Custom Plaid Two Ways with Houndstooth Layering Stencils

Plaid, but make it personal! Karen Brown here from Kennyscards.com and today I’m excited to share two bold and beautifully customized cards using the new Houndstooth Layering Stencils from the Case Closed Collection by Hero Arts.

This two-piece stencil is already becoming one of my favorite backgrounds—it’s quick, clean, and incredibly versatile! Whether you’re going soft and sweet or crisp and classic, this pattern plays nicely with every palette.

Here’s what made my stenciling process smooth and successful:

• Stencil Orientation Matters: Make sure the Hero Arts logo is facing up. To keep my layers aligned even after rotating for even inking, I also added a tiny penciled arrow pointing to the logo. It’s a game-changer!
• Alignment Squares Are Your Friend: I marked the alignment squares lightly in pencil before starting so I could line up both layers of the stencil perfectly—no guessing, just precision.

For my first card, I created a lovely pink and orange plaid background using Creamsicle and Taffy inks. I die cut the stenciled background with the Pointed Arches Infinity Dies to create a shaped card—hello, visual interest!

I originally tried a single color mat but it felt flat. Splitting the mat— Coral on the left, Azalea on the right —instantly made the card pop with contrast. I layered on a cluster of Copic-colored florals from the Wild Flowers Bundle, a heat-embossed a "Thinking of You" sentiment (included in the bundle) in white on black cardstock, and five black enamel dots for a finishing touch.

Copic Colors: YR02, RV11, W0

Card two leans cool, classic, and masculine. I used Periwinkle and Moss inks with the Houndstooth Stencils for a bold plaid base, and then die cut it using one of my tried-and-true favorites— Nesting Postage Infinity Dies.

I die cut the bold Congrats sentiment from black cardstock three times, stacked and glued for dimension, and added a soft vellum shadow underneath to make it stand out. The sentiment comes from the Congrats and Yay Stamp & Cut Set. Everything was mounted on Periwinkle Cardstock and attached to an A2 card base.

The Houndstooth Layering Stencils are officially a staple in my craftroom. They’re:

• Fast and easy to use
• Perfectly crisp results
• Easy to customize with ANY color palette

You can try monochrome , neutrals , school/team colors , or even select the recipient's favorite colors . The options are endless—and this stencil plays well with nearly every kind of stamp or sentiment.