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!

Sending Love | Simon Says Stamp + Hero Arts

Hi friends!  Today I’m sharing a Father’s Day card with you that I created utilizing products from Simon Says Stamp, Hero Arts, and a host of other company’s products – sort of a “shop your stash” extravaganza.  Let’s get started!

The supplies used:

     Simon Says Stamp – Friend Like You Stamp Set

     Waffle Flower – Cloudy Stencil

     Spellbinders – Precision Layering A2 A Die Set

     Simon Says Stamp – Love Garden Greetings Stamp/Die Set

     Hero Arts – Butterfly Confetti Die

     Ranger Ink/Tim Holtz – Tumbled Glass Distress Ink Pad

     Ranger Ink/Tim Holtz – Unchartered Mariner Distress Ink Pad

     Simon Says Stamp – Field Pawsitively Saturated Ink Pad

     Lawn Fawn – Jet Black Ink Pad

     VersaMark Watermark Stamp Pad

     Brutus Monroe – Alabaster White Embossing Powder

     Taylored Expressions – Anti-Static Powder Tool

     Scrapbook.com – Heavy Weight Mixed Media Paper

     X-Press It Blending Cardstock

     Spellbinders – Oceanside Cardstock

     Altenew – Mini Ink Blending Tool

     Scrapbook.com – Foam Ink Blending Tool

     Copic Alcohol Markers:  E37, E35, E33, E31, E44, E55, E42,

          YG45, YG23, BG09, BG53, B00, R20, R00, R0000, E04, R32,

          R11, W3, W1, W00, E34, E43, E40

     Scrapbook Adhesives Thin 3D Foam Squares

     Sakura Black Glaze Pen

     Sakura #431 Moonlight Gelly Roll Pen

     Sakura Black Pigma Micron 03 Fine Liner Pen

     Ranger Ink – Glossy Accents

     Altenew – Instant Dimension Foam Tape

     Winsor & Newton White Designers’ Gouache

     Altenew – Carbon Black Artists’ Gouache

     WOW! Dual Speed Heat Tool

     My Sweet Petunia - MISTI Original Stamping Tool

     Anna Griffin Empress Die Cutting Machine

Creating the Background Panel

To create the background, I used a sheet of Scrapbook.com’s Heavy Weight Mixed Media Paper and smooshed Tumbled Glass Distress Ink onto my work surface.  I used a mister to spray a generous amount of water to the ink and used a scrap piece of plastic packaging to dip into the ink and place it in random locations onto my mixed media paper.  I repeated this step until I was satisfied with my results.  Utilizing the Spellbinders Precision Layering A2 A die set, I used the second largest die to die cut the inky, mixed media panel and used the largest die in the set to die cut an A2 matting layer from Spellbinders Oceanside cardstock.  I used the Waffle Flower Cloudy Stencil and an Altenew Mini Blending Brush to ink blend clouds across the top two-thirds of the background panel.  Next, I grabbed a foam ink blending tool and Uncharted Mariner Distress Ink to ink the edges of the mixed media paper panel to add depth and interest.  To add the grass, I used grass cling stamp from Simon Says Stamp’s On the Ground stamp set to stamp a row of grass along the bottom edge of the inky panel using Simon Says Stamp’s Field Pawsitively Saturated ink and my MISTI Stamping Tool.  Lastly, I used Winsor and Newton white gouache and Altenew’s Carbon Black Gouache to add spatter across the inky panel and placed Altenew Instant Dimension Foam Tape to the back side of the background and adhered it to the Oceanside cardstock panel.

Creating the Focal Point

I chose the cute critter scene on the Simon Says Stamp Friend Like You stamp set as my focal point.  I stamped the image onto a piece of X-Press It Blending Card using Lawn Fawn Jet Black ink since I will be coloring the image with Copic alcohol markers.  The Copic colors I selected for the stamped image were:

     Tree Stump Bark:  E37, E35, E33, E31

     Tree Stump Top:  E44, E55, E42

     Leaves:  YG45, YG23

     Grass:  YG45

     Bird:  Blue Tail - BG09, BG53, B00

               Belly - R20, R00, R0000

               Head/Back - E04, R32, R11

     Chipmunk:  W3, W1, W00, E37, E34, E31, E43, E42, E40

Once the coloring was completed, I fussy cut the image with scissors and placed Scrapbook Adhesives Thin 3D Foam Squares on the back side of the image.

Creating the Sentiment

For the sentiment, I chose to go with a the “sending love” greeting from Simon Says Stamp’s Love Garden Greetings stamp set.  I used VersaMark Ink to stamp the sentiment onto a scrap piece of Spellbinders Oceanside cardstock that I coated with anti-static powder, then applied a coating of Brutus Monroe’s Alabaster White embossing powder.  Once heat set, I wiped off the excess anti-static powder with a microfiber cloth and used the coordinating die to die cut the sentiment and die cut two additional blank sentiment die cuts to glue behind the heat embossed one for dimension.

Assembling the Card

I removed the adhesive backing paper from the focal point image and adhered it to the bottom of the card front panel.  I used a black Sakura Glaze pen to color the bird and chipmunk’s eyes and added Glossy Accents to the chipmunk’s nose.  I used liquid glue to adhere the sentiment to the card front.  For the embellishments, I decided to die cut the Hero Arts Butterfly Confetti die from pink shimmer cardstock that I found in my stash and cut it from a piece of black cardstock from my scrap bin.  I selected three sizes from the pink die cut butterflies and selected three of the black ones that were the same size.  I trimmed the middle/body portion from the black butterfly die cuts and glued the body parts to the center of the three pink butterflies.  For the butterfly decorating, I ran a bead of Ranger’s Black Enamel Accents on all the black bodies, used a black fine liner pen to draw antennae on the butterfly heads, then used a Sakura #431 Moonlight Gelly Roll pen to add small dots on the butterfly wings.  Once the Enamel Accents had a chance to dry, I adhered the card front to a white A2 card base.

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

Happy Easter 2026 | Waffle Flower & Stampers Anonymous/Tim Holtz

Hi crafty friends!  Today I am sharing a postage themed, mixed media, Easter card.  After making this card, I’ve decided that I need to play around with mixed media projects a lot more often.  There seems like lots of steps to this card, but if I wanted to make it again, I’m certain it would go much more quickly than it did to make the first one!  I tend to be very indecisive when it comes to which stamps, papers, inks, and dies I want to use which causes delay, delay, delay…. I hope you enjoy the end result.

The supplies used:

Waffle Flower – Postage Collage A6 Die

     Stampers Anonymous – Mr. Rabbit Stamp Set

     Stampers Anonymous – Bunny Hop Stamp/Stencil Set

     Sizzix / Tim Holtz – Vault Hippity Hop Die Set

     Hero Arts – Sparkle Weave Stencil

     Spellbinders – Tuscan Cardstock

     Spellbinders – Timber Cardstock

     MFT – Grapesicle Cardstock (dyed with ink to be Fairy and Plum Cardstock)

     Simon Says Stamp – Allspice, Cozy, Plum, & Fairy Ink

     Altenew – Obsidian Black Pigment Ink

     Ranger Ink / Tim Holtz – Vintage Photo & Black Soot Distress Ink

     Ranger Ink / Tim Holtz – Distress Translucent Texture Paste

     Altenew – Carbon Black Artists’ Gouache

     Kuretake Starry Colors Metallic Watercolor Paint – Gold No. 903

     WOW! – Clear Gloss Super Fine Embossing Powder

     Taylored Expressions – Anti-Static Powder Tool

     Altenew – Mini Blending Brush

     WOW! – Dual Speed Heat Embossing Tool

     Scor-Tape Double Sided Adhesive

     Altenew – 1” x 1/16” Instant Dimension Foam Tape

     Bearly Art Precision Craft Glue

     Tonic / Tim Holtz – Mini Guillotine Trimmer

     MISTI Stamp Positioning Tool

     Anna Griffin Empress Die Cutting Machine

Creating the Background Panel

First, I used the die from Waffle Flower’s Postage Collage A6 Die and placed it onto a piece of Spellbinders Tuscan cardstock and loosely traced around the outside of it using a pencil.  This will give me an idea of where things will fall on the postage collage layout once I die cut it.  I proceeded with adding a layering of stamping.  Using Simon Says Stamp Allspice ink, I stamped the rabbit from Stampers Anonymous’ Mr. Rabbit stamp set in the lower left corner.  Next, I decided the stamp the larger Easter Egg Dyes text stamp from the same set onto the upper right corner using Simon Says Stamp Plum ink.  I stamped the smaller Egg Dyes text stamp in a vertical direction on the lower right corner of the panel using Simon Says Stamp’s Fairy ink.  I inked up the polka dot pattern stamp from the set and free-hand stamped it in random locations using Simon Says Stamp Cozy ink and did the same with the plaid patterned stamp.  Once the stamping was completed, I used the Waffle Flower Postage Collage A6 Die and die cut the stamped panel. 

I placed the inked panel on a sticky mat to hold it in place, then I positioned the Hero Arts Sparkle Weave Stencil over the cardstock panel and added Ranger/Tim Holtz Distress Translucent Texture Paste in random locations across the stencil and panel.  Once the paste dried, I used an Altenew Mini Blending Brush and Ranger/Tim Holtz Vintage Photo Distress Ink to ink the edges of the card background panel. 

I used the Waffle Flower Postage Collage A6 Die to cut a second die cut from the Tuscan cardstock and I glued it behind the first want for substance.  Once glued, I used Altenew Carbon Black Gouache and Kuretake Starry Colors watercolor paint No. 903 and spatter both onto the background panel and set aside to dry.

Creating the Focal Point

For the focal point, I simply chose to die cut one of the rabbits from the Sizzix/Tim Holtz die set called Vault Hippity Hop.  I die cut the rabbit two times from Spellbinders Timber cardstock, glued them together, and used Ranger/Tim Holtz Black Soot ink to blacken the edges of the rabbit.  After the edging, I spattered the die cut with Kuretake Starry Colors No. 903 gold watercolor paint so it would blend in with the card’s background panel.

Creating the Sentiment

For the sentiment, I used the “Happy Easter” stamp from the Stampers Anonymous Bunny Hop Stamp/Stencil set.  I placed a piece of Fairy ink colored card stock that I made by dragging the Simon Says Stamp Fairy ink pad across a small piece of cardstock and placed it into my MISTI tool.  I applied a generous amount of anti-static powder to the cardstock and stamped the sentiment using Altenew’s Obsidian Black ink pad.  Once stamped, I applied WOW!’s Clear Gloss Super Fine embossing powder to the sentiment and melted the powder with the heat tool.  I used the Tonic/Tim Holtz Mini Trimmer and cut the sentiment to size then cut a couple additional layers from the same Fairy ink cardstock to glue behind it for dimension.  To finish the sentiment, I used a foam ink blending tool and edged a little bit of the Vintage Photo to give it a some-what grungier appearance.

Assembling the Card

I wanted to add the card’s background to a piece of the Simons Says Stamp plum ink, alas I did not have that color (or anything close to it) so I had to get creative and make my own by dragging the Plum ink pad across an entire piece of 5” x 7” cardstock because if I didn’t ink the entire panel I would be able to see the un-inked areas through the postage collage holes – thank heavens for reinkers!  Once the inked dried on the new plum cardstock panel, I die cut it with the largest die from Waffle Flower’s A6 Lacy Layers Die set.  I adhered the Plum panel to a side-folding, A6 card base using strips of Scor-Tape.  I added strips of Altenew Instant Dimension Foam Tape to the back of the decorative, postage collage panel and removed the backing to adhere it to the Plum cardstock panel.  I added liquid glue to the back side of the sentiment and placed it on the lower right of the card, then positioned the rabbit die cut over the top of it.  I didn’t want to add even more dimension to the rabbit/card, so I cut the rabbit’s left leg (as seen in the photo) and glued the top half of the rabbit directly to the card background (minus the trimmed portion of its leg), then trimmed the end of his left foot and glued it under the sentiment as if it were literally placed behind the sentiment.

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