I have another project to share using the Spellbinders Just Add Cake Birthday Cardmaking Kit, and this time I went straight for the champagne!
One of the things I love about the Just Add Cake box is just how many completely different styles of cards you can create from it. For this card, I used the Confetti Pop Etched Dies to create a champagne bottle that looks like it has just been popped — cork flying, streamers curling and a huge celebratory splash bursting right out of the bottle.
I kept the colour palette fairly simple so all that movement could be the star of the card. The soft Blush ColorWheel Cardstock background gives the design a fun, feminine feel without competing with the die cuts. For the bottle, I layered Fern and Peridot ColorWheel Cardstock to create the different shades of green and give it a little more dimension.
The oversized splash is what really makes this one for me. I layered the delicate splash pieces so they explode upward from the neck of the bottle, surrounding the popped cork and creating lots of dimension without adding a lot of visual weight.
Of course, a champagne bottle needed a little sparkle! I added the curly streamers in metallic gold and scattered them around the splash to carry that celebratory feeling across the card.
For the finishing touch, I added the “Sending You a Splash of Happy” from the June AllCrate club sentiment along the bottom in gold. It ties in beautifully with the streamers and works for so many occasions — birthday, congratulations, a new job, an anniversary, or really any occasion that calls for popping a bottle and celebrating.
I especially love that this card shows another side of the Just Add Cake Birthday Cardmaking Kit. The box may be built around birthdays, but the individual dies and sentiments can go far beyond birthday cards. Confetti Pop is definitely one of those sets I can see reaching for again and again.
There is something about the first fall cards of the season that makes me want to pull out all the pumpkins, warm colours and cozy drinks — and this card manages to fit a little bit of everything into one design!
For this project, I combined elements from the Hero Arts Beep Beep Bundle with the Spellbinders Merry Mugs & Kisses dies to create a warm fall coffee-card scene. I love mixing products from different collections and finding completely new ways to use them together, and these two sets ended up being such a fun pairing.
The card front is divided into four colour-blocked sections, which gave me four little areas to decorate while still keeping everything connected. I used the mug from Merry Mugs & Kisses in two opposite corners, filling each one with a rich brown drink and topping it with a big swirl of whipped cream. A tiny bit of speckling on the cream adds just enough texture to make those mugs feel extra cozy.
For the other two sections, I pulled out the fall dies from the Hero Arts Beep Beep Bundle. I layered pumpkins in different autumn shades alongside the sunflower and scattered a few of the tiny leaves around the design. Repeating those elements in opposite corners helped balance the larger mugs without making the card feel too symmetrical.
And really, there was only one sentiment this card could have:
PUMPKIN SPICE & EVERYTHING NICE
The sentiment comes from the coordinating Hero Arts stamp set in the Beep Beep Bundle. I stamped it onto a raven strip, good embossing power to make it pop & placed it right across the centre where all four sections meet. I love how that little bit of contrast pulls the entire design together.
All of the coloured cardstock on this card comes from the current Spellbinders ColorWheel Cardstock Collection, which has 48 coordinating shades.
For this project I worked with a warm autumn palette of Alabaster, Merlot, Sicily, Carrot, Terra Cotta, Cinnamon, Saffron/Beeswax, Fawn, Fern and Truffle. The mix of creamy neutrals, pumpkin oranges, deep red, golden yellow, green and brown gives the card that unmistakable fall feeling without making everything blend into one big sea of orange.
I especially love the contrast between the Alabaster mug and background pieces and those deeper autumn shades. It gives all of those tiny die-cut details room to stand out.
This one was also a good reminder that seasonal products don’t necessarily need to stay within their original collections. A mug from one set, pumpkins and flowers from another, and a great fall sentiment were all it took to create something completely different.
Now I just need an actual pumpkin-spice drink to go with it. ☕🎃🍂
Products used: Hero Arts Beep Beep Bundle — fall dies and coordinating sentiment stamps; Spellbinders Merry Mugs & Kisses; Spellbinders ColorWheel Cardstock Collection.
Fall cards do not always have to be rust, mustard and brown! For these cards I pulled out the Taylored Expressions Triple Slim – Falling For You Stencil and gave the autumn foliage a much brighter colour palette.
I used Lawn Fawn inks in Mermaid, Juice Box, Fake Tan and Pumpkin Spice, and I love how they work together. The Mermaid adds that unexpected pop of aqua against the oranges and purples, while Fake Tan and Pumpkin Spice keep everything firmly in autumn territory.
The Triple Slim stencil makes it easy to create several different designs from one stencilled panel. I used the foliage in a few different ways — as full backgrounds, as borders framing the sentiment, and even left plenty of white space on one of the cards so the leaves could really stand out.
For a little extra dimension, I added some gold accents and die-cut leaves throughout the designs. I love the tiny bit of sparkle against all of that saturated colour, especially on the more open card design.
The sentiments were popped up over the stencilling to give them some separation from the busy backgrounds. “Thinking of You” works beautifully over the full foliage pattern, while “Sending Love Your Way” fits perfectly between the two bands of leaves.
I finished everything off with teal card bases, which pull the Mermaid ink forward and tie the whole collection together.
This is one of those stencil sets that gives you so many possibilities from a single colour combination. Same stencil, same inks — but three completely different looks.
Supplies: Taylored Expressions Triple Slim – Falling For You Stencil; Lawn Fawn inks in Mermaid, Juice Box, Fake Tan and Pumpkin Spice; white cardstock; teal cardstock; gold cardstock and embellishments.
I am definitely not finished playing with this stencil this year and will go back to my tried & true color combo of Mulled Wine, Toffee & Sweet Potato Pie 🧡❤️🤎
Sometimes the best cards are inspired by everyday life, and this one definitely brought a smile to my face!
For today’s project, I mixed products from two Spellbinders collections that complement each other perfectly.
The adorable mop and bright yellow bucket are from the Squeaky Clean Etched Dies in the Shiny New Day Collection. I couldn’t resist making the bucket sunshine yellow—it felt like the perfect way to reinforce the fresh, clean theme. The coordinating Shiny New Day Sentiments Clear Stamp Set provided the perfect finishing touch with the sentiment:
“When Life Gets Messy, You Keep It Fresh!”
To brighten the design even more, I reached into the Simple Stories × Spellbinders Pink Lemonade Collection for the lemons and the woodgrain frame tucked behind the stitched circle. Those little details add a fun summery feel and tie everything together beautifully.
I finished the card with a navy gingham paper from my stash background for contrast, layered everything with foam adhesive for dimension, and added a few sparkling embellishments to complete the design.
I hope it inspires you to look through your own stash and combine products from different collection, you might be surprised how well they play together!
Products Used
Squeaky Clean Etched Dies (Shiny New Day Collection)
Sometimes the simplest cards end up being my favourites, and this one definitely falls into that category!
I recently picked up the Hero Arts Coney Island Club bundle (yes… the entire bundle 😄), and I couldn’t wait to start creating with it. This sweet little hot dog immediately became the star of today’s card.
To keep the focus on the image and sentiment, I created my own custom background using the Hot Dog Clear Stamp Set, stamping the hot dogs and mustard bottles in a light tone-on-tone pattern. The centre panel is layered over yellow gingham paper from the Spellbinders ColorWheel Collection, which gives the card fun summer picnic vibes without competing with the focal image.
The bold “HOT DOG!” sentiment is layered with a pop of red cardstock for extra dimension, while the secondary sentiment, “You’re Bun of a Kind,” comes from the Many Franks Stamp Set.
To finish everything off, I added a few Hero Arts enamel dots around the sentiment panel. They’re a small detail, but they help balance the design and draw your eye right into the centre of the card.
I love how cheerful this card turned out, and I have a feeling this bundle is going to see a lot of use!
Summer cards don’t have to be complicated to make a big impact. For this project, I kept the design clean and playful by arranging colorful popsicles in a circular pattern around the “Soak Up the Fun” sentiment from the Hero Arts June 2026 My Monthly Hero – Hello Summer Stamp & Cut collection.
Each popsicle was die cut from Spellbinders ColorWheel Cardstock, creating a bright rainbow palette without any ink blending on the die cuts themselves. To keep the focus on the colorful treats, I added a soft yellow ink-blended glow behind the sentiment, then finished the card with white gel pen highlights, clear embellishments, and a few tiny white splatters for a light, summery feel. The flip-flops and daisy accents help frame the design while keeping plenty of clean white space.
also carried the summer theme inside the card with a simple sun and daisy embellishments, giving the inside a finished look without adding bulk.
Supplies
Hero Arts My Monthly Hero – June 2026 Hello Summer Stamp & Cut
Hero Arts June 2026 Pool Party Die Set
Spellbinders ColorWheel Cardstock
White gel pen
Yellow ink for soft background blending
Clear embellishments
Foam adhesive
Sometimes a handful of bright colors, a strong focal sentiment, and a little shine are all you need to create a cheerful summer card. ☀️🍦
Nothing says summer quite like a floppy sun hat, a refreshing drink, and bright, cheerful colors! ☀️🍹
These two cards were created using the Hero Arts June My Monthly Super Hero collection, Soak Up the Sun, featuring the fabulous Sippin’ Summer Die Set paired with the coordinating Fabulous Phrases Stamp & Cut sentiments. For the backgrounds, I used the fun Wavy Lines Cutting Die, which adds the perfect amount of movement and lets you experiment with endless color combinations.
Rather than recreating the colors from the product packaging, I challenged myself to explore two completely different palettes. The first card leans into bright tropical sunset tones with warm oranges, coral, pinks and aqua, while the second combines cool teals with rich berry accents for a fresh, modern summer feel.
All of the cardstock used on both cards is from the Spellbinders ColorWheel Cardstock Collection. I love how effortlessly the colors mix and match, making it easy to create bold layered backgrounds while keeping everything cohesive.
These dies were such a joy to work with, and I can already tell they’ll be getting plenty of use throughout the summer. Changing only a few cardstock colors completely transforms the look of the design, which is one of my favorite things about layered die-cutting!
Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope these cards inspire you to experiment with your own favorite color combinations. Sometimes simply swapping a few colors is all it takes to make a design feel completely new.
There’s something extra special about creating holiday cards that make people smile, and the Spellbinders Spectacular Christmas Collection certainly delivers! I had the pleasure of creating these projects as part of a Crop & Create workshop, where we were introduced to this adorable collection filled with festive critters, cozy accessories, and plenty of holiday charm.
From cheerful bears and playful penguins to sweet reindeer, each character has its own unique personality. I had so much fun mixing and matching the accessories—oversized holiday glasses, cozy scarves, earmuffs, party hats, cupcakes, mugs, and Christmas pudding—to create a collection of whimsical cards that are guaranteed to brighten someone’s day.
One of my favorite parts of this collection is how versatile it is. A simple change in background, color palette, or accessory completely transforms the look and feel of each card. The adorable easel card was especially fun to create, adding a little interactive surprise while showcasing the sweet reindeer enjoying a festive holiday treat.
For all of these projects, I used Spellbinders ColorWheel Cardstock, which made coordinating the bright holiday palette effortless. The vibrant reds, icy blues, soft pinks, rich browns, and crisp whites work beautifully together and really bring these charming characters to life.
A special thank you to the instructors and designers behind the Crop & Create workshop for sharing these wonderful projects and inspiration. It was such a fun event, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to learn new techniques while creating cards I’ll be excited to send this Christmas season.
Whether your style is clean and simple or full of layers and dimension, the Spectacular Christmas Collection has something for everyone. These little holiday friends certainly succeeded in making my spirits bright!
Every now and then, my creativity needs a little helping hand.
Living with an autoimmune disorder means there are days when I’m simply not up for designing something from scratch. Instead of putting my supplies away, I love to CASE (Copy And Share Everything/Copy And Selectively Edit) projects from talented artists. It’s a wonderful way to keep creating, learn new techniques, and most importantly, find a little joy on the days when my body and brain aren’t cooperating.
This adorable suitcase box card is slight variation on the beautiful original design by Sarah Leese. I fell in love with her version and recreated it almost exactly, with slight edits for a few of my own little touches. I firmly believe it’s perfectly okay to recreate another artist’s work, as long as you give credit where it’s due and never claim the design as your own.
A huge thank you to Sarah Leese for sharing both her creativity and a fantastic tutorial showing exactly how to make these fun 3D suitcase box cards. If you’d like to make one yourself, you can watch her tutorial here:
There’s something magical about the nostalgia of old movie theaters—the paper tickets, glowing marquees, buttery popcorn, and the excitement of settling into your seat before the show begins. When I opened the Simon Says Stamp June 2026 Card Kit, Step Right Up, I immediately knew I wanted to lean into that vintage cinema aesthetic rather than the carnival theme showcased in many of the kit samples. The combination of Tim Holtz-inspired elements, vintage tickets, and dimensional popcorn made it the perfect foundation for a movie-themed collection of cards.
The Step Right Up kit is packed with exclusive goodies including the 3D Popcorn Box Die, White Heat & Fluff, ticket-themed dies, vintage-inspired card panels, and a Tim Holtz Idea-ology Ticket Book. For these projects, I also incorporated the Tim Holtz Cling Rubber Stamps – At The Movies stamp set to reinforce the classic theater theme and add additional vintage imagery and typography.
Creating Realistic Popcorn
The star of every card in this collection is undoubtedly the popcorn! I die cut multiple popcorn pieces using the kit’s exclusive 3D Popcorn Box die and then applied the included White Heat & Fluff to create wonderfully dimensional kernels. After heating, the texture transforms into realistic-looking popcorn that practically jumps off the card front. It’s one of those techniques that never gets old and adds incredible tactile interest.
To give the popcorn a buttery appearance, I lightly inked the pieces with warm yellow tones before assembling the overflowing popcorn boxes.
Card One: Making Memories at the Movies
For the first card, I created a vintage movie collage featuring distressed film strips layered across a background stamped with imagery from the At The Movies set. A large spotlight burst draws the eye toward the center while the overflowing popcorn box anchors the design.
The sentiment, “We didn’t realize we were making memories, we just knew we were having fun,” perfectly captures the feeling of movie nights with family and friends. The combination of aged neutrals, rich red accents, and vintage ephemera creates a timeless look that feels both nostalgic and elegant.
Card Two: Popcorn Explosion
For the second card, I embraced a more playful composition. Vintage ticket pieces from the Tim Holtz Idea-ology Ticket Book were layered behind a large popcorn box, creating the feeling of a movie night collage board.
I love how the black film strips weave through the design, connecting all of the elements while helping direct the eye around the card. The distressed ticket pieces add authenticity and reinforce the old-fashioned cinema vibe.
Card Three: Admit One
The final card continues the vintage theater theme with additional ticket book elements arranged into a layered background. The colorful starburst patterned paper from the kit peeks through the design, adding a fun retro feel without overwhelming the vintage aesthetic.
The popcorn box once again takes center stage, but this time the surrounding ticket elements become part of the storytelling—almost like a collection of keepsakes saved from favorite movie nights over the years.
Bringing the Theme Together
One of my favorite things about this kit is its versatility. While the Step Right Up theme naturally lends itself to carnivals and fairs, the inclusion of tickets, popcorn, and vintage-inspired elements made it easy to shift the focus toward classic movie theaters and cinema memories. The addition of the Tim Holtz At The Movies stamp set helped tie everything together beautifully and reinforced the nostalgic storytelling aspect of each card.
These projects are a reminder that card kits don’t have to be used exactly as intended. Sometimes the most creative designs come from looking at the components through a different lens and finding a theme that speaks to you.
Whether you’re creating cards for movie lovers, scrapbook layouts documenting family outings, or simply celebrating happy memories, this combination of vintage tickets, film strips, and fluffy popcorn is guaranteed to bring a smile.
Stamp Right Up! 