For months, I've been working on something I've shared with only a couple of creative friends and my husband. Today however, I'm finally sharing it with all of you: my first ever digital paper crafting collection, called Metamorphosis!

Yes, it's about butterflies. But it's about so much more than that too. It's about me, and the journey I went on creating this collection.

Why "Metamorphosis"

Many years ago, I did graphic design work for a scrapbooking company. When I left, I stepped away from digital paper design entirely and focused on the card making and mixed media work you've come to know me for here. But digital design never really left me — it stayed quietly in the back of my mind as something I loved, even though I didn't yet have the confidence to pursue it entirely on my own.

Recently, inspired by another artist in our creative community, I started thinking hard about where I wanted to go next. Designing this collection — every step of it — became its own journey of rediscovering that confidence and creativity. When you hear the name Metamorphosis, I want you to picture butterflies, of course. But I also want it to represent my own creative journey: becoming someone who trusts her own voice enough to put something entirely her own out into the world.

This collection contains all the things I love — the colors, the imagery, the little details — and I hope that comes through in every piece.

Watch the Full Story

I made a full video sharing more about Metamorphosis — the story behind it, and a complete walkthrough of everything included in the collection. I'd love for you to watch it the reveal video! 

 WATCH THE REVEAL VIDEO 

What's Inside

Metamorphosis is a printable paper collection inspired by antique specimen books, pressed botanicals, and the delicate beauty of transformation. It features:

• 32 original designs, delivered across 40 printable pages
  • 32 pages in Letter size (8.5" x 11") — one design per page, full size
  • 8 additional pages with those same 32 designs resized to A2 Card size (4.25" x 5.5"), 4 designs per page for easy printing and cutting
• A muted palette of purple, teal, olive, terracotta, and espresso, layered with genuine aged book page textures
• Vintage naturalist illustrations, botanical engravings, and hand-crafted textures throughout
• 300 ephemera pieces, including butterflies in multiple sizes, botanical images, tickets, labels, and sentiment strips
• High-resolution 300 dpi JPG files, delivered as a ZIP via Podia, ready to print at home or through a commercial printer

This collection is designed with cardmaking, junk journaling, art journaling, scrapbooking, mini albums, and travelers notebooks all in mind — it's meant to be a starting point, not a finished product. Every paper leaves room for you to layer in your own embellishments, stamping, stenciling, or handwriting and truly make it your own.

A Note on Printing

Since this is a digital collection, you'll need to print it yourself — either at home or through a local print shop. Once it's printed, you can use it in all the same ways you always have. If printing digital files at home is new to you, there's lots of great information out there already on printing at home versus through a print shop. If you do have questions about printing or digital papercrafting, do not hesitate to reach out to me with your questions and I will get back to you as soon as possible.

Where to Get It

Metamorphosis is available now in three ways:

• Printable Papers — $16
• Printable Ephemera — $20
• Full Collection Bundle — $30 (save $6)

 SHOP THE COLLECTION HERE! 

What's Next

I'm not going anywhere with my regular mixed media videos — those will resume shortly. As you can now understand, I had to take a break from them to focus on this new path in my creative journey. I will also have some new project videos on the way using Metamorphosis, including a cardmaking tutorial, an art journal page, and a junk journal project, so keep an eye out for those.

Thank you so much for being here for this. It means so much to me to finally share this new branch of my creative journey with you.

Come see the butterflies... and witness the wonder of becoming. It's true for them. It's true for me. And I hope, in some small way, it's true for you too.

The Sizzix 25th Birthday celebration continues, and today I'm sharing some inspiration using the Word Wafers Birthday die set designed by Seth Apter. In true Seth Apter fashion, these dies have a wonderful grunginess built right in, making them absolutely perfect for creating a grundy industrial birthday card.

Creating the Background

For this card, I did something I don't normally do — I dug into my scrap bin and found a background I hadn't used yet. Because of that, I'm not 100% sure of the exact colors, but I believe it started with a piece of black cardstock. I used a brayer to lightly apply acrylic paint in what look to be Distress Paint colors of Rusty Hinge, Salvaged Patina, and possibly Walnut Stain.

I took that piece of cardstock and embossed it with the Seth Apter Dot Matrix embossing folder, then rubbed Sizzix Luster Wax in Gold over the surface to bring out the textured design and enhance the distressed effect.

Creating the Sentiment

For the sentiment, I used the Celebrate die from the Word Wafers Birthday set. I cut the base layer from Distress Watercolor Cardstock and ink smooshed it into Old Paper Distress Ink, then inked the edges with Ground Espresso Distress Ink. I die cut the detail layer from Tim Holtz Black Kraftstock and lightly sanded it to reveal the kraft-colored core underneath, adding even more to that distressed feel. The numbers are from the Seth Apter Borderlines die set — I cut those from Kraftstock, sanded them the same way, then trimmed them into several pieces and tucked them behind the focal image.

Finishing the Card

To finish the card, I layered everything onto a piece of Sizzix Sandable Cardstock in brown and burnt orange, then sanded the edges to reveal the lighter core color underneath.

And there you have it — a grungy industrial birthday card perfect for anyone who loves this style or color combination! I hope this gave you a bit of inspiration using the Seth Apter Word Wafers Birthday dies as we continue celebrating 25 years of Sizzix. I'd love to see what you create if you give this style a try — feel free to share in the comments or tag me on Instagram!

Happy crafting! ~ Juliana

Supplies

Below you will find links to the supplies I used to create these cards. When you shop through these links—whether you purchase that exact item or something else entirely—you're supporting me at no extra cost to you. The commission I receive helps me cover the costs of my blog and other expenses, and allows me to continue providing you with FREE inspiration and tutorials. If you want to learn more, you can see my full affiliate and product disclosure statement here. Thank you so much for your love and support!

Today's post is a bit of a stroll down memory lane, and it comes at a really fitting moment. Sizzix — the company that's been part of my papercrafting journey since I first started scrapbooking — is celebrating their 25th birthday this month, and I couldn't be more happy to be part of it.

It's got me thinking about just how long I've been enjoying this hobby, and how much both I and the industry have changed over 25 years. Truth be told, I started scrapbooking a few years before Sizzix came along, but they've been with me for most of the ride.

I still remember my very first die cutting machine — the original red Sizzix machine with the pull-lever that pushed straight down to cut through the dies. Affectionately known as "Big Red" back in the day, I actually won mine at a scrapbook crop, and I fondly recall using it with Sizzix alphabet dies to cut out titles for my scrapbook pages. Whether I've been using a die cutting machine, punches, or an electronic cutting machine since then, die cutting has always been one of my favorite ways to create and embellish my projects — and I think a lot of that traces back to that original Sizzix machine.

Fast forward to today, and I've been a Tim Holtz Maker with Sizzix since 2020 and a Creative Team Member since 2023. Who would have thought, all those years ago, that I'd still love paper crafting and die cutting this much — or that I'd still be connected to this company after so many years?

Over the years this hobby has given me so much more than scrapbook pages and finished cards — it's given me a creative outlet, a way to work with my hands, and a community of people who feel like friends. There's something about the process itself — cutting, layering, building something from a blank piece of paper — that still brings me so much joy, all these years later.

That's exactly why celebrations like this one mean so much to me.

About the Collection

To celebrate this milestone, each of the Sizzix Licensed Designers created a brand new celebration themed die, stamp, stencil set or embossing folder. This release brings together designs from Tim Holtz, 49 and Market, Eileen Hull, Stacey Park, Shelly Kim, Catherine Pooler, Willow Wolfe, Vicki Boutin, and Seth Apter.

There's Willow Wolfe's Birthday Blooms stamp set with its beautiful hummingbird and floral wreath designs, Catherine Pooler's Let's Eat Cake dies and stencils, and Eileen Hull's Party Time embossing folder that's perfect for quick, textured backgrounds like the one I used on my card and of course Tim Holtz's Celebration Steamers die set that I'm using for this project. Whatever your style, there's something in this collection to celebrate with.

The Card

For the focal point on my card, I used the Tim Holtz Gertrude Colorize die in the larger original size. I die cut all of the layers from Distress Watercolor Cardstock. I then ink blended the various layers, working from lighter tones into deeper shadows and details. Walnut Stain, Vintage Photo and Ground Espresso gave her those darker patches, Pumice Stone and Antique Linen softened things out, Wild Honey added warmth, and a bit of Black Soot and Spun Sugar finished off the fine details and her ears.

The background is created by embossing a piece of Distress Watercolor cardstock using the Tim Holtz Numbered Large A5 Embossing Folder. I then added splatters using Distress Ink in Saltwater Taffy, Speckled Egg, and Dried Marigold.

To add to the birthday scene, the streamers are die cut from Distress Watercolor cardstock using the new Tim Holtz Celebration Streamers die set. I ink blended them using the same three Distress Ink colors that I used on for the background splatters. I used a heavy hand for the darker shadow areas and a light blend over the highlight sections. To give Gertrude some birthday flair, I added the party hat from the Colorize Large Accessories set, and those little glasses just give her so much personality. The presents underneath her are cut from Distress Watercolor cardstock using the Tim Holtz Santa's Helper die set and ink blended to coordinate with the rest of the card.

I hope this card inspires you to check out the new Colorize dies and the rest of the Sizzix 25th Birthday Release! If you give any of these new products a try, I'd love to see what you create. Feel free to share your projects with me on Instagram or in the comments.

Supplies

Below you will find links to the supplies I used to create these cards. When you shop through these links—whether you purchase that exact item or something else entirely—you're supporting me at no extra cost to you. The commission I receive helps me cover the costs of my blog and other expenses, and allows me to continue providing you with FREE inspiration and tutorials. If you want to learn more, you can see my full affiliate and product disclosure statement here. Thank you so much for your love and support!

The best cards are the ones that feel made for someone, and that's exactly what I had in mind when I created this Father's Day card. My stepdad is a private pilot, so the travel theme, the airplanes, and the vintage ticket all came together with him in mind. I used the Tim Holtz Vault World Traveler die set for those little airplane accents, and Theodore just happened to be the perfect passenger.

Meet Theodore

If you haven't met Theodore yet, he's part of the Tim Holtz Sizzix Colorize collection — and he is absolutely the most charming bear in a bow tie you'll ever put on a card. For this project, I cut him from pre-colored cardstock rather than building custom color with inks or paint, which makes the process so much faster while still giving you that gorgeous layered Colorize look.

The Card

The background has a lot going on in the best possible way — it's layered, textured, and has that vintage travel feel that I just love. I used the Honey Bee Stamps Aviator stamp along with Tim Holtz Numeric and Mini Set 11 stencils to build up the background, and the technique I used to pull it all together is one I taught in my Steampunk Vibes class. The color palette leans into those warm, earthy tones with hints of teal and blue — perfect for a masculine card without feeling flat or boring.

The sentiment is a combination of the Tim Holtz Handwritten Celebrate die set for the script "happy" and a stamp from the Scrapbook.com Celebrate Expressions set for the "Father's Day" label strip. The vintage ticket in the background is from the Tim Holtz Ticket Booth stamp set, which adds that perfect touch of worn, travel-worn charm.

If you love the background technique and want to learn it yourself, it's part of my Steampunk Vibes class — and right now, my email and newsletter subscribers can use the code BEARHUG to get $5 off. (This coupon code is good now through June 19th, 2026). 

Head over to my classes page at julianamichaels.podia.com/pretty-grunge-steampunk-vibes to check it out!

I'd love to know — do you make cards with specific people in mind, or do you tend to make a design and then decide who it's for? Leave a comment below and let me know!

Supplies

Below you will find links to the supplies I used to create these cards. When you shop through these links—whether you purchase that exact item or something else entirely—you're supporting me at no extra cost to you. The commission I receive helps me cover the costs of my blog and other expenses, and allows me to continue providing you with FREE inspiration and tutorials. If you want to learn more, you can see my full affiliate and product disclosure statement here. Thank you so much for your love and support!

If the Halloween tag I shared earlier this week had you excited about the new Sizzix Colorize + Accessories collection, just wait until you see this one! Meet Harrison the lion — and he is dressed to the nines and ready for Christmas!

This project was also featured in Tim's live release party on YouTube, so if you caught the live you may have already spotted him! If you missed it, the replay is up on Tim's channel and I cannot recommend it enough. Seeing all of the inspiration from the designers in one place is so much fun, and this collection truly lends itself to so many creative possibilities. The Mini Colorize characters, the re-released originals, and the Accessories dies are such a brilliant combination — you really can create something unique for every season and occasion.

Harrison is wearing his best top hat with a sprig of holly and a dapper bow tie, surrounded by Christmas gifts and that gorgeous pine trim along the bottom. I used Christmas themed ephemera for the background to give it that warm, vintage holiday feel. Just like with my Halloween tag, I colored all of the die cut pieces with Distress Paints and I cannot imagine going back to anything else. The paint holds up so beautifully during assembly — no worrying about smudging or smearing while you're layering everything together.

The Distress Paint colors I used for Harrison are: Antique Linen, Frayed Burlap, Brushed Corduroy, Gathered Twigs, Walnut Stain and Black Soot.

The Distress Paint colors I used for the presents and the hat trim are: Lumberjack Plaid, Peeled Paint and Rustic Wilderness.

This is also made on a Tim Holtz Etc Tag, so just like Winifred's Halloween tag, Harrison is sturdy enough to display as a home decor piece all through the Christmas season. I am already thinking about where to put him! And this size is even small enough that this could easily be turned into a Christmas ornament by adding a bit of ribbon or twine!

I'd love to know — are you planning to create with this collection? Which character is calling your name? Let me know in the comments!

Supplies

Below you will find links to the supplies I used to create this project. When you shop through these links—whether you purchase that exact item or something else entirely—you're supporting me at no extra cost to you. The commission I receive helps me cover the costs of my blog and other expenses, and allows me to continue providing you with FREE inspiration and tutorials. If you want to learn more, you can see my full affiliate and product disclosure statement here. Thank you so much for your love and support!