Tag: vintage

Cardmaking Kit · Die cutting

Blog Hop: Enchanted Paper Gardens with the Hero Studio April Release!

Karen Brown18 Comments
Hero Arts Studio: April 2025 - two whimsical die-cut cards: one featuring a lush, layered terrarium full of mushrooms, leaves, and a fluttering butterfly, and another with bold, hand-painted leaves and a cheerful “hello” sentiment. Both are packed with watercolor magic, intricate details, and playful techniques!

Once upon a time, in a land filled with ink and creativity, a whimsical cardmaker (that’s me!) discovered the Hero Studio April Release and its magical Tranquil Terrarium Kit. With a wave of my die-cutting wand and a splash of watercolor, I crafted a dreamy terrarium scene—one fit for a fairy tale!

Step into a Paper Fairy Tale: A Lush, Layered Terrarium

A handcrafted die-cut card featuring a whimsical terrarium scene with mushrooms, leaves, rocks, and an orange butterfly, all watercolored in bright, vivid hues. The background has a vintage script stencil effect, and the card base is soft Mist blue

Picture this: a tiny enchanted world encased in glass (well, cardstock), teeming with lush leaves, charming red and tan mushrooms, green grass, rustic rocks, and a tiny tree stump. Perched on a delicately curled leaf is a radiant orange butterfly, completing this little forest wonderland.

  • Die-cut magic: Every element was cut from watercolor paper, allowing for beautifully blended, organic colors.
  • Coloring adventure: I used brightly colored reactive inks to hand-paint each die cut piece, adding depth and dimension. I enjoyed painting each piece individually, but you could also paint several card panels and then die cut the elements. Reactive inks used: Green Apple, Key Lime Fizz, Blue Hawaii, Granite, Purple Galaxy, Fawn, Fruit Punch,
  • Serene background: I put a light Pool Party watercolor wash on the rounded terrarium panel. It shows up better in person and adds a lovely subtle dimension.
  • Vintage charm: The background panel features a subtle Script Stencil in tan ink, lending a storybook feel to this enchanted setting. Stencil Used: Script Stencil
  • Rounded elegance: To echo the terrarium’s shape, I rounded the corners of both the panel and card base using Rounded Rectangle Infinity Dies.
  • The final touch: Layered on a dreamy Mist blue card base, this card is a burst of color, depth, and whimsy.

✨ Pro Tip: When layering die-cut scenes, use thin foam squares on select elements (like the butterfly) to create a natural sense of depth without overwhelming the design.

Botanical terrarium card full of lush leaves, adorable red and tan mushrooms, green grass, rocks, a tree stump with a beautiful orange butterfly perched on a gently curling leaf. I die cut my pieces from watercolor paper and then watercolored the components with brightly colored reactive inks. Card created with Hero Studios April 2025 Card Kit of the Month

What’s Inside the April 2025 Hero Studio Card Kit?

  • 20 Terrarium Fancy Dies
  • Terrarium Clear Stamp Set, 6″ x 8″
  • 16 Terrarium Coordinating Dies
  • Clear Hero Enamel Dots
  • 3 Clear Card Panels, 4.25″ x 5.5″
  • 9 Sheets of Cardstock, 5.5″ x 8.5″ (Poppy, Peridot, Rainforest, Fern, Alabaster, Fawn, Truffle, Fog, Anchor)

The Whole Studio includes ALL 5 of the monthly subscriptions in one discounted bundle. Cling of the Month, Stamp & Cut of the Month (new name for the subscription!), Layering Stencil of the Month, Fancy Dies of the Month, and the Card Kit of the Month.

This month, receive a FREE adorable “froggy” stamp & die set when you purchase The Whole Studio!

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

Card 2: A Bold, Botanical Hello

A bold, colorful handmade card with die cut watercolored leaves and fronds on a creamy white background. Uses Hero Studio April 2025 Fancy Dies kit.

For my second card, I embraced bold color and graphic design with the Fancy Dies of the Month Kit. This set features five striking leaf dies and a scripty “hello” with a shadow layer.

  • Hand-painted beauty: Each leaf was die cut from watercolor paper and hand-painted in vibrant greens and blue-greens. Reactive Inks Used: Splash, Key Lime Fizz, Blue Hawaii, Blue Raspberry, Green Apple. I started with the lightest color and then layered on darker shades.
  • A pop of fun: To contrast the cool tones, I painted the “hello” with Fruit Punch Reactive Ink-blended cardstock, giving it a lively coral-red pop.
  • Artful splatter: I added Licorice Reactive Ink splatters for an artsy, organic touch. I simply dabbed the ink on an acrylic block and flicked splatters on my die cuts with a fine wet watercolor brush. I turned my splatter box for even splatter distribution.
  • Design balance: The leaves are arranged in a radiating composition, leading the eye toward the bottom-right hello.
  • Crisp and clean: Everything is anchored on an Adriatic blue card base, making those greens pop!

🎨 Pro Tip: When adding splatters, dab the ink on an acrylic block and flick splatters on the die cuts with a fine wet watercolor brush. Thie results in controlled yet artistic splatters. Don’t forget to rotate your splatter box to get an even, natural distribution!

A bold handmade card with hand-painted die-cut leaves in vibrant greens and blue-greens. The sentiment "hello" stands out in a coral-red shade. The leaves have black ink splatters adding artistic detail. The background is clean white on a deep Adriatic blue A2 card base making the colors pop.

BLOG HOP!

Don’t forget, this is part of a blog hop, so there’s plenty more enchanting inspiration ahead! Be sure to follow along for more crafty adventures. ✂️✨

Giveaway:

Hero Arts will give away a $50 gift card, drawn from the comments left across the hop. Enter by Sunday, April 6 at 11:59pm PST, and the winner will be announced on the Hero Arts blog the following week. Leave a comment on all stops for more chances to win!


Hero Arts
Hero Arts Creative Team:
Mindy Eggen
Anna Mahtani
Seeka
Channin Pelletier
Rosie Lopez
Charlene Madrid
Michelle Short
Rachel Kleinman
Jeannie Lieu
Natasha Vacca
Jennifer Kotas
Natasha Polite
Karen Brown You Are Here!
Lisa Tilson
Michelle Lupton
Special Guests:
Nichol Spohr
Kelly Taylor

A Fairy-Tale Ending? Or Just the Beginning?

These cards brought to life the whimsy of a storybook forest and the bold beauty of botanical art, all with the magic of the Hero Arts April Release. Whether you love layered die cuts, ink blending, or just an excuse to play with paint, this kit delivers endless creative inspiration!

I’d love to hear your thoughts—which card is your favorite? Let’s chat in the comments!

Mixed Media · papercrafting

Spellbinders | Mixed Media Gift Tags with Cathe Holden’s Christmas Flea Market Finds

Karen Brown1 Comment
Spellbinders | Mixed Media Gift Tags with Cathe Holden's Christmas Flea Market Finds

Vintage Vibe Mixed Media Christmas Gift Tags

Hello! My post today features a favorite new Spellbinders collection from Cathe Holden called Christmas Flea Market Finds. Cathe included stamps, printed die cuts, paper and stickers and they are SO fun to create with!

Using printed die cuts in cardmaking.

I created three mixed media tags with a vintage vibe. For all three tags, I created backgrounds using ink sprays. I mixed Ocean Waves aqua, Shimmer Spray for extra sparkle and a little water spray to slightly dilute the color. I dabbed my tag in the mixture, dried and then repeated two more times.

Next, I worked on my layouts. I knew I wanted to stencil grit paste on one card and I wanted all of the tags to be distressed.

Vintage look Christmas Gift tag with stenciled grit paste background.

I love the texture and interest that the grit paste adds to the tag.

Adding texture and interest with grit paste and a stencil in cardmaking.

Two of the cards also include stamps. To get the vintage-look inky blue, I combined denim and brown inks. White paint splatters were added to two of the cards and I thought they added a wintry look.

Distressed Christmas gift tag with pre-printed die cuts, stamp and stickers with a hand dyed aqua background.

When I create this type of mixed media project, I love to pull out all my supplies and just start playing. I made a huge fun mess!

How to get a vintage look when stamping papercrafts.

Spellbinders/Cathe Holden Supplies Used:

Other Supplies:

Cathe Holden Christmas Flea Market Finds Vintage look distressed gift tags.

Last week, I added a post with Cathe Holden Christmas cards which you can read HERE.

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

cardmaking · Mixed Media · papercrafting

Spellbinders + Cathe Holden Christmas Flea Market Finds Cards

Karen Brown1 Comment
Spellbinders + Cathe Holden Christmas Flea Market Finds Card.

Quick and Easy Vintage Look Christmas Card

Hello! Spellbinders and Cathe Holden just came out with a Christmas Edition of her Flea Market Finds and it was so fun to create with! Today, I used her Home for the Holiday’s paper pad: (CH-021) and Jingle Bells Miscellany die cuts (CH-019). I had fun laying out each item and then coming up with combinations for my cards.

The first card was quick and easy but I love result. My background is made from 2 pages from the paper pad that I combined at the midpoint. Using craft foam for dimesion, I attached the background to an A2 card base. Then, I just popped on the Christmas Tree and sentiment with foam tape.

Vintage Look Christmas card made with die cut ephemera.

Cardmaking with Vintage Ephemera

Cardmaking with Vintage Christmas Ephemera from Spellbinders + Cathe Holden

My second card is a collage style pieced together with designer paper, printed die-cuts and stamps. I used 2 rectangles and two 1.25″ squares of paper cut from the Home for the Holidays paper pad for my background. I distressed my kraft card base, background panel and the die cuts with 3 different Distress Crayons (bronze, gathered twig and aged mohogany) and then added lots of ephemera from the Jingle Bells Miscellany die cut pack. I also used 2 stamps from Cathe Holden’s previously released stamp kit called Handle with Care and added a tiny little paper clip.

Grunged Up Mixed Media Vintage Collage and Ephemera Christmas card.

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

cardmaking · Mixed Media · papercrafting

Spellbinders + Cathe Holden’s Flea Market Finds

Karen BrownLeave a comment
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

Uncategorized

Altenew Academy – Irresistable Inking

Karen Brown2 Comments

Hello and welcome!  I\’ve been working my way through Altenew Academy\’s Irresistible Inking class and I wanted to share this card.  Sara Naumann is the instructor and she provided loads of inking details, tips and techniques to make cards more interesting.  I used three of these techniques on my card.  After watching all the videos, I was inspired to make a vintage look masculine card.

A vintage look masculine card featuring Altenew Garden Grow stamps.
My Process:
  1. I started by using the stamp block inking technique we learned in Class #3.  I took a square acrylic block, inked it with Altenew Sand Dunes ink, spritzed with water and then stamped on a Bristol cardstock panel.  Sand Dunes was a great ink to use because it looks vintage but it is light enough to color over.   I was going for a rustic, uneven masculine effect.  
  2. I popped out to have a latte and once the panel was dry, I stamped the planter on the inked square and then colored with Zig markers.
  3. I trimmed the panel down and then inked around the edges (lesson #4) of the square with the same Sand Dunes ink.  This is very subtle but the inking frames the vignette and gives a little more  definition to the card.  
  4. I also block stamped the Sand Dunes on a scrap of Bristol cardstock so the sentiment strip would coordinate with the square panel.  I  inked the edges of the sentiment strip and then heat embossed the sentiment.   
  5. I made a top folding A2 card out of Bristol cardstock and then used a small paint brush to make Sand Dunes splatters over the card base.
  6. I adhered the square panel and sentiment to the card base with foam tape.


Supplies:

Altenew Garden Grow stamp set
Altenew Sand Dunes ink (background, edges and paint splatters)
Square Acrylic Block
#2 paint brush
Small Spray Mister
Bristol cardstock
Zig Markers (Deep Red, Wine Red, Pale Rose, Oatmeal, Dark Oatmeal, Olive, Mid Green, May Green and blender)
Versamark Ink (planter and sentiment)
clear embossing powder.
Foam Tape

I am also playing along with:
Sweet Stampin Masculine/Father\’s Day Challenge

With all the social distancing, I have been staying home a lot more than usual and these Altenew Academy classes have been the perfect activity for me to grow my card making skills.

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen