A blog about cardmaking and papercrafting.
Hello and thanks for stopping by! I was in a mood to use my paper scraps again. My old square paper punch was out of whack so I purchased a new one and put it to use cutting squares from leftover colorful gel press scraps. I LOVE this bold rainbow hued look! I die cut an extra large sentiment: Altenew’s Mega Hello to finish the card.
Thanks for popping by!
Karen
I am always looking for new fresh interesting sentiments so I was so excited to see this month’s Spellbinders Small Die of the Month Kit called Outlined Sentiments. Besides the “for” and “you” I used above, the kit includes Cheers (see card below), Thanks, Congrats and Hello (see card below) plus coordinating shadow dies that line up perfectly! There is also a cute flower, greenery and leaves in the kit.
The die cuts are beautifully delicate so I used an extra metal shim when die-cutting the sentiments and they cut great. Before die cutting, I attached adhessive sheets to the cardstock and this made sentiment placement so easy!
For my background, I used my paper trimmer to cut strips of paper in varying widths. I didn’t measure, I just eyeballed it. I started with Waterfall, Pink Sand, Watermelon Fusion (retired), white and Cosmic Sky. It didn’t look quite right so I added Kraft cardstock and then I was happy with my color scheme. I think it is bright and cheerful with a bit of a beach vibe. I trimmed my background down to 3 1/2″ x 4 3/4″ and mounted on an A2 base with kraft foam.
I die cut my sentiments and shadows, added three strawberry blossoms from the August Large Die of the Month Kit, placed enamel dots on the flower centers and then adhered to the background with foam tape.
I am happy with this cheery little card.
For my second card, I die cut my two sentiments, Outlined Sentiments, from Brush Gold cardstock and I love the simple elegance it adds.
I used three of Spellbinders August 2022 Subscription Kits on this card: Large Die of the Month, Small Die of the Month and Embossing Folder of the Month.
My last card is a bit more clean and simple, but I love the effect of the delicate die cut sentiment.
With Taylored Expressions Square Window Masking Stencil, I ink blended Grass Fields, Warm Sunshine and Peacock Feathers for my background. Using the August 2022 Large Die of the Month kit, I selected and die cut cardstock scraps so that each of the three berries would be a different shade of red. I die cut the Cheers sentiment (Spellbinder’s August 2022 Small Die of the Month Kit) from metallic black cardstock. I first adhered adhessive paper to the back of the cardstock and then die cut the sentiment which made placement so easy.
I think these sentiment dies are the perfect finishing touch for cards. Thanks for stopping by!
Karen
Hello! I am so excited to show you Spellbinders new product line from Cathe Holden called Flea Market Finds. Cathe is a well known fabric designer and collector of vintage miscellany and she just released a wonderful assortment of printed die-cuts, paper samplers, stamps and stencils in collaboration with Spellbinders. Cathe put so much thought into every product and they all work SO well together.
For the past week, I have been playing in my craft room and I’d like to show you what I created. Hold on, becuase I have seven cards to share with you today. The card above was so fun to make!
My Recipe For Card 1:
On this card, I used all the products “as is” with no distressing. I started with the background where I layered 2 different papers, one from the neutral palette and one from the Blue Green pack. Next, I started adding stickers and diecuts. The bird image is framed with a third paper from Cathe’s Neutral Sampler.
For my Shabby Chic card, I started by ink blending Tumbled Glass Distress Ink on my panel. I added Frayed Burlap Ink around the ages for a vintage feel. I let the panel dry and then added Grit Paste through stencil #1 of the Layered Vintage Floral Stencil. I really like how the background turned out. I wanted an even more vintage look so I ran my Tea Dye Distress Crayon around the edges of the background and die cut and then blended the pigment with my fingers. The card base was covered with paper from the Blue Green Paper Palette.
My third card is a collage style card pieced together with designer paper, printed die-cuts and stamps. I used 1.25″ squares of paper cut from the Neutrals and Blue Green Samplers for my background. I distressed my background panel and the die cuts with a Distress Crayon and then added lots of ephemera.
I started my grunged up card by making a background panel. I blended tumbled glass distress ink and then added a bit of frayed burlap. I then ink blended a second panel for my die cut circles. I used Antique Linen Distress Ink and then added a bit of frayed burlap. I let the panels dry and then added Distress Grit Paste through my bricked stencil. I wanted it to look rough and old so I didn’t cover the entire stencil. After the grit paste was dry, I rubbed a Distress Crayon around the edges and blended it out onto the panel with my finger. I also gently rubbed some on the top of the panel so you could really see the crackle finish. Next, I die cut my circles and rubbed distress crayon around the edges and then blended onto the top with my fingers. I added two stickers to two of the circles and then stamped over them. The middle circle is just the roughly stamped cute flower truck. The matting is from the blue green sampler.
This was the fastest and easiest card to make. I started with a page from the Neutral Sampler for my Background. I then layered on 3 Happy Thoughts and 2 Home Arts printed die cuts. I stamped a sentiment onto the flower basket and added a fun little paper clip from my stash.
Cathe Holden included a beautiful stencil in her collection and I used it for my background on this card. I added 2 stickers and 1 stamp to complete the card.
This was another card that came together very quickly using die cuts and stickers.
Here is a group photo of the seven cards I created.
I had so much fun creating these cards. If you have a moment, let me know which is your favorite.
Thank you!
Karen
Last week, I taught a workshop on creating Easy Mixed Media cards. The participants had never done Gel Press printing before so I guided them through the printing process.
And then we turned the prints into cards.
Supplies used:
Altenew Bird of the Woods Stamp Set, Die Set and Bundle
Altenew Rounded Rectangles Die Set
Who is ready for spring? I’ve been working on some bright sunny birthday cards featuring Spellbinders Susan’s Garden Favorites Collection. Today I chose the beautiful Sunflower and Ladybug die set for my two cards.
My Process:
I think the result is a bright happy card!
I love these sunflowers so I made a second card with a few modifications:
I am so pleased you stopped by! I always love to read your comments, so if you have a moment, let me know what you think.
Karen
I LOVE Spellbinder’s 3D Vignette Pop Up Christmas Tree!
I was SO excited when I opened The November 2021 Amazing Paper Grace Kit! When I saw those lovely Christmas Tree dies and the assortment of gift boxes I knew the projects would be just stunning and I couldn’t wait to get started. One of the first things I do when planning a card is to think about the colors I want to use. Traditional green and red would be so beautiful but I decided to go with teal and pink. Since it is Christmas, I also wanted to add some sparkle so I used some festive glitter cardstock as accents. In person, the glitter cardstock just shimmers and shines.
I have been looking for a good glue for small die-cuts and I just purchased some Bearly Glue and it is a game-changer! The nozzle offers precise application and doesn’t seem to clog like other applicators I’ve tried. I used Bearly Glue for the first time on this post.
Products used on Card 1:
I just love the swirls on the smallest tree die so I made a second card with a trio of trees.
Products Used on Card 2:
Wishing you a happy holiday season!
Karen
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.
I wanted a lot of color variation in my geraniums so I started by “ink smooshing” four panels of watercolor paper.
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,
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
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:
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″.
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.
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
Hello and welcome! I just returned from a wonderful road trip to The Pacific Northwest. My husband and I had a great time but we are back home and I was excited to get back into my craft room.
My first project was this Amazing Paper Grace September Die of the Month! Becca always creates such fun dies and this month is a beautiful vintage cash register.
To keep the vintage feel, I decided to create my own papers using a gel press. I really enjoy making monoprints so I got to work making a assortment of prints. For this card I used six: dark turquoise with hints of brown and green; light turquoise; white with leftover blue, green and purple(background); copper; plus two green panels.
I die cut my components and used foam tape to adhere to my backgound. I distressed the die cuts a bit more with brown watercolor markers around the edges and around the buttons. The cash register buttons are flat clear jewels.
My card is a 5 1/2″ x 5 1/2″ square. To finish my card, I added a bit of greenery from Spellbinder’s Petite Floral Potpourri.
September’s kit was lots of fun to play with and there are so many lovely details. I think you will enjoy this die kit.
Thank you for stopping by!
Karen
Hello friends and welcome to Spellbinder’s July Club Kits Blog Hop!
I think these are probably the most adorable papercrafting projects that I’ve ever made! These little pop-up houses are created using the July 2021 Amazing Paper Grace Die of the Month and they are just so cute!
I used Lagoon cardstock for the eaves, windows and doors and Graphite for the roof. I love the contrast of these colors against the fresh white of the house. The door knob and flower center are enamel dots.
The body of the house is designed to hold a tabbed card (or three). I left mine blank as I plan to hand write a note to include when I send.
Giveaway:
To celebrate this release, we are giving away a $50 gift certificate to 3 lucky blog readers – selected from the comments on our blog. Giveaway closes on Sunday, July 18th, 11:59 pm MST. The winner will be announced in this blog hop post the following Tuesday. The winner is responsible for shipping costs, duties, and taxes.
Please note, store credit (gift certificate) cannot be applied to Club Subscriptions. Store credit can be applied to shop past Club products, Club extras and regular releases.
Spellbinders Blog
Becca Feeken
Tina Smith
Bibi Cameron
Annie Williams
Becky Roberts
Yasmin Diaz
Jennifer Snyder
Kathy Clement
Hussena Calcuttawala
Marie Heiderscheit
Jill Hilliard
Laurie Willison
Ilina Crouse
Virginia Lu
Emily Midgett
Jean Manis
Sheri Holt
Sandra Nagel
Joy Baldwin
Rosemary Dennis
Henriëtte van Mierlo
Betty Wright
Melody Rupple
Jenny Colacicco
Emily Leiphart
Vera Yates
Tracy Ware
Gemma Campbell
Alanna Moses
Michelle Starcher
Deborah Jenkins
Erin Thompson
Birgit Norton
Michelle Sheler
Sandhya Iyer
Jennifer Kotas
Jessica Vasher
Olga Direktorenko
Karen Brown
Tanya Boser
Martha Lucia Gomez
Amy Kolling
Ready to shop? You can find all the Club Kits HERE.
I am so pleased you stopped by!
Karen
Kenny's Cards 