Hooray… It’s Your Birthday | Katzelkraft + Hero Arts

Hi friends!  Today’s card will be a silly, festive birthday card using an older Katzelkraft stamp set that I had yet to use and some of the products from the May 2026 Hero Arts My Monthly Super Hero subscription kit.  Let’s get started!

The supplies used:

     Katzelkraft - Les Suricates Red Rubber Stamp

     Hero Arts – MMSH Birthday Icons Stamp & Cut Set

     Waffle Flower – A6 Piercing Layers Die Set

     Kristina Werner – Splash Stencil Pack

     Spellbinders – Sentiments for Everyday Hot Foil Plate & Die Set

     Altenew – Time to Celebrate Mini Delight Collection

     Spellbinders – Waterfall Cardstock

     X-Press It Blending Cardstock

     Lawn Fawn – Jet Black Ink Pad

     Simon Says Stamp – Pawsitively Saturated Ink Pads – Marine, Heather, & Bubblegum

     Copic Sketch Alcohol Markers – BG49, BG23, BG11, YG25, YG01, YG11,

          RV23, R85, BV00, RV66, RV55, RV21, BV08, BV13, BV01, BG07, FBG, BG01

     Waffle Flower – Background Blender Brushes

     Spellbinders –Lavender Petal Glimmer Foil

     Ranger Ink – Glossy Accents

     Altenew – 1” Double-Sided Adhesive Tape

     Scrapbook.com – ¼” Foam Adhesive Roll

     Scrapbook Adhesives – Thin 3D Foam Squares

     Hemway – Pearl Iridescent Eco-Friendly Biodegradable Glitter

     Trinity Stamps – Cave Crystals Embellishments

     My Sweet Petunia – Original MISTI Stamping Tool

     Anna Griffin Empress Gild Hot Foiling Machine

     Anna Griffin Empress Die Cutting Machine

Creating the Background Panel

For the background panel, I die cut a piece of Spellbinders Waterfall cardstock using the largest die from the Waffle Flower A6 Piercing Layers Die set.  I added Altenew’s 1” double-sided adhesive tape to the back side of the Waterfall panel and adhered it to the front of a white, A6 card base.  Next, I used the Kristina Werner Splash Stencil Pack and selected two of the stencils to add Simon Says Stamp Marine, Bubblegum, and Heather inks to a white cardstock panel using Waffle Flower Background Blender Brushes.  Once the ink blending was completed, I used the second largest die from the Waffle Flower A6 Piercing Layers Die set to trim the ink blended panel to size, then used the third largest die from the Whimsy Stamps Wavy Nested Frames die set to cut an aperture in the center of the ink blended panel.

Creating the Focal Point

I chose one of the meerkats from the Katzelkraft stamp set called “Les Suricates” because he had his hands held out as if in celebration.  I stamped the image onto a piece of X-Press It cardstock using Lawn Fawn’s Jet Black Ink Pad.  I colored the meerkat using Copic Sketch alcohol markers in these colors:

     Belly & Muzzle:  YG25, YG01, YG11

     Rest of Body:  BG49, BG23, BG11

     Eyes:  BV00

     Tongue:  R85, RV23

Next, I stamped the balloons and one of the party hats from the May 2026 Hero Arts My Monthly Hero Subscription Kit called “Birthday Icons Stamp & Cut” onto a piece of X-Press It cardstock using Lawn Fawn Jet Black ink.  I colored the images with Copic Sketch alcohol markers in these colors:

     Pink Balloon:  RV66, RV55, RV21

     Purple Balloon:  BV08, BV13, BV01

     Blue Balloon:  BG07, FBG, BG01

     Party Hat:  YG25, YG01, YG11, RV66, RV55, RV21, BV08, BV13, BV01

Once the coloring was completed, I used the coordinating Hero Arts Birthday Icons Stamp & Cut dies to die cut the balloons and party hat.  For the party hat, I used a craft knife to cut along the inner edge of the bottom of the hat so that I would be able to adhere it to the meerkat’s head.  Lastly, I added Ranger’s Glossy Accents to all the balloons and the meerkat’s eyes.

Creating the Sentiment

For the sentiment, I used the “Hooray… It’s Your Birthday” greeting from the Spellbinders Sentiments for Everyday Hot Foil Plate and Die Set and used my Anna Griffin Empress Gild along with Spellbinders Lavender Petal Glimmer Foil to foil the sentiment onto a piece of Spellbinders Waterfall cardstock.  I trimmed down the sentiment and added Scrapbook Adhesives Thin 3D Foam Squares to the back of it.

Assembling the Card

I used Glossy Accents to adhere a piece of acetate slightly smaller than the ink blended front card panel and placed an acrylic block on it until it dried.  Once the Glossy Accents dried, I added Scrapbook.com’s ¼” Foam Adhesive tape around the aperture in the ink blended panel and around the outer edges of the panel.  On a 3.5” x 5” piece of white cardstock, I used the same blue and purple shades of Simon Says Stamp ink colors as I used for the inky background panel and ink blended them in a circular fashion, starting at the center of the piece of cardstock, to create a background panel for the aperture.  Once completed, I removed the adhesive backing from the aperture panel and added pearl iridescent Hemway Eco-Friendly Glitter inside the shaker well and carefully placed the ink blended backer panel to enclose the glitter in the shaker element.  I added strips of Altenew 1” adhesive tape to the shaker panel and adhered it to the card base.

I added Thin 3D Foam Squares to the back side of the meerkat image and the balloons and adhered them to the card front over the shaker well.  I decided to add a bow where the strings meet on the balloons so I die cut the two bow dies in the Altenew Time to Celebrate Mini Delight Collection die set – one from a scrap of purple cardstock and the other from a scrap of blue cardstock and glued those on top of each other just above the meerkat’s hand.  My last step was to adhere the sentiment to the bottom third of the card front, glue a few Trinity Stamps Cave Crystals embellishments here and there, and that wraps up this card.

Thank you for stopping by and checking out today’s blog post, I really appreciate it.  Until next time, happy crafting!

2026 Holiday Card Series #3 | Merry Christmas

Hi friends!  Today’s card will be the third installment in my 2026 Holiday Card Series where I am attempting to have my holiday cards mostly completed before mid-November.  I truly enjoy working with colored pencils – I currently have an excessive 12 full sets of colored pencils at my disposal ranging from inexpensive all the way up to “what was I thinking paying this much for a set of colored pencils!”.  Regardless, I have had this Colorado Craft Company stamp set in my collection for many years and I still hadn’t used it.  Today that changed… let’s get started!

The supplies used:

     Colorado Craft Company – Slimline Poinsettias Stamp Set

     The Greetery – Scripted Holiday Sentiments Stamp & Die Set

     Spellbinders – Starshine Background Die

     Spellbinders – Forest Color Essentials Cardstocks

     Anna Griffin – Champagne Matte Foil Cardstock    

     Prismacolor Colored Pencils – PC921, PC924, PC925, PC942, PC1034

     Tsukineko – StazOn Jet Black Ink Pad

     Ranger Ink – Wendy Vecchi Watering Can Archival Ink Pad

     Woodland Scenics – Yellow Paper Flower Pollen

     Iuile Watercolors – Star Watercolor Paint

     Altenew – Black ½” Instant Dimension Foam Tape

     Bearly Art Precision Craft Glue

     Ranger Ink – Tim Holtz Distress Collage Medium Matte

     Pinkfresh Studio – Metallic Matte Gold Pearls

     My Sweet Petunia – Original MISTI Stamping Tool

     Anna Griffin Empress Die Cutting Machine

Creating the Background Panel

For the background panel, I used the paper trimmer to cut a piece of Spellbinders Forest cardstock to measure 3.25” x 8.25” (this will be a slimline card).  I also cut a piece of Anna Griffin Champagne Matte Foil cardstock to measure 3.5” x 8.5”.  To add texture to the Forest colored panel, I used the Spellbinders Starshine Background die and ran it though the die cutting machine one half at a time since the die was developed for A2 sized cards.  A few drops of water were mixed into the Iuile Watercolor “Star” watercolor paint pan and I used the paint to spatter gold across the entire panel.  Once the spatter dried, I adhered the Forest cardstock panel to the Champagne Foil cardstock panel.

Creating the Focal Point

I stamped the Colorado Craft Company “Slimline Poinsettias” floral images onto a piece of inexpensive white cardstock using Ranger’s Watering Can Archival Ink and the MISTI tool.  I left the stamps in the MISTI tool since I will be stamping the image once again after the coloring is completed. 

For the poinsettia coloring, I used Prismacolor colored pencils in these colors:

     PC924 – Crimson Red

     PC925 – Crimson Lake

     PC921 – Vermillion Clair

     PC942 – Yellow Ochre

     PC1034 – Golden Rod

Once the coloring was completed, I placed the paper back into my MISTI tool and stamped the images again using black StazOn ink.  I chose StazOn since the colored pencils are wax-based and I figured if the StazOn ink will work on acetate, surely it will work atop wax-based pencil coloring.  Next, I applied little dots of Tim Holtz’s Collage Medium Matte on the poinsettia’s cyathia (the yellow centers) and applied a coating of Woodland Scenics’ Yellow Paper Flower Pollen, tapped of the excess, and continued to each poinsettia until all were completed.  After the Collage Medium with the pollen coating had a chance to dry, I used scissors to fussy cut both images.

Creating the Sentiment

For the sentiment, I used The Greetery’s Scripted Holiday Sentiments stamp set.  I used VersaMark watermark ink to stamp the two sentiments onto a piece of Spellbinders Forest cardstock that had been prepped with anti-static powder.  After stamping, I applied Gina K. Designs Fine Detail Gold embossing powder and used my WOW! heat tool to melt the embossing powder.  Once cooled, I buffed off the anti-static powder and used The Greetery’s Scripted Holiday Sentiments die set to die cut the sentiments and cut two additional of each from the Forest cardstock to stack the sentiments for dimension.

Assembling the Card

I glued the background cardstock panels to the front of a white, slimline card base.  Next, I positioned the poinsettias and sentiments on the background to find a pleasing placement. I adhered the sentiments to the background using liquid glue, then placed pieces of Altenew’s black Instant Dimension Foam Tape to the back sides of both sets of poinsettias and adhered them to the left and right sides of the card front.  After trimming off the excess poinsettias that overlapped the edges, I glued a sprinkling of Pinkfresh Matte Gold Pearl embellishments around the edges of the poinsettias to complete this colorful holiday card.

Thank you for stopping by and checking out today’s blog post, I really appreciate it.  Until next time, happy crafting!

2026 Holiday Card Series #2 | Happy Holidays

Hi friends!  Today’s card will be my second installment in my 2026 Holiday Card Series where I am attempting to have my holiday cards mostly completed before mid-November.  I felt the Altenew Pegboard Panels would make a fun focal point for a homespun Christmas card… let’s get started!

The supplies used:

     Altenew – Pegboard Panels Die Set

     Spellbinders – Everlasting Squares Die Set

     Spellbinders – Postage Edge Squares Die Set

     Spellbinders – Scenic Poinsettias 3D Embossing Folder

     Altenew – Warm Blessings Stamp Set

     Scrapbook.com – Heavy Weight Mixed Media Paper Pad (White)

     Anna Griffin – Champagne Matte Foil Cardstock

     Spellbinders – Merlot Colorwheel Cardstock

     Simon Says Stamp – Cabernet Pawsitively Saturated Ink Pad

     Tsukineko – VersaMark Watermark Stamp Pad

     Taylored Expressions – Anti-Static Powder Tool

     Ranger Ink – Princess Gold Embossing Powder

     WOW! Dual Speed Heat Embossing Tool

     Altenew – Double Sided Adhesive Sheets

     Bearly Art Precision Craft Glue

     Scrapbook Adhesive – Black Thin 3D Foam Squares

     Embroidery Needle

     Red, Green, and White Embroidery Floss

     Scrapbook.com – Foam Ink Blending Tool

     Iuile Watercolors – Star Watercolor Paint

     Honey Bee Stamps – Warm Pearls Pearl Stickers

     Anna Griffin Empress Die Cutting Machine

Creating the Background Panel

For the background panel, I used my paper trimmer to cut a 4.5” x 7” panel of Spellbinders Merlot cardstock.  I placed this panel into the Spellbinders Scenic Poinsettias 3D Embossing Folder and taped it in place on the side of the embossing folder where the flowers feel raised.  I inked up the surface of the opposite side of the embossing folder using a Simon Says Stamp Cabernet ink pad and ran it through my Anna Griffin die cutting machine.  I repeated this process three or four times until I obtained the results satisfactory results.  Using my paper trimmer, I trimmed the embossed panel to measure 4-1/8” x 6” and inked the edges to darken them using a foam blending tool and more Cabernet ink.  While that dried, I cut a piece of the Anna Griffin Matte Champagne Foil Cardstock to measure 4.5” x 6.25” – this will serve as my matting layer behind the embossed one.  My final touch on the background was to add a few drops of water to my pan of Iuile Watercolor’s Star watercolor paint, frothed the mixture a bit, then used a small paint brush to add gold spatter across the embossed Merlot cardstock panel.

Creating the Focal Point

For the cross-stitched panel, I started by using the two square dies from Altenew’s Pegboard Panels die set and die cut them together using a piece of Scrapbook.com’s white Mixed Media Paper.  I used white dark red, and sage green embroidery flosses to cross stitch the entire panel and placed a piece of Altenew Double Sided Adhesive Sheet that was approximately 2.75” x 2.75” on the back side to not only allow me to adhere it to the card front, but also to ensure the loose ends of the threads stay in place.  Next, I created a frame for the stitched panel by die cutting a piece of Anna Griffin Matte Champagne Foil Cardstock using the third largest postage edge die from Spellbinders’ Postage Edge Squares die set and the 9^th largest die from Spellbinders’ Everlasting Squares die set.  I aligned the smaller square die inside the postage edge one, taped them together, then die cut one from the gold foil and two more from Spellbinders Merlot cardstock.  I glued the three framing layers together with Bearly Art Precision Craft Glue and set aside to dry.

Creating the Sentiment

For the sentiment, I used a scrap piece of the Spellbinders Merlot cardstock and placed it into my MISTI stamping tool and dusted it heavily with anti-static powder.  I used the “happy holidays” sentiment from Altenew’s Warm Blessings stamp set and VersaMark ink to stamp the image onto the cardstock.  Once stamped, I applied a layer of Ranger’s Princess Gold embossing powder onto the stamped cardstock, tapped off the excess, and used my heat tool to melt the embossing powder.  After it cooled, I buffed away the excess anti-static powder and fussy cut the sentiment with scissors.  Lastly, I placed Scrapbook Adhesives Thin 3D Foam Squares (black) behind the sentiment.

Assembling the Card

I glued the champagne foil cardstock panel to the front of an A2, side folding card base and glued the Merlot, embossed cardstock panel to the center of the foil panel.  Next, I added glue to the back side of the foil, postage edged frame, and adhered it on top of the cross-stitched panel.  Once the glue dried, I removed the backing paper from behind the cross-stitched panel and adhered the focal point to the card front.  After removing the backing paper from the black foam squares behind the sentiment, I adhere it to the lower portion of the card front.  My final touch was adding a five of the Honey Bee Stamps Warm Pearls pearl stickers to the center of the cross-stitched piece and that wraps up today’s card.

Thank you for stopping by and checking out today’s blog post, I really appreciate it.  Until next time, happy crafting!