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!

Happy Birthday – Today Is About You | Spellbinders

Hi crafty friends!  Today I am sharing an A6 sunflower birthday card featuring products from Spellbinders.  The Sunflower Serenade die set has been on my to-do list for quite some time and today I decided… let’s make a card!

The supplies used:

Spellbinders – Sunflower Serenade Die Set

     Spellbinders – Essential Modern Ovals Die Set

     Spellbinders – Birthday Unboxing Hot Foil Plate & Die Set

     Spellbinders – Linen 3D Embossing Folder

     Paul Rubens Hot Pressed Watercolor Paper

     Spellbinders – Indigo Colorwheel Cardstock

     Ranger Ink / Tim Holtz – Squeezed Lemonade Distress Ink Re-Inker

     Ranger Ink / Tim Holtz – Carved Pumpkin Distress Ink Re-Inker

     Ranger Ink / Tim Holtz – Mowed Lawn Distress Ink Re-Inker

     Ranger Ink / Tim Holtz – Rustic Wilderness Distress Ink Re-Inker

     Ranger Ink / Tim Holtz – Walnut Stain Distress Ink Re-Inker

     Ranger Ink / Tim Holtz – Ground Espresso Distress Ink Re-Inker

     Penny Black - #4 Round Paint Brush

     Spellbinders – Matte Gold Glimmer Foil

     Pinkfresh Studio – Metallic Matte Gold Pearl Embellishments

     Ranger / Tim Holtz – Distress Collage Medium Matte

     Bearly Art Precision Craft Glue

     Altenew Black Instant Dimension Foam Tape

     Scor-Tape Double Sided Adhesive

     Anna Griffin Empress Gild Hot Foiling System

     Anna Griffin Empress Die Cutting Machine

Creating the Background Panel

To create the background, I took a piece of Spellbinders Indigo cardstock, cut it to 4-1/2” x 6-1/4” and embossed the panel using the Spellbinders Linen 3D embossing folder.  Normally an A6 card would measure 4-1/2” x 6-1/4”; however, after running the panel through the 3D embossing folder it shrank a tad so my finished card size will actually be 4-1/2” x 6-1/8”.

Creating the Focal Point

Using the largest die from Spellbinders’ Essential Modern Ovals die set, I die cut a piece of Spellbinders Indigo card.  Utilizing the Spellbinders Sunflower Serenade die set and sheets of Paul Rubens hot pressed watercolor paper, I die cut the flower 14 times, the three leaf style dies were die cut six times each, and the two flower centers seven times each.  I decided to watercolor the images versus cutting them from colored cardstock and used Ranger/Tim Holtz Distress Ink re-inkers as my painting medium.  The flower petals were given a watercolor wash of Squeezed Lemonade followed by placing Carved Pumpkin toward the base of the petals and allowing the color to wick its way up each petal naturally.  For the flower centers, the larger pieces were watercolored using Ground Espresso and the smaller pieces were watercolored using Walnut Stain.  I separated the leaves into two even sets (three of each leaf style per set) and began watercoloring one set of the leaves using Mowed Lawn and the other using Rustic Wilderness.

Once the watercolored elements were dry, I used liquid glue to adhere two sets of the leaves together, the larger flower center die cut next, and lastly the smaller flower center piece.  I repeated this process until I had seven complete flowers.  I positioned the Indigo cardstock oval where I thought it looked best on my embossed background panel and began arranging the flowers on top of it until the oval was no longer visible.  When the arrangement was completed, I glued the flowers in place and began adhering leaves in random locations until I was content with the panel. 

Creating the Sentiment

For the sentiment, I chose to go with an older Spellbinders hot foil plate and die set called Birthday Unboxing Glimmer.  I hot foiled the sentiments onto Spellbinders Indigo cardstock using my Anna Griffin Empress Gild hot foiling system and Spellbinders Matte Gold Glimmer Foil.  I used the coordinating dies to die cut the sentiments and cut two extra Indigo pieces to glue behind each of the sentiments for dimension.

Assembling the Card

I added strips of Altenew black foam tape to the back side of the oval that I glued the flowers to and adhered it to the card’s embossed background panel while allowing approximate 1-1/2” of the oval to hang off the top of the background panel.  I used a paper trimmer and removed the excess oval and any overlapping flowers/leaves from the top of the card panel.  I used liquid glue to adhere the two sentiments to the lower portion of the card front and added a sprinkling of Pinkfresh Metallic Matte Gold pearls around the sentiments.  Lastly, I adhered the card front to a white, side-folding, A6 card base using a combination of strips of Scor-Tape and liquid glue (yes, I am an over-adhesive user!).

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

Happy Birthday | AALL & Create/Simon Says Stamp/My Favorite Things

Hi crafty friends!  Today I am sharing a colorful birthday card featuring products from AALL & Create, My Favorite Things, Hero Arts, and Simon Says Stamp.  The My Favorite Things die is an older one, but a much loved one.

The supplies used:

     AALL & Create – Clown Around Stamp

     Simon Says Stamp – Scripty Birthday Background Stamp

     My Favorite Things – Happy Birthday Circle Frame

     Hero Arts Baloon Bunch Die Set

     Spellbinders – Precision Layering A2 A Die Set

     X-Press It Blending Cardstock

     Spellbinders – Breeze Cardstock

     Heavyweight White Cardstock (any brand)

     Copic Alcohol Markers – RV17, RV06, RV13, YR07, YR04, YR01, Y38,

          Y18, Y13, G12, G05, G16, B16, B14, B02, E11, E01, E000, C02, C00

          R29, R24, R20, 100 (Black)

     Simon Says Stamp – Ink Pads – Carnation, Peachy, Lemonade, Spring, Marine

     Lawn Fawn – Jet Black Ink Pad

     Winsor & Newton White Designers Gouache

     Ranger Ink – Glossy Accents

Bearly Art Precision Craft Glue

     Scor-Tape Double Sided Adhesive

     My Sweet Petunia - MISTI Stamping Tool

     Anna Griffin Empress Die Cutting Machine

Creating the Background Panel

I die cut a piece of Spellbinders Breeze cardstock using the second largest die in the Spellbinders Precision Layering A2 A die set which cuts the panel to be approximately 4” x 5-1/4.  I placed the blue cardstock panel into my MISTI stamping tool and using the Simon Says Stamp Scripty Birthday Background stamp, I stamped the background using Simon Says Stamp’s inks in the colors Carnation, Peachy, Lemonade, Spring, and Marine in a gradient down the surface of the panel.  Using an ink blending tool, I lightly blended the Marine ink around the outer edges of the inked panel for interest.  I mixed a couple drops of water with Winsor and Newton White Designers Gouache and applied spatter across the panel using a small paint brush.

Creating the Focal Point

Using the My Favorite Things Happy Birthday Circle Frame die, I die cut it four times from white cardstock (saving the negative circle portion from one of the die cuts).  I used Bearly Art Precision Glue to glue three of the die cuts together and placed them under an acrylic block until the glue dried.  For the fourth layer, I used Copic alcohol marker 100 (black) to carefully color only the words from the die cut then glued it to the rest of the stack and set aside to dry.  I lightly blended Simon Says Stamp Marine ink onto the one negative circle I saved from the die cutting – this will serve as a background for the clown image that gets created in the next step.

I stamped one of the clown images from the ALL & Create Clown Around stamp set onto a scrap piece of X-Press It Blending Cardstock using Lawn Fawn Jet Black Ink.  After the ink dried, I began coloring it using Copic alcohol markers in the following colors:

     Hair:  YR07, YR04, YR01

     Flesh:  E11, E01, E000

     Eyes:  G16, G05 (white gel pen accents), C02, C00

     Nose:  R29, R24, R20

     Shoes:  RV17, RV06, RV13, YR07, YR04, YR01

     Hat:  B16, B14, B02, RV17, RV06, RV13

     Trousers:  B16, B14, B02 (gold gel pen buttons)

     Shirt:  G16, G05, G12, Y38, Y18, Y13

Once the Copic coloring was completed, I fussy cut the clown image with a pair of fine tip scissors and used Copic's 100 (black) marker to go around the edges of the die cut to hide any white paper from showing.

My last touch for the focal point was to pull a scrap of red and silver from my scrap bin to die cut the single balloon and string from the Hero Arts Balloon Bunch die set.

Assembling the Card Front

I started by utilizing Scor-Tape to adhere the background panel to the white A2 card base.  I glued the balloon where I thought it looked best and added liquid glue to the back side of the happy birthday, stacked die cut and placed it onto the center of the lower portion of the card front followed by gluing the ink blended circle into the center of the stacked die cuts.  I glued a few scraps of white cardstock behind the center portion of the clown to bring him level to the sentiment circle die cuts and glued the clown to the center of the sentiment circle.  Lastly, I applied a thin layer of Glossy Accents to the balloon to give it shine.

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