Tag: papercrafting

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

cardmaking · Mixed Media · papercrafting

Using Colorful Paper Scraps on Handmade Cards

Karen Brown1 Comment
Using Colorful Scraps on DIY Rainbow Hued Grid Cards.

Rainbow Colored Grid Card

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.

Using Leftover Gel Press Scraps on handmade cards.

Thanks for popping by!

Karen

cardmaking · papercrafting

Spellbinders Small Die of the Month | August 2022 | Outlined Sentiments

Karen BrownLeave a comment
Spellbinders August 2022 Small Die of the Month - Outlined Sentiments - die cut sentiment card.

Outlined Sentiments

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.

Handmade card with striped background in pink, white, aqua, blue and tan kraft paper cardstock.
For You Handmade Card

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!

Handmade card with background made of strips of colored cardstock.

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.

Delicate die cut sentiments with sentiment shadows.

Hello You 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.

Spellbinders Outlined Sentiment Dies on a handmade Hello You card,
Hello You Die Cut Strawberry Card

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.

Spellbinders Outlined Sentiments Hello You Card.

Cheers Card with Die Cut Strawberries

My last card is a bit more clean and simple, but I love the effect of the delicate die cut sentiment.

Spellbinders "Cheers" Outlined die cut Sentiment: August 2022 Small Die of the Month Strawberry Card.

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.

Cheers sentiment die cut from metallic black cardstock.
Trio of Die Cut Strawberries

I think these sentiment dies are the perfect finishing touch for cards. Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

cardmaking · Mixed Media · papercrafting

Spellbinders + Cathe Holden’s Flea Market Finds

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Quick and Easy Vintage Card featuring Cathe Holden's Flea Market Finds Ephemera, printed die cuts and stamps.

Cathe Holden’s “Flea Market Finds” Ephemera

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.

Vintage Shabby Chic Card

Vintage Shabby Chic handmade card using Spellbinders Cathe Holden stencil and die cut ephemera.
Vintage Shabby Chic Handmade Get Well Card

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.

Cardmaking With Ephemera

Vintage Collage Style Card using Spellbinders Flea Market Finds die cuts, stamps and stickers.
Aren’t the little bakers just the cutest?

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.

Grunged Up Vintage Look Card

Grunged up Mixed Media Card using Spellbinders Flea Market Finds Stamps and Stickers.

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.

Quick and Easy Vintage Look Card

Quick and Easy Vintage Look Handmade Card using Flea Market Finds Printed Die Cuts.

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.

Stenciled Background on Vintage Look Card

Spellbinders + Cathe Holden Layered Vintage Floral Stencil for Card Background,
Stenciled Background

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.

Using Printed Die Cuts in Cardmaking

Using Cathe Holden's Flea Market Finds in cardmaking

This was another card that came together very quickly using die cuts and stickers.

Using Flea Market Finds Miscellany on handmade cards.

Here is a group photo of the seven cards I created.

Cathe Holden Flea Market Finds handmade cards.

I had so much fun creating these cards. If you have a moment, let me know which is your favorite.

Thank you!

Karen

cardmaking · papercrafting

Easy Mixed Media Cards

Karen BrownLeave a comment
Easy Mixed Media Cards

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.

Gel Press Printing

And then we turned the prints into cards.

Some of the participant cards
Lots of decisions to make in cardmaking
Brainstorming
Working on the layout
Easy Mixed Media Cards featuring Altenew Doodle Blooms, Enamel Dots, Painted Grid Washi Tape and Gel Press Prints.

Supplies used:

Altenew Doodle Blooms Bundle

Altenew Enamel Dots

Altenew Bird of the Woods Stamp Set, Die Set and Bundle

Altenew Rounded Rectangles Die Set

Altenew Painted Grid Washi Tape

Ranger Paint Pens

Misti Stamp Positioner

Gel Press

cardmaking · papercrafting

Spellbinders Die Cut Sunflower Card

Karen Brown6 Comments
A die cut card using Spellbinders Sunflower from Susan's Garden Favorites Collection.

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 started by making a bunch of yellow and green Gel Press prints for my flower and leaves. I’ve inlcuded a photo of some of my prints below.
  • I also wanted a bright fun background so I taped some watercolor paper to a hard board and brushed water over the surface. Then I mixed Salty Ocean and Mermaid Lagoon Distress Inks with Shimmer Spray (no water was added) and I painted it on the watercolor paper. I wanted an intense color so I applied three layers but I didn’t bother to let it dry in between. The background is so pretty in person but its hard to see the sparkle in the photos.
  • I die cut the bloom three times for each sunflower. Using a bone folder I shaped the blooms and leaves.
  • The flower center is die cut from and a brown gel press print and a specialty “football” paper that has the texture of a football
  • I wanted to anchor the background so I die cut a frame using Spellbinders Essential Rectangles from 80 lb. cardstock.
  • I assembled the card with liquid glue (frame) and foam tape for the leaves, blooms and sentiment.
Spellbinders die cut Sunflower + Essential Rectangles frame

I think the result is a bright happy card!

Spellbinders Susan's Garden Favorites Sunflower + Gel Press Prints.

I love these sunflowers so I made a second card with a few modifications:

  • I made an A2 card from yellow green cardstock.
  • The frame was die cut from brown cardstock.
Die Cut Sunflower Card

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

cardmaking · papercrafting

Spellbinders November 2021 Amazing Paper Grace Kit

Karen Brown1 Comment
Spellbinders Amazing Paper Grace November 2021 Die of the Month Christmas Tree Die Kit.

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.

Spellbinders Amazing Paper Grace November 2021 Die Cut Christmas Tree Card.

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:

Spellbinders Amazing Paper Grace November 2021 Trio of Christmas Trees + Glitter Cardstock Card

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:

To organize the smaller die-cuts, I put the components for each element in a little dish.

Wishing you a happy holiday season!

Karen

cardmaking · papercrafting

Spellbinders: Susan’s Garden Party Geranium Basket

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.

Die cut with Ink Smooshing panels

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

Karen BrownLeave a comment
Spellbinders Holiday Flora Collection

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

Spellbinders 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

Die Cut 3D Christmas Cactus 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.

Die Cut Christmas Cactus Card.

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

papercrafting

Spellbinders Vintage Cash Register

Karen BrownLeave a comment
Amazing Paper Grace 2021 September Die of the Month Kit

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.

Cardmaking Using Gel Press Prints

Spellbinders Vintage Cash Register Card

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.

Die Cut Card using Gel Prints.

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