Fall is finally, sorta, a little bit in the air in my neck of the woods and the September My Monthly Hero kit came at the perfect time. I was so excited for this autumn-themed kit, not only for the fall inspiration but also because it included some of my very favorite things from Hero Arts, a window die and coordinating layering stencils! I love the window dies and I have quite a few of them now. The dies always have so much detail and the layering stencils make it so easy to add beautiful color and shading. They can be used separately but, as you can see, when used together they really give your design great depth and dimension.
For this card, I originally stenciled everything on white cardstock but it just didn’t give me enough of the fall vibe I was after. So, I tried stenciling on kraft cardstock and I am so happy with how it turned out! The colors are a little more muted on kraft and together I think you get a really warm, cozy, autumn vibe. I used the ink cubes included in the kit (cherry is definitely my new favorite red) and a few other Hero Arts ink colors for the stenciling, as well as for some additional die cuts I tucked into the scene. And, we all know, white pigment ink looks amazing on kraft cardstock, so I used that with a Bold Print background stamp from Hero Arts and then heat embossed the sentiment in white to tie everything together. A few sparkling jewels, some white lacquer embellishments, and the card was finished.
I’m so excited for some cooler weather and even more fall crafting…before the madness of Christmas crafting starts. Which, I should probably start next week. But for now, all the details for this card are listed below. Thanks, friends, for stopping by!
STEPS
1.) First, I die cut the window frame using kraft cardstock cut to 4 x 5 1/4″, slightly smaller than an A2 card panel. I tried stenciling first, but I just couldn’t get the alignment right. It’s a lot easier to align the stencils with the window already die cut. Using the three layering stencils, I applied my ink. I did just a bit of masking in certain areas because I wanted more than just three colors. I especially wanted a little green in my scene and I ended up using a total of six colors.
For the background behind the window frame, I stamped the Hero Arts Leaves in the Wind Bold Prints with white pigment ink on a piece of kraft cardstock the same size as the window panel. Then, I decided I wanted the same Leaves in the Wind print on my front panel too. So, I die cut the window frame from some lightweight cardstock and fussy-cut (ugh!) around the edges for a mask. It wasn’t perfect, but it worked. I’m not sure if it would have been easier to do this part before stenciling or not, but this is how I ended up doing it.
3.) Next, using some Hero Arts Fancy Dies, I die cut a few mushrooms and fern fronds from kraft cardstock. I inked them using the same ink colors as in the window die frame. Originally, I was going to add more of these Fancy die cuts than I did, and pair everything with a thin sentiment strip. But, I loved the sentiments and the font of the sentiments that were included with the kit, so I decided to incorporate one of them instead.
4.) When I was sure that the pigment ink on the background panel was dry, I stamped and heat embossed the sentiment in white. I’m so happy I chose this instead of a thin sentiment strip. Then, because the thin foam squares are my favorite, I applied these to the back of the window frame panel and then attached that to my background panel. I used the corner of my Misti to align everything properly.
5.) Before adding the mushroom and fern Fancy Die cuts, I doubled them up for extra stability. The ferns are pretty delicate, so they especially needed some extra support. I also added the white spots on some of the mushrooms using the Unicorn Lacquer pen included in the kit. I was hoping it wouldn’t absorb the red ink like similar products, but it did, although not as much! When it dried, I added white gel pen on top where I thought it was a little too pink and it looked great.
6.) The final steps were to attach my card design to a green A2 card panel for a thin frame before attaching everything to an A2, side-fold, card base. Lastly, I added a few gemstones for some shiny details.
SUPPLIES
Hero Arts My Monthly Hero Classic September 2023
Hero Arts Mushroom and Ferns Fancy Dies
Hero Arts Leaves in the Wind Bold Prints
Neenah Desert Storm 100# Cardstock
Simon Says Stamp Green Leaf 100# Cardstock
Hero Arts White Detail Embossing Powder
Versamark Clear Embossing and Watermark Ink
Spellbinders Platinum Die Cutting And Embossing Machine
We R Makers Quickstik Precision Pickup and Placement Tool
Sizzix Curved Fine-Tip Tweezers
Tim Holtz Tonic Craft Mini Snips
Misti Precision Stamper Tool
Waffle Flower 6.5×8.5 Grip Mat
Bearly Art Precision Craft Glue
Scotch 3M Post-It Masking Tape
Simon Says Stamp White A2 Side Fold Scored Cards 120#
Simon Says Stamp Blending Brushes Small
Simon Says Stamp Blending Brushes Small Detail
Lawn Fawn Bone Folder
Hero Arts Unicorn Pigment Ink
Hero Arts Green Hills Core Ink
Hero Arts Tangerine Core Ink
Gemstones from my stash
My Crafty Trails 