New Challenge at Inspirational + More Inspiration for August Hero Studio!

Hi friends!

I'm here to share my DT card for Inkspirational challenge where we have a very fun photo for you to be inspired by. I love these hot, warm colors, and decided to make a Halloween card with non traditional Halloween colors using my new August Hero Studio Products from Hero Arts. The August Die Set of the Month is full of small frames and fun Halloween images. The many frames made it easy to make my card fit the collection of paints in our inspiration photo too! So instead of a collection of paints in warm colors... Here is my collection of Halloween frames in warm colors, voila! :) 

Please head on over to Inkspirational challenge blog for all the challenge details and lots of more DT inspiration. I look forward seeing your projects in the gallery!

*The product links in this post are affiliate links. If you click and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Your purchase will cost the same as it would by buying straight from the store... But by purchasing though my affiliate link you are helping me to continue to create crafty inspiration. :) Thank you for visiting my blog and happy crafting!* 

 

August Hero Studio Products Are Here!

Hi friends!

I'm here today sharing a couple of slighly spooky cards with the new August Hero Studio products! Hero Studio is a Hero Arts papercrafting subscription program that is designed to inspire creators of all levels—whether you're just starting out or are a seasoned crafter. You can choose in between Card Kit of the Month, Cling Stamp of the Month, Die Set of the Month, Layering Stencils of the Month or Stamp and Cut of the Month.

Subscription options start at just $17.50 per month, and you can mix and match your favorites—or choose the Whole Studio subscription to get all five kits plus an exclusive bonus each month!

Have a look at all of the subscription products HERE!

I'm sharing two card with the August Studio products today... And I hope you'll also come back for more inspiration tomorrow! 

Card 1 Trick or Treat

This card is created with with the Card Kit of the Month. The
 handsome, slightly spooky fellow (perhaps a ghost, what do you think?!?) comes from the stamp set included in the Card Kit of the Month. The sentiment and spider web are from the same set as well. The frame is an older Hero Arts favorite, Fine Arts Frame Die, part of the Looking Glass Collection Dies. The gentleman's head and face is stamped with 4 stamps and I found a nice ink combo to make his skin look both human yet a bit spooky... Here it is if you want to try it:

Memento Tuxedo Black for the outlines, Memento London Fog for the stamp with the hair, Altenew Pink Sand for the shadows of the face, Altenew Blush for the overall skin color. 

The stamps are easy to lign up + the stamping doesn't even have to be 100% accurate -when I was testing the inks some of my stamping was a bit wonky and he still looked good! :)

The spider webs I've heat embossed with silver embossing powder and I've also splattered some shimmery paint on top of everything.

Card 2 Have a Beautiful Day

This card is created with the Layering Stencils of the Month . I wanted to see if I was able to create a non-Halloweeny background with the stencils by using a non-Halloweeny color scheme and I think it worked out pretty well! The sentiment, heat embossed with white powder on vellum, comes from Lemonade Day Stamp and Cut set.

I'd like to play along following challenges:

Little Red Wagon: Masculine (Trick or Treat card)

Try it On Tuesday: Make It Magical (Trick or Treat card)

Make My Monday: Masculine (Trick or Treat card)

Thank you for popping by and I hope to see you again tomorrow when I share inspiration with the Die Set of the Month!

*The product links in this post are affiliate links. If you click and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Your purchase will cost the same as it would by buying straight from the store... But by purchasing though my affiliate link you are helping me to continue to create crafty inspiration. :) Thank you for visiting my blog and happy crafting!* 

Reminder for Stay Crafty With a Blog Named Hero July Challenge + Inkspirational Challenge #346: Birthday!

Hi friends!

I'm here to share some extra DT inspiration for our July "You're my Best Friend" Challenge at Stay Crafty With A Blog Named Hero... And my card also fits the Birthday theme at Inkspirational, one of my other design teams. You can only love a twofer, right!? I hope to see you joining both of these amazing challenges! You still have about 4 days to join both of these fun challenges. 

My card is created with the AMAZING (sorry for shouting, but it is so so amazing!!) Curious Crafter Bundle from the Case Closed collection by Hero Arts. This is my first time playing with the products and they are just SO MUCH fun. I've colored the Ms Detective with Copic markers . I used the Houndstooth stencil both for Ms Detective's outfit and for the teal background. I did add extra shading to the outfit with Copics too. Oh -the outfit is stamped separately to a stenciled piece and then cut to fit the stamped and colored Ms Detective. Good old paper piecing technique! :) 

I also wanted to use the Magnifying Glass die set  in my card so I used it as a base for my sentiment from It's No Mystery stamp and cut set. For the "glass" in both of my magnifying glasses I used vellum. The sentiment is heat embossed with Copper powder, I thought copper went well with the teals and browns of the card.

I think I saw someone use a similar layout with this bundle and now I can't find it to give credit where credit is due.. But if that creator happens to see this, thank you for inspiring me!! 

I'd love to see you joining the challenges at Stay Crafty With a Blog Named Hero and Inkspirational! I love how my reminder card turned out and I hope it inspires you to dig out your Hero Arts products and join us! 

I'd like to join:

Allsorts Challenge: Anything Goes

Seize the Birthday: Anything Goes with the option of favorite color (dark teal is definitely one of my faves!)

613 Avenue Create: Anything Goes

*The product links in this post are affiliate links. If you click and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for visiting my blog and happy crafting!* 

 

 

North Pole Friends by Simon Hurley - New die Arrivals at Spellbinders!

Hi friends!

I'm here today to share two super cute cards with the new Simon Hurley North Pole Friends collection available at Spellbinders HERE. The dies were so popular they were sold out for a moment... But now they are back in stock, yay! This collection is absolutely adorable and I had so much fun playing with two die sets:

North Pole Sentiments Etched Dies 

Polar Bear Pals Etched Dies

Let's have a look at the individual cards!

Card 1 Showcasing:

North Pole Sentiments Etched Dies (snowmen + sentiments are both from this set) 

From the other Spellbinders July 2025 New Arrivals I'm also using:

Country Christmas 3d Embossing Folder for the background.

I created the simple scene with basic ink blending and some Copic coloring (for the clothes of the snowmen). The snowmen were very fast to assemble and I just love the happy look on their faces! I think this card would make everyone smile, all gender and all ages!

Card 2 Showcasing:

Polar Bear Pals Etched Dies

North Pole Sentiments Etched Dies (sentiments)

I'm also using a stamped sentiment from one of the new House Mouse stamp sets, Unwrapping Memories. Stay tuned for a post with some cute House Mouse tags! :) 

In this card I've created a Northern Lights sky with ink blending and paint splattering. The signs are cut from patterned paper and I've added some shading to them with inks too... And the cute polar bear has got some inking for dimension as well. Sounds like a lot of inking maybe, but this was actually super fast to put together! 

I'd like to join:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Make Your Own Background

Cut It Up Challenge: Christmas in July

Crafting A Cut Above: Anything Goes

52 Christmas Card Throwdown: Critters (card 2 with polar bear)

*The product links in this post are affiliate links. If you click and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for visiting my blog and happy crafting!* 

 

Inking Dry Embossed Panels / Spellbinders July 2025 Release

 Hi friends!

I'm here to share two cards made with a stunning Christmas Cameos 3d Embossing Folder from the July 2025 Release by Spellbinders. I love the ornate, vintage feel of this embossing folder and I knew I had to play with fun inking techniques with it. 

Card 1 on black card base

I embossed a piece of black card stock and worked on the flip side of the embossed piece (the side where the pattern is indented, not raised). I used white pigment ink to cover the black card stock from the non indented areas of the panel by swiping ink straight from the ink pad, by tapping the ink pad on it... And in the end by also brayering some ink on it for getting really good coverage.

Card 2 on white card base

In this version I embossed white card stock and again worked with the flip side of the embossed piece. I now used black dye ink for and did basically what I did with the first one... But I didn't try to achieve super well covered look but wanted this one to be even more vintagey looking. I finished the inking with swiping gold shimmery ink on top too -that ink pad of mine is very old and doesn't have much power left... but just enough for a subtle vintage shimmer!

I'd love to hear which one of the cards you like best... And then I encourage you to check out  Christmas Cameos 3d Embossing Folder and the whole July 2025 Release by Spellbinders.

I'd like to join:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Emboss It

Cut It Up Challenge: Christmas in July (die cut sentiment)

My Time to Craft Christmas: Vintage Christmas

Creative Knockouts: Christmas in July

Little Red Wagon: Christmas in July

*The product links in this post are affiliate links. If you click and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for visiting my blog and happy crafting!* 

Spellbinders July 2025 New Arrivals!

Hi friends!

I'm happy to be here today sharing some inspiration with the new products by Spellbinders! They've released several new collections now in July and you can find them all by clicking the link below:

Spellbinders July 2025 Arrivals 

Today I'm sharing cards showcasing dies and embossing folder from the Country Christmas Collections by Annie Williams:

Christmas Rocking Chair Edged Dies

Barn Star Wreath Etched Dies 

Country Christmas 3d Embossing Folder

Let's have a look at the cards shall we!

Card 1

Featuring Christmas Rocking Chair Edged Dies

I've colored my die cuts with Copic markers and created a little scene with the die cuts. I used patterned paper from Rosie's Studio Golden Afternoon 6x6 paper pack for the background to try to mimic a room with a wooden floor and plaid all paper. I love the vintage feel of this card!

Card 2 and Card 3 

Featuring Barn Star Wreath Etched Dies and Country Christmas 3d Embossing Folder.

Both of these cards were inspired by the also new Holiday DIY Color Deck Expansion Pack. The DIY Color Deck cards help you to choose the color scheme for your card... And each picture has several color combos you could be inspired of! You simply use what intrigues you the most and sparks your creativity! 

For the card above I chose dark blue with grey and other neutrals from the photo. Wildly in love with this! :) In the card below I chose different shades of green and red for a more traditional Christmas color scheme. However, the sort of greyish light green that I've cut the star from... I'd never had chosen it without the inspiration from the Holiday DIY Color Deck Expansion Pack ! If you don't want to attach your card stock colors to the inspiration cards from the Pack, you can also use Color Swatch Petal Stack Die for creating the color scheme and saving it for future reference. 

I'd like to join:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Emboss It (Cards 2 and 3, dry embossing)

A Cut Above Challenge: Anything Goes (Card 1)

Allsorts Challenge: For a Child/Anything Goes (Card 1)

My Time to Craft Christmas: Vintage

Thank you for popping by! I hope I've inspired you to start thinking about the busy Christmas card season that's coming up sooner than we think lol... It's good to get a head start so please join me in making Christmas cards already! :) 

*The product links in this post are affiliate links. If you click and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for visiting my blog and happy crafting!* 

New Challenge at Inkspirational!

 Hi friends!

I'm glad to be back at Inkspirational after having a couple of months break! It was a good time to come back, because the challenge theme for the next fortnight was chosen by me when the challenges where put together for this year. :) I love adding 3 of something to cards and it's especially nice for CAS cards... which is the route I went this time too. 

I've used a stencil and inks from Altenew for the blobs and combined them with my favorite Hero Arts butterfly stamp Special Day Stamp And Cut stamp and die set . This is already a third card I make with this stamp within a short time period, I can't put it away! The sentiment comes from I Appreciate You stamp set. After my stenciling and stamping was done, the card still looked a bit bare so I drew two black lines to it and added shimmery gel pen to the butterfly wings. 

Thank you for popping by and I hope to see you joining us at Inkspirational! 

*The product links in this post are affiliate links. If you click and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for visiting my blog and happy crafting!*