Fall Stencils, Dies and Embossing Folders

I love the colors of fall and wish they lasted longer than they do. I recently received the Leaves Master Creator Bundle from A Colorful Life Designs and new products from Altenew for the Heartfelt Moments Class and had a play before fall comes and goes. In the Altenew class bundle, we received the Cozy Sweater 3D Embossing Folder and the Majestic Maple die set shown below. I also grabbed the Chestnut Tree layered die set from them and combined those with the gorgeous Falling Leaves stencil to make this beautiful card.

The Dotted Leaves stencil from A Colorful Life Designs makes a perfect subtle background for the large Majestic Maple tree from Altenew. I remember struggling in the past to line up the layers on a die like this one, but Altenew has a brilliant Key Hole in all the die cuts that makes lining them up a breeze! Then you cover up the key holes with the last die cut. So easy to get perfect layered die cuts! 

I decided not to put sentiments on the first 3 cards I am sharing because I am not sure if I want them for birthdays, sympathy or thinking of you. I started this card by blending red, yellow and orange inks through the Geometric Leaves stencil from A Colorful Life Designs. Then I die cut Concord & 9th's Autumn Inlay Die and raised some of the leaves and inlaid others. 

For this pair of cards I simply blended a darker red ink through the Leafy Heart Frame stencil, then embossed with Altenew's Raised Thank You Sentiments Embossing Folders and then added a bit more ink to bring out the words. So easy and so lovely. 

The Leaves Master Creator Bundle of stencils from A Colorful Life Designs includes 5 stencils at a very reasonable price and of course we don't have to make only fall colored cards with them. I blended two colors of Lisa Horton's Metallic Inks through the Filigree Leaf stencil onto black cardstock and then embossed again with the Altenew Raised Sentiments 3D embossing folder. 

I am looking forward to the Heartfelt Moments class at Altenew this week for more fall and Altenew beauty.

Cardmaking Joy & Hugs, Karen 

What Am I Spraying on Metallic Cardstock?

I never iron with spray starch but after seeing a technique with it, I rushed out to the Dollar Store and bought some. Below is the card front I created with spray starch in my newest video here. 

My favorite cardstock is CutCardStock's Stardream Metallic Cardstock. I used the Fairway Green for the cardbase and the card front started with Onyx Black. 

As I show in the video, I sprayed the black metallic cardstock with spray starch and added Ranger's Perfect Pearls before cutting out the Googly Eyes die cut with a die from Brass & Bliss. For the "Boo" and on the inside of the card I used CutCardStock's 6x6 Halloween Paper Pad.

I also show in the video how to easily make a second piece of the spray starch and Perfect Pearls on black metallic cardstock, and I used that to cut many Halloween dies. It is hard to see in still photos, but I put an acetate interactive spiral pop up in the inside of this card with floating bats and spiders and a ghost. That spiral pop up was created with a die from Creek Bank Creations. You will want to watch the video to see the spiral pop up in motion and how easy this card was to create. Here is another look at the card with the metallic multi-colored cardfront:

Cardmaking Joy & Hugs, Karen 

Hero Arts Layering Stencils - Couldn't Resist!

I saw a card created with Hero Arts Harbor Layering Stencils and immediately had to buy them and then play with  them! So pretty and so easy to create a gorgeous card! Just blend colors through the 3 stencils and then add a sentiment. 

This card was even faster because I used the same colors for the sky as the water as the packaging shows. I also recently purchased a set of box words from Hero Arts so I tried Peace here for a sympathy card. Not sure if I like the added words?

Cardmaking Joy & Hugs, Karen 

Gourd-eous Spellbinders Stitched Dies of the Month Two Different Ways

Did you know Spellbinders has a Stitching Die of the Month set released every month? I am thrilled to be able to share September through December's Stitching Dies of the Month with you, and this card was made with the gorgeous set available now through September 27th for anyone who would like to join the club. If it does not sell out, it may be available next month if you don't want to join the club at this time. 

I love this month's set which has 22 dies that create pumpkin tops, leaves and the awesome "hello gourd-geous" tag. I made two cards with the set and both of them are Double Interlocking Gatefold Panel cards that I learned how to make from Dawn Griffith. I will have a complete video with templates and more new Spellbinders dies next Monday if you want to learn how to do the fun fold. Here is a picture of this card open:

I love fall colors and had fun stitching the pumpkin tops for this card. But I also love die sets that can be used in many different ways. Change the colors and leave off the stems and the stitched dies could be flowers! Here is the second card I made:

The embossed sides on both of the cards were made with the Luxe Backdrop and Border 3D Emboss and Cut set from Spellbinders. The pumpkin tops or flowers can be layered or not and stitched or not as is shown here. The inside of the card has more flowers and embossed edges:

It is difficult to show the interlocking gatefold fun fold in still pictures so I created a mini video with close-ups of these cards. But remember to check next week for a full length video showing step by step how to make a double interlocking gatefold card.

(If you subscribe and cannot see this video, it is available at my blog or Instagram or my Facebook page.) 

If you like easy stitching on die cuts and great value in the mail each month, then Spellbinder's Stitched Die of the Month Club is for you. But if you don't want to commit to the club membership, remember that if not sold out, the stitching dies are available to the public so you can check for past sets as well.

Cardmaking Joy & Hugs, Karen 

Crealies Personalized Pop Up Starry BDAY Cards

My favorite of the new dies in the latest release at Crealies is the Stars with Rough Edges and Stitchlines. I made the stars the highlights of this personalized card I made for my daughter:

The tiny letters in the Alphabet set in the Texto Negativo line makes adding a name or any words to personalize cards so easy. The see through oval that stands up was created with two sizes of the Elongated Ovals with Little Stripes die set.  I share this card and make this one step by step in my new video here:

 

My grandson’s favorite colors are navy and gold and he is turning 10 this year. I had fun layering lots of stars and then I added a Happy BDAY and his name to make this card really special. 

The gold cardstock I used in both cards is a new favorite called Stardream Antique Gold Metallic Cardstock from CutCardStock. 

Crealies is a company located in the Netherlands and specializes in unique creative dies and other products. Their prices are so reasonable and you will find shipping costs and time similar to many USA companies. Here is a link to their website: https://www.crealies.nl/en/home

The Stars with Rough Edges and Stitchlines and Elongated Ovals dies can be found in the July/August release here:

 https://www.crealies.nl/nl/juli-2025.html

Cardmaking Joy & Hugs, Karen 

Use Your Patterned Paper Out of Season And for Diecutting Animals

Do you have seasonal patterned paper pads that are stored away until the season arrives? We all do and I am encouraging you to use them now. Recently I was thinking ahead to Halloween cards. My favorite paper to use for Halloween cards is the Halloween 6x6 Stock Pad from American Crafts at CutCardStock.

Bones don't have to be for skeletons, right? The bones patterned paper in the Halloween pack reminded me of dogs, so I made this card with a floral puppy and bones:

The floral puppy is a die from Moonstone Hunkydory called Pretty Petals - Dog and the bone is from a set by Waffle Flower. The cardbase and card front was created with the gorgeous Stardream Metallic Lagoon cardstock from CutCardStock. I added texture and interest to card front with a die from Kat Scrappiness. 

The bones reminded me of treats and the birthday boy or girl is going to laugh when they see the inside of their card created with a die from Scrappy Tails:

I had so much fun creating with the patterned paper and Stardream Metallic paper as well as the Pretty Petals pets, I created two more cards with them:

I embossed the Stardream Metallic cardstocks with different textures and added a layered sentiment from the Pretty Petals- Cat die set from Moonstone and Hunkydory. I found both of the Pretty Petals Dog and Cat dies at Paper Wishes.

Cardmaking Joy & Hugs, Karen

Vintage Casserole Dishes Bring Smiles and Wonderful Memories

I fell in love with Hero Arts Classic Casserole Die Set because it reminded me of the vintage Pyrex bowls my mother and most of us used years ago. It makes me smile with good memories, and I just had to bring it home to use on my cards. I was playing with the Checkerboard die set from Craft Addiction UK and thought the smaller ones could be used to stack my Pyrex bowls on. We are vintage, not old right??

On my second card, I glued on a bunch of Pyrex bowls along with the pieces that were cut out of them before embedding them by embossing with a favorite Spellbinders embossing folder. The stamp sentiment from Riley and Company continues on the inside of the card:

This cracked me up and of course I just had to buy it. But this part could be perfect on a sympathy card as well. 

Cardmaking Joy & Hugs, Karen