Hero Arts | My Monthly Hero January 2024 Release + Blog Hop

January 8, 2024January 9, 2024 Karen Brown32 Comments

January 2024 My Monthly Hero Premium Kit Card

Have you seen the wonderful new Hero Arts My Monthly Hero Kit for January 2024? The theme is Love, Flowers and Friendship…so versatile!

The Classic Kit is a $70 Value for $36.99
The Premium Kit is a $106 Value for $49.99

Premium Subscription Kit

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.

Die cut floral "Hello Friend" card in aqua, orange, navy and grey.

I’ve listed the products used below:

January 2024 Add-On Cards:

This month’s Add-On Collection is just wonderful! You can see the entire collection HERE. I have two Add-On cards that I wanted to share today.

Love You So Much Die Cut Valentine

Love You So Much rainbow die-cut valentine made using the inlay technique + cover plate die.

The instant I saw this Love You So Much cover die, I knew I wanted to do layers of rainbow color for each band. If you wanted to mass produce cards you could easily change up the color order and do 7+ cards in no time. I used Coral, Peacock, Paradise, Kiwi, Canary, Papaya, Amethyst and Passion Flower cardstock.

Hero Arts Arts Love You So Much Cover Plate + rainbow Valentine - DF-188

Products Used:

Valentine Wreath in Scandinavian Blue

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 Valentine Wreath square card - SB-397 and CM-753

Products Used:

SB397 Valentine Wreath Stamp and Die Bundle
CM753 Valentine Wreath Stamp
Indigo Core Ink
Dove White Cardstock (stamped panel)
A2 Top Fold Card (which I cut down to 4 1/4 x 4 1/4″)
Metal Wire Snippers

BLOG HOP:

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.

Blog Hop Links:

Hero Arts

Hero Arts Creative Team:

Charlene Madrid

Michelle Short

Karen Brown You Are Here!

Special Guests:

I am so glad you could join us for this hop!

cardmaking · hot foiling · papercrafting

Spellbinders | Its My Party Too Collection: 3 Colorful Rainbow Card Ideas

June 20, 2023June 21, 2023 Karen BrownLeave a comment

Clean and Simple Foil Glimmer Card

Today I am sharing some sentiment focused hot foil cards and the first one was so quick and easy! I wanted to spotlight the fun sentiment so I added some 1/4″ paper strips to the bottom right corner and then angled my sentiment. Done!

Products Used:

Paper Trimmer available at Amazon:

Tonic Studios paper trimmer

Spellbinders Glimmering Hooray Hot Foil Plate and Die Set + handmade card | GLP-388

Hot Foil Stamping + Texture + Rainbow Colors

For my second card, I wanted some texture on my background panel and I thought the Tiny Dots Embossing Folder would be perfect. To add fun pops of color, I added a 1″ rainbow accent strip to the bottom of my card. The width of each strip is 1/4″.

Products Used:

Spellbinders Glimmering All About You Hot Foil Plate and Dies Set GLP-389 + handmade card

Hot Foiling + White and Gold Floral Die Cuts

For card #3, I kept the rainbow color theme but I added lots of white and gold floral elements to emphasize the lovely gold foiled sentiment. I started with the star of the card, which is the gorgeous hot foiled sentiment. Next, I ink blended a rainbow panel that I die cut into an oval shape and then embossed with the Tiny Dots embosssing folder. At this point, I thought the card looked too plain so I die cut a bunch of my favorite flowers and added them around the perimeter of the center oval. I also embellished with some colorful enamel dots. I die cut the card base from an A2 top folding card. To keep the top fold, I positioned the top edge of the die just above the fold.

Spellbinders Glimmering All About You Hot Foil Plate and Dies Set GLP-389
Spellbinders Tiny Dots Embossing Folder SES-051
Spellbinders Glimmer Gold Foil GLF-014
Spellbinders Essential Stylish Ovals Nesting Dies S5-562
Spellbinders Be Bold Beautiful Blooms S5-502
Spellbinders Stylish Oval Hello You Floral Dies
Stitched Ornament Die – Greenery S4-1231
Spellbinders November 2022 Small Die of the Month Kit (sold out)
Spellbinders Brushed Gold Cardstock SCS-116
Spellbinders A2 Top Folding Cardbase
Spellbinders Foam Squares
Distress Inks
Blending Brushes

Spellbinders Glimmering All About You Hot Foil Plate and Dies Set GLP-389 + Tiny Dots Embossing Folder SES-051.

cardmaking · Die cutting · papercrafting

Spellbinders | Stylish Ovals Collection 4 Ways

April 10, 2023December 22, 2023 Karen Brown1 Comment

Spellbinders Stylish Oval Hello You Floral Dies (S5-565) + Oval Nesting Dies (S5-562) on a handmade card.

Oval Shaped Cards

Shaped dies can really change the look of your cards and projects so I was excited to see Spellbinders new Stylish Ovals Collection. I created the first card for my mom’s upcoming birthday. Red is her signature color so I paired corally reds with aquas and greys for a very eye-catching color palette.

To make my oval cardbase, I used the largest oval die for the base. I took a white A2 top folding card base and put the top edge of the die just above the fold so that the die would cut around the top. I die cut the stem twice and glued together for added heft and stability.

Supplies Used:

Shaped Oval Card with Spellbinders Stylish Ovals Collection

Spellbinders Floral Die Cut Cards

Spellbinders Stylish Oval Hello You Floral Dies (S5-565) + Oval Infinity Punch and Pierce Plate Cover Die handmade card.

I needed a card for a bridal shower so I made a second oval shaped card with die cut flowers. This one is smaller than card 1, it is 5″ x 3 3/4″. I think it makes for a sweet gift encloser.

I used the same products as card one but added a pretty little oval frame from the Infinity Punch and Pierce Plate Cover Die. This die is so beautiful and a has an incredible amount of detail, but it cuts beautifully. I used just the middle section on this card and I used the other 2 sections on card #4 below.

Products Used:

White oval shaped card with die cut red flowers.

Die Cut Rainbow Arch Birthday Card

Colorful Rainbow Arch card with Spellbinders Stylish Oval Nesting Dies (S5-562) handmade card.

In case you haven’t noticed, I LOVE these oval nesting dies. Just for fun, I wanted to make a bright cheerful rainbow card so I selected 8 bright shades of cardstock and then die cut my rainbow elements.

This type of birthday card is so versatile that I love to keep them on hand. I could send this to anyone…man, woman or child.

Products Used:

Festive Rainbow Colored Die Cut Birthday card.

Spellbinders Infinity Punch and Pierce Plate Cover Die

Spellbinders Stylish Oval Infinity Punch and Pierce Plate Cover Die (S5-566) handmade card.

This cover die is gorgeous in person! I started by making a rainbow gradient background with inks and blending brushes. I then placed the center and exterior components of the cover die over the top and added two floral embellishments that echo the spring colors.

Supplies Used:

Oval pierced cover die with spring ink blending on a handmade card.

I hope I offered some inspiration for your crafting.

Karen

cardmaking · Die cutting

Spellbinders Cards | Be Bold Blooms Floral Die Kit 3 Ways

March 26, 2023December 19, 2025 Karen Brown2 Comments

Spellbinders Be Bold Blooms Die Set (S5-502) handmade card.

Happy Birthday to me! I had several crafty items on my wish list that I received as birthday gifts:

Spellbinders Be Bold Blooms Die Cut Kit (S5-502)
Papertrey Perfect Match Cardstock
Sarah Renae Clark’s Color Bundle (Volumes 1 and 2 Color Catalogue and Color Cubes)

I thought it would be fun to combine these products together for a birthday blog post.

Using Sarah Renae Clark’s Color Cubes and Catalogue

I love color so Sarah Renae Clark’s bundle has been so fun to explore! I started by looking for color inspiration in the Color Catalogue and then I pulled out several Color Cube Cards that I found inspiring. I like to start with the Color Catalogue where I can search by Color, Key Word or Collection. I wanted a bright springy card so I began by searching for combinations with hot pink/magenta. For my first card, I settled on combination #35. My second card uses #218.

Once I had my colors selected, I matched them up with hues in my new Papertrey Cardstock. I love that there are 36 colors in each package!

Spellbinders Be Bold Blooms handmade cards in Pinks and Yellows from Papertrey Perfect Match Cardstock.

Spellbinders Flowers | Be Bold Blooms Die-Cutting Tutorial

I started die cutting with my Be Bold Blooms kit. I love the variety of flowers included…they are fun and whimsical! I used my Papertrey paper plus some Spellbinders Brushed Gold. I like that the gold adds a rich elegance without being too shiny.

I wanted to experiment with backgrounds too. For Card 1, I “debossed” my background panel with an older Embossing Folder of the Month called Intertwined Lattice. For Card 2, I die cut a frame with an old favorite Spellbinders Essential Rectangles.

Spellbinders Be Bold Blooms Die cut handmade card in blues and yellows.

I played around with layouts and once I had the die-cuts they way I wanted I carefully applied Press-N-Seal wrap over the top, flipped it over and applied Instant Dimension Foam Tape to the bottom of each piece. All I had to do was flip it back over, place, add a bit of pressure and then gently peel back the Press-N-Seal. So much faster than laying out, disassembling, adding foam tape and then reassembling piece by piece.

Spellbinders Be Bold Blooms die cut handmade card in blues and yellows using Papertrey Perfect Match Cardstock.

I added my sentiments (hello is from a past club kit) and was done.

I needed a Sympathy Card so did another quick card with white, gold and pink die cuts.

Products Used:

Spellbinders Be Bold Blooms Die Kit (S5-502)
Papertrey Perfect Match Cardstock
Spellbinders Intertwined Lattice Embossing Folder
Spellbinders Essential Rectangles Nesting Die Set (Sold out)
Spellbinders Brushed Gold Cardstock
Spellbinders Mini Everyday Glimmer Hot Foil Sentiments (GLP-260)
Altenew Instant Dimension Foam Tape

Have a great week!

Karen

cardmaking · papercrafting

Altenew Celebrating Parents Card Drive 2023 Blog Hop + Giveaway ($200 in Total Prizes!)

March 14, 2023March 16, 2023 Karen Brown33 Comments

Altenew's Stunning Sakura + Trailblazing Fresh Dye Ink + Card

Hello, I am sharing two cards that I created using Altenew’s new Stunning Sakura stamp, die and coloring stencils for The Celebrating Parents Card Drive and Blog Hop!

For my birthday, I received received Altenew’s Trailblazing Fresh Dye Ink Mini Ink Cubes so of course I elected to use the periwinkle hues on this project. I also received Sarah Renae Clark’s Color Cubes (Volumes 1 and 2) and I wanted to use her cards for my color inspiration. I sorted through all the gorgeous color combinations and settled on #206, which you can see in the top left corner of the photographs.

Creating with Altenew’s Stunning Sakura Stamp Bundle

Altenew's Stunning Sakura Stamp, Coloring Stencil and Die on a handmade card.

Quick and Easy Coloring with Stencils:

I started by stamping my Stunning Sakura florals with black pigment ink and then set them aside to dry.
Next, using my Trailblazing Fresh Dye Inks, the coordinating stencils and my Mini Blending Tools, I colored my florals.
Die cutting was quick as the dies matched up perfectly with the stamped images.
I custom ink blended my background with Puffy Heart Crisp Dye Ink and my large Blending Tool. I went heavier in the corner and lighter as I blended down.
For Card 1, I used the new Vertical Greetings Sentiment Die and for Card 2 I stamped a sentiment that is included with the stamp set.
I trimmed down my background panels and adhered to an A2 card base with Instant Dimension Foam Tape. I then added my florals with more Foam Tape. I wanted to change the orientation up, so Card 1 has the stem at the bottom and Card 2 has the stem coming in from the side like a tree branch. I really like both orientations. 🙂
For Card 1, I added three Enamel Dots (Shades of Purple).

How to Use Coloring Stencils + Altenew's Stunning Sakura floral stamp

I love the violet/lilac color combo!

Stamped floral card in Violets and Lilac purples

These cards are perfect for Mother’s Day….or a birthday!

We hope to see YOUR cards as part of the Celebrating Parents Card Drive.

Altenew's Stunning Sakura coloring stencils.

Products Used:

I really appreciate that you stopped by and are participating in this Blog Hop. Your next stop is Ishani and her projects are always such a treat! You can see the all the hop stops by clicking the button below:

Giveaway Prizes

$200 in total prizes! To celebrate this release, Altenew is giving away a $50 gift certificate to 2 lucky winners and a $20 gift certificate to 5 winners! Please leave a comment on the Altenew Card Blog and/or each designer’s blog post on the blog hop list below by 03/20/2023 for a chance to win. Altenew will draw 7 random winners from the comments left on each stop of this blog hop and announce the winners on the Altenew Winners Page on 03/21/2023.

Giving Back Info

We have handpicked a few Altenew products that are perfect for your Mother’s Day and Father’s Day cards (and other year-round crafting projects! Check out the collection HERE. We’ll donate $1 with every order of the products included in this collection from 2/28/2023 until 5/14/2023 to the Food Bank of Central New York to support seniors in need.

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

cardmaking · Mixed Media · papercrafting

Altenew: A Year In Review: Crafters’ Edition Blog Hop + Giveaway

December 21, 2022December 29, 2022 Karen Brown39 Comments

Hello friends! I am so excited to be participating again in Altenew’s A Year In Review! I really enjoyed looking back through my projects and selecting some favorite creations.

Rainbow paper weaving with Altenew's Garden Trellis Cover Die.

This first card was my most popular Altenew card on Instagram and I detailed how I created my rainbow paper weaving. You can see my original post HERE. I used Altenew’s Garden Trellis Cover Die as the base for my weaving.

Layered Stamping on a cute little bird: Bird of the Woods by Altenew.

This year, I was a bit obssessed with the Bird of the Woods Layering Stamp set and coordinating dies and I made a bunch of cards using this bundle! This POST was by far my most popular blog post of 2022.

Altenew's Precious Doodles Layered Stamping Floral Dies

I fell in love with the Precious Doodles Bundle…when “doodles” is in the title, I know it is going to be a favorite of mine! This is a darling stamp layering set and you can find my original post HERE.

Altenew Coloring Book watercolor page framed artwork.

I received so much positive feedback on this watercolor piece! I LOVE Altenew’s watercolor products and I used them on my framed project. I started with the Poppy from Altenew’s Coloring Book and I painted it with the 36 Pan Set and Artists Brushes. You can see my original post HERE.

I love mixed media, and this card was my 2nd most popular post on Instagram. You can see my original post HERE. I got really messy and used tons of fun products to create this masculine birthday card.

Clean and Simple + Gel Press Printing Rainbow Grid Card

If there is such a thing as CAS Mixed Media, then this is it. I love the clean white contrast with the rainbow colored gel press die cut squares and the giant black Altenew Mega Hello sentiment. You can see my original post HERE.

Altenew Craft Your Life Always Sunshine Kit card

I love all of the Craft Your Life releases but this Always Sunshine Kit was especially popular with my blog readers. You can read my original post HERE: I love coloring with stencils and that is the technique I used on this card.

I always love Altenew’s Craft-A-Flower kits and this Open Peony was my favorite Craft-A-Flower in 2022. You can read my original blog post HERE.

Altenew Timeless Tulips with coordinating ink blend background.

Who doessn’t love a floral bouquet? Altenew’s Timeless Tulips premiered in August and I think it is a gorgeous set with two big beautiful floral stamps. You can read my original post HERE.

Altenew Summer Wishes stamp, die and coloring stencil card.

I will finish with Altenew’s Summer Wishes Bundle which is oh, so fun! I created a cozy little beach scene comprised of an adirondack chair, umbrella, radio and flip flops. This is such a happy card and I know I will pull out this bundle year after year. You can find my original post HERE.

Prizes:

Over $500 in total prizes! Altenew is giving away a $100 gift card to 1 lucky winner, 3 $50 gift cards, and 27 $10 gift cards. Winners will be chosen from both blog hop #1 and blog hop #2. Please leave a comment on the Altenew Card Blog HERE by 12/27/2022 for a chance to win.

Wait, there’s MORE!

We would also LOVE to see YOUR favorite handmade cards, layouts, home decor, etc. featuring Altenew products! Feel free to share them on social media or on your blog using the hashtag #AltenewBest2022. You may also add a link by clicking the blue button below.

FOUR lucky crafters will each win a $15 gift certificate to our store! Winners will be announced on the Altenew Winners Page on 12/29/2022. We are looking forward to seeing your beautiful creations!

Blog Hop Order:

Karen Brown You Are Here!

Claire Apostoloff Claire is Next!

I am so pleased that you took a moment to stop by! If you have time, I’d love to hear which project you liked best.

Wishing all my crafty friends a healthy and happy 2023!

Karen

cardmaking · papercrafting

Spellbinders | November 2022 Club Kits

November 1, 2022December 19, 2022 Karen Brown3 Comments

Spellbinders November 2022 Small Die of the Month Kit: Layered Floral Card Creator handmade card.

Spellbinders Small Die of the Month Kit: November 2022

The November Spellbinders kits are GORGEOUS and I am excited to show you the cards that I made! I used the Small Die of the Month Club Kit called Layered Floral Card Creator on my first two cards.

Spellbinders Small Die of the Month: November 2022 Club kit (Layered Floral Card Creator) handmade card.

For Card #1, I used the leafy background plus flowers to make a high contrast showy birthday card. I started by cutting the background twice from dark green cardstock. I found that if I started at the bottom stem and then worked my way up, the two panels glued together seemlessly.

The die cuts are quite bold so I wanted the sentiment to be large too. I stamped my sentiment on a Top Folding A2 cardbase and then glued my die cuts to the panel with liquid glue. This card has a definite “wow” factor but it came together very quickly.

Layered Floral Card Creator: Spellbinders November 2022 Small Die Club Kit handmade card.

Spellbinders Embossing Folder of the Month: November 2022

Spellbinders November 2022 Club Kit Cards.

For my second card I used the Small Die of the Month along with the Embossing Folder of the Month (Fan Motif). I die cut a circle from a panel of Waterfall cardstock and then ran it through my embossing machine along with the Fan Motif embossing folder. The embossing looks great…very crisp and textured.

I then die-cut and assembled my flowers (Small Die of the Month) and added some greenery from Stitched Ornament (S4-1231), which was released earlier this year. I used the same bold sentiment as in card 1. I wanted lots of dimension on this card, so I adhered the embossed panel to the A2 card base with foam tape.

Spellbinders November 2022 Embossing Folder of the Month: Fan Motif handmade card.

Spellbinders Large Die of the Month: November 2022

Spellbinders November 2022 Large Die of the Month Club Kit (Sylized Floral Kaleidoscope Slimline) handmade card.

Stylized Floral Kaleidoscope Slimline

The Large Die of the Month, Stylized Floral Kaleidoscope Slimline, is a real beauty! I started by die cutting the background trellis, sentiment, flowers (APG Petite Floral Potpourri) and greenery (leaf included in this kit + Stitched Ornament (S4-1231), from white cardstock. Then, using Spellbinders paper, I chose three shades for each medallion: saffron, terra cotta, poppy; peridot, fern and deep green; and waterfall, teal topaz and lagoon. I assembled my card and added some coordinating enamel dots.

Clean and Simple die cut masculine card using Spellbinders November 2022 Large Die of the Month club kit.

I also wanted to make some masculine cards, and I thought clean and simple window cards would be perfect. Using Stylized Floral Kaleidoscope Slimline, I made one card in blue (window only) and one in green (with a trellis backdrop). These were quick and easy to make but they are so eye-catching! I really like the sentiment that is included with this kit…I used it on all three cards.

Masculine die cut hexagon birthday card.

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

cardmaking · papercrafting

Altenew August 2022 Endless Ambition Release Blog Hop + Giveaway ($300 in Total Prizes!)

August 22, 2022August 17, 2022 Karen Brown19 Comments

Altenew Timeless Tulips Card with coloring stencil.

Altenew Timeless Tulips Bundle

Wow, this Timeless Tulips stamp set is fabulous! Two BIG, Bold beautiful stamps with a Graphic Art Vibe and wonderful sentiments that will work for so many occasions. I could see it for Mother’s Day, a Get Well Card, Ballet Recital, Birthday, Valentine’s Day….lots of possibilites.

Card with red and pink bouquet of tulips.

Both cards came together quickly because I used the coordinating coloring stencils. I started by stamping with black pigment ink. Once the ink was dry, I lined up my stencils and started coloring. I used Altenew Crisp Dye Inks in Coral Berry, Ruby Red, Paper Bag, Firefly, Green Fields and Evergreen. The image was easy to die cut and the sentiment is included with this stamp set. I used a Kraft Card base and then ink blended some Paper Bag Crisp Dye Ink along the edges to tie the card panel and base together.

Graphic Arts floral card in pinks and reds.

Products Used on Card #1:

Altenew Timeless Tulips Stamp, Die and Stencil Bundle
Altenew Crisp Dye Inks (color are listed above)
Black Pigment Ink
Craft Foam (to adhere the panel to the card base)
Adhessive Tape (to adhere the bouquet to the panel)

Altenew Timeless Tulips card with a hand inked coordinating background.

I used the coloring stencils on card #2 also. For this card, I ink blended a coordinating background using Coral Berry into Ocean Waves.

Altenew Timeless Tulips flower vase card in pinks and blues.

Products Used on Card #2:

Timeless Tulips Stamp, Die and Stencil Bundle
Crisp Dye Inks: Blush, Coral Berry, Ruby Red, Firefly, Green Fields, Evergreen, Caribbean Sky, and Ocean Waves.
Black Pigment Ink
White Embossing Powder + Pigment Ink
Foam Tape

Altenew Timeless Tulips Big Bold stamped card.

Giveaway Prizes

$300 in total prizes! To celebrate this release, Altenew is giving away a $50 gift certificate to 2 lucky winners and a $25 gift certificate to 8 winners! Please leave a comment on the Altenew Card Blog and/or each designer’s blog post on the blog hop list below by 08/28/2022 for a chance to win.

Altenew will draw 10 random winners from the comments left on each stop of this blog hop and announce the winners on the Altenew Winners Page on 08/29/2022.

BLOG HOP ORDER

Reiko Tsuchida ***Note: Due to strict regulations in Japan, you might not be able to leave a comment on her blog post.

Bridget Casey

I can’t decide which card I like better.

I am so pleased you stopped by!

Karen

cardmaking · papercrafting

Spellbinders: Susan’s Garden Party Geranium Basket

September 20, 2021September 21, 2021 Karen BrownLeave a comment

Spellbinders Geranium and Antique Wooden Bucket from Susan's Garden Club

Hello friends…happy Monday! I spent part of my weekend creating with this lovely geranium and antique bucket die set designed by Susan Tierney-Cockburn. I’ve always loved geraniums so this was an especially fun project for me.

Card Details

I wanted a lot of color variation in my geraniums so I started by “ink smooshing” four panels of watercolor paper.

I liberally inked a 6×6″ acrylic block with Distress Inks. I wanted an ombre gradient look so went in rows across the block.
I very liberally sprayed the inked block with water then “smooshed” the block onto a piece of watercolor paper.
I weighted the ink/block with a book for 5 minutes.
Next, I uncovered the panel and If the ink pooled, I dabbed the excess ink with a paper towel.

For the geranium buds, I used two shades of red on the top half of the panel and two shades of pink on the bottom. The colors mixed and mingled and gave me the color variation I was looking for. Panel #2 for the basket was done with a light tan and brown. Panel #3 for the leaves mixed three shades of green. And the background panel was created with Tumbled Glass Distress Ink.

Once my panels were dry, I started die-cutting with the dies from Spellbinders Geranium and Antique Wooden Bucket from Susan’s Garden Club. I used brown, pink and green watercolor markers to go around the edges of the bucket, blossoms and leaves. I then gently shaped the leaves and buds. To finish the blooms I added a dot of pink glimmer lacquer to the centers.

For the background, I used longtime favorite Spellbinders Essential Rectangles Etched Die on my blue background panel for a little subtle interest. I then mounted my bucket with foam tape and then glued on my leaves, blooms and sentiment,

Die Cut Geranium card with hand crafted papers.

This geranium die set is beautiful, artistic and very versatile. I can see using it for birthdays, Mother’s Day, Sympathy cards, Thank You Notes etc.

Thank you for visiting today!

Karen

cardmaking · papercrafting

Spellbinders: Holiday Flora Collection

September 11, 2021September 7, 2021 Karen BrownLeave a comment

Flowers + Die-Cutting….one of my favorite combos! Susan Tierney-Cockburn created the most delicious collections of holiday dies and I had so much fun playing with them!

I used three of her new kits on my cards:

Die Cut Papercraft Amaryllis

Amaryllis are always a favorite of mine, so I was excited to create a project. For my card, I made all my own papers using a gel press. I made six monoprints for my die-cuts: dark blue, medium blue, light blue (background), green and yellow-green (stamins) and tan.

Once the panels were completed, my card came together very quickly! The buds were very easy to shape for a lovely 3D effect. Both of my cards are 5 x 7″.

Mixed Media card using Gel Press Die Cut Prints

Susan’s collection is for the holidays, but I think the flowers are so versatile! I made the Amaryllis into a lovely birthday card by heat embossing my sentiment on the basket.

Die Cut Christmas Cactus Holiday Card

I have a Chistmas Cactus that is 25 years old so I really wanted to create a paper twin using Susan’s kit.! I have no idea how old cacti can live my mine is still hanging in there.

I again made my own gel press prints for this Christmas card. I made a blue panel for the background + two green prints, a pink coral and used the other other half of the tan monoprint for my basket. I added some pink glimmer lacquer to some of the tips for my buds.

I love both of these cards and can’t decide which is my favorite! Thanks for popping in to take a look at my post.

Karen