend.  I have a group of friends that likes to shop and have lunch and this scene reminds me of those happy times.  I am entering this card in the Watercooler Wednesday Feminine Anything Goes Challenge #168

I recently purchased this Art Impressions Shoppes stamp set.  The card below was colored with Copic markers.

Handmade card using AI Shoppes Stamp set
I thought it would be fun to try the card two different ways so I made a second card and water colored the scene.  

Watercolor card using AI Shoppes Stamp set.

I love the sentiment too and it is from the WPlus9 Doodle Buds set.  I feel like it captures the moment.

I can\’t decide which card I like better.  What do you think?

Thanks for stopping by.

Karen Brown