Author: Karen Brown

cardmaking · Mixed Media · papercrafting

Altenew November 2022 Simply Scientific Stamps/Dies/Stencils Release + Giveaway ($300 in Total Prizes!) 

Karen Brown19 Comments
A bright cheerful card using Altenew's Radial Circles Cover Die.

Altenew’s Radial Circles Cover Die

Hello and welcome to Altenew’s Simply Scientific Release and Blog Hop! There is lots of wonderfulness in this collection. I was instantly attracted to the Radial Circles Cover Die and I used it on three of my cards today.

I started by making a background using the “Direct To Paper” method. I used 8 colors of Altenew Crisp Dye Inks in blues, greens and aquas and I just swipped the ink cube over my cardstock. I wanted the edges darker than the middle but that was the extent of my plan. Don’t worry about blending, it will look great under the die cut panel. I love the bold vivid color from this technique.

Direct to Paper Background panel.
Direct to Paper Background

For the cover die, I used a metal shim for precise die cutting.

I thought a wreath would look pretty around the sentiment and I colored the leaves with my Altenew watercolor brush markers for a bright cheerful card.

A bright colorful card using Altenew's Radial Circles Cover Die and the Weekend Doodles Stamp and Die Bundle.

Products Used:

"Direct to Paper" background with blues and aquas using Altenew Radial Circles Cover Die,

Quick and Easy Card

If you want a quick and easy card with loads of impact, you can quickly make a background with the Direct to Paper technique described above and then just pop on a die cut cover panel and stamp a sentiment.

A quick and easy bold handmade card in blues, aquas and greens.

Altenew’s Chemistry Vases Stamp, Die and Coloring Stencil

For my next card, I used bright bold primary colors for a “school vibe”. My daughter is a scientist at a university and I made this card for her.

I started by making a background with strips cut from gel press prints. The background was easy to make and came together very quickly.

I used the Chemistry Vases stamp, coloring stencil and die for my beaker. I used Altenew Crisp Dye Inks in the following colors: Soft Lilac for the shadow, Coral Berry, Puffy Heart, Moon Rock for the beaker outline and Jet Black for the markings.

A handmade card using Altenew's Chemistry Vases stamp, die and coloring stencil bundle.

Products Used:

I love the adorably punny sentiments included in this set!

Handmade card with Bright Primary Colors for a School Vibe perfect for a teacher, professor, scientist or student.

For my last card, I combined Altenew’s Chemistry Vases Bundle with the Radial Circles Cover die. I have a friend who runs a medical laboratory and I thought this card would be perfect for her birthday. I used a taupe A2 card base, added a floral embellishment from the Bitty Bits Ephemera Kit and topped it with a pink enamel dot.

A birthday card for a scientist using Altenew's Chemistry Vases stamp, die and coloring stencil.

I think this Chemistry Vases set is perfect for students, teachers, scientists, professors, and medical professionals.

Altenew's Radial Circles Cover Die + Chemistry Vases Bundle.

Giveaway Prizes:

$300 in total prizes! To celebrate this release, Altenew is giving away a $50 gift certificate to 2 lucky winners and a $25 gift certificate to 8 winners! Please leave a comment on the Altenew Card Blog and/or each designer’s blog post on the blog hop list below by 11/06/2022 for a chance to win. 

Altenew will draw 10 random winners from the comments left on each stop of this blog hop and announce the winners on the Altenew Winners Page on 10/08/2022.

Blog Hop Order:


Altenew Blog

Anna Mahtani

Caly Person

Emily Midgett

Helen Kalb

Jaycee Gaspar

Jenny Colacicco

Karen Brown. You Are Here!

Nathalie DeSousa. Nathalie is next and I know you will love her post!

Therese Calvird

I am so pleased you stopped by!

Karen

cardmaking · papercrafting

Spellbinders | November 2022 Club Kits

Karen Brown3 Comments
Spellbinders November 2022 Small Die of the Month Kit: Layered Floral Card Creator handmade card.

Spellbinders Small Die of the Month Kit: November 2022

The November Spellbinders kits are GORGEOUS and I am excited to show you the cards that I made! I used the Small Die of the Month Club Kit called Layered Floral Card Creator on my first two cards.

Spellbinders Small Die of the Month: November 2022 Club kit (Layered Floral Card Creator) handmade card.

For Card #1, I used the leafy background plus flowers to make a high contrast showy birthday card. I started by cutting the background twice from dark green cardstock. I found that if I started at the bottom stem and then worked my way up, the two panels glued together seemlessly.

The die cuts are quite bold so I wanted the sentiment to be large too. I stamped my sentiment on a Top Folding A2 cardbase and then glued my die cuts to the panel with liquid glue. This card has a definite “wow” factor but it came together very quickly.

Layered Floral Card Creator: Spellbinders November 2022 Small Die Club Kit handmade card.

Spellbinders Embossing Folder of the Month: November 2022

Spellbinders November 2022 Club Kit Cards.

For my second card I used the Small Die of the Month along with the Embossing Folder of the Month (Fan Motif). I die cut a circle from a panel of Waterfall cardstock and then ran it through my embossing machine along with the Fan Motif embossing folder. The embossing looks great…very crisp and textured.

I then die-cut and assembled my flowers (Small Die of the Month) and added some greenery from Stitched Ornament (S4-1231), which was released earlier this year. I used the same bold sentiment as in card 1. I wanted lots of dimension on this card, so I adhered the embossed panel to the A2 card base with foam tape.

Spellbinders November 2022 Embossing Folder of the Month: Fan Motif handmade card.

Spellbinders Large Die of the Month: November 2022

Spellbinders November 2022 Large Die of the Month Club Kit (Sylized Floral Kaleidoscope Slimline) handmade card.

Stylized Floral Kaleidoscope Slimline

The Large Die of the Month, Stylized Floral Kaleidoscope Slimline, is a real beauty! I started by die cutting the background trellis, sentiment, flowers (APG Petite Floral Potpourri) and greenery (leaf included in this kit + Stitched Ornament (S4-1231), from white cardstock. Then, using Spellbinders paper, I chose three shades for each medallion: saffron, terra cotta, poppy; peridot, fern and deep green; and waterfall, teal topaz and lagoon. I assembled my card and added some coordinating enamel dots.

Clean and Simple die cut masculine card using Spellbinders November 2022 Large Die of the Month club kit.

I also wanted to make some masculine cards, and I thought clean and simple window cards would be perfect. Using Stylized Floral Kaleidoscope Slimline, I made one card in blue (window only) and one in green (with a trellis backdrop). These were quick and easy to make but they are so eye-catching! I really like the sentiment that is included with this kit…I used it on all three cards.

Masculine die cut hexagon birthday card.

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

cardmaking · Mixed Media · papercrafting

Die Cutting With Watercolored Panels

Karen Brown2 Comments
Altenew's Craft A Flower Cosmos die cut kit die cutting using watercolored panels.

Altenew’s Cosmos Craft-A-Flower Kit is one of my all time favorite products and I wanted to combine it with Altenew’s 36 pan Watercolor Set for today’s card.  I used the watercolors for the background and the panels I die cut.  

I started by making a background using Altenew’s Narrow Brick Stencil.  I mixed Texture Embossing Paste and Shimmer Spray which I then tinted with diluted purple Watercolor from the 36 pan set.  I repeated this and added diluted pink watercolor to a second pile of embossing paste.  I then ran this over the stencil in random locations.  The two colors of brick are the same colors I used on the flowers.  

On two panels of watercolor paper,  I brushed on bold watercolors from the 36 pan set.  I dried the panels and added a second layer so I had really saturated color.  Above is a photo of the three panels I used to make this card.

I die cut my panels and then used liquid glue and Instant Dimension Foam Tape to assemble my card.  To finish, I added Tea Party Enamel Dots.

Altenew Craft A Flower Cosmos kit + mixed media card
cardmaking · papercrafting

Spellbinders | October 2022 Club Kits

Karen Brown2 Comments
Spellbinders October 2022 Large Die of the Month: watercolored die cut Christms Ornament card

Large Die of the Month – October 2022

Hello! Today is Release Day for the October 2022 Spellbinders Club Kits and I have several cards to share with you. I’ll start with the beautiful Large of Die of the Month, which is a seasonal stitched Christmas ornament. In my mind, I saw a softly watercolored bauble so I die cut the ornament from watercolor paper. Then, using the wet on wet technique, I loosely painted the die cut with three shades of aqua. I also painted a pink and green panel for the poinsettia and greenery. I used the greenery from Stitched Ornament (S4-1231), which was released earlier this year. After allowing the paint to dry, I darkened the edges with a second coat of water color.

I used three strands of blue gray embroidery floss. I created the background (3 5/8″ x 8 5/8″) with this month’s Embossing Folder of the Month. I wanted a showy card, so I used a big slimline card base (8″ x 9″, scored at 4″). I found this card so relaxing to make!

watercoloring die cuts: Spellbinders stitched Christmas ornament.

Small Die of the Month – October 2022

I created a cheerful Get Well card with the Small Die of the Month (Outlined Christmas Sentiments) kit. I love the ten mix and match sentiments (and shadows): Merry, Greetings, Warm, Christmas, Holiday, Wishes, Cheer, Enclosed, Joyous, Hugs.

Spellbinders October 2022 Small Die of the Month (Outlined Christmas Sentiments) Club Kit card.

I started by embossing my background (September 2022 Embossing Folder of the Month: Scattered Fall) on Waterfall Cardstock, and then used the shadow dies to cut an opening for the words Warm Hugs Enclosed. The sentiment was then die cut from Copper Metallic Cardstock. I’ve found it works well if you attach a sheet of double sided adhesive paper to the cardstock prior to die cutting. After you die cut, just pull away the backing paper and apply! I also die cut the poinsettias (included in this month’s kit) from Teal Topaz and white cardstock. The last step was to assemble the A2 Top Folding card with craft foam behind the background and foam tape squares behind the poinsettias.

Warm Hugs Enclosed Get Well card: Spellbinders October 2022 Die of the Month Club Kit.

Embossing Folder of the Month: October 2022

My last card was quick and easy! Using this month’s Embossing Folder (Scattered Christmas). I created my background with blue cardstock. I wanted the lovely embossing to be the star on this card.

Spellbinders October 2022 Embossing Folder of the Month Club Kit card.

I added a bold seasonal sentiment with three enamel dots and added the components to a top folding A2 card base.

Quick and Easy 3D Embossed Card using Spellbinders October 2022 Embossing Folder of the Month.

I am so glad you stopped by today!

Karen

cardmaking · papercrafting

Altenew Sticky Essentials Blog Hop + Giveaway ($300 in Total Prizes!)

Karen Brown23 Comments
Altenew's Bird of the Woods layering stamps + burlap texture die background handmade card

Hello and welcome to Altenew’s “Sticky Essentials Blog Hop! Altenew has loads of wonderful adhessive products and you can see their entire collection HERE.

I really like dimension when I am designing a card and Altenew’s Instant Dimension Foam Tape will keep me stocked for quite a while. It is a big wheel of double sided foam tape that is about 1/2″ wide and 8’+ long PLUS the release paper is floral and quite fun! I found using foam tape really makes my projects pop.

I adore the Bird of the Woods Layering Stamp set and coordinating dies and wanted to make a few cards for this hop spotlighting Altenew’s Adhessives.

Card featuring Altenew's Bird of the Woods Layering Stamp + Textured Burlap background.

For the card above, I used the following:

Altenew Bird of the Woods Layering Stamp + Garden Trellis Cover die on a handmade card

The foam tape really puts the focus on the adorable little bird.

Altenew Bird of the Woods Layering Stamp + Garden Trellis Cover die on a handmade card

This darling bird would be great for so many occasions: birthdays, get well, thank you…

Whimsical handmade Mother's Day Card with adorable stamped bird

Supplies for Card 2:

Giveaway Prizes

$300 in total prizes! To celebrate this special blog hop, Altenew is giving away a $50 gift certificate to 2 lucky winners and a $25 gift certificate to 8 winners! Please leave a comment on the Altenew Card Blog and/or each designer’s blog post on the blog hop list below by 10/05/2022 for a chance to win. Altenew will draw 10 random winners from the comments left on each stop of this blog hop and announce the winners on the Altenew Winners Page on 10/06/2022.

Blog Hop Order

Altenew Card Blog

Virginia Lu

Helen Kalb

Lilith Eeckels

Teresa Litchfield

Laurie Willison

Bridget Casey

Tenia Nelson

Linda Westfall

Seeka

Therese Calvird

Karen Brown You Are Here!

Sadia Ashraf

LauraJane

Erin Thompson

Terri Koszler

Hannelie Bester

Amy Hill

Nathalie DeSousa

Marieke Slaats

Disha Jain

Maryam Pérez

Michelle Short

Berina Rajakumar

Teri Wilson

Reiko Tsuchida ***Note: Due to strict regulations in Japan, you might not be able to leave a comment on her blog post.

Thanks for stoppping by!

Karen

Mixed Media · papercrafting

Spellbinders | Mixed Media Gift Tags with Cathe Holden’s Christmas Flea Market Finds

Karen Brown1 Comment
Spellbinders | Mixed Media Gift Tags with Cathe Holden's Christmas Flea Market Finds

Vintage Vibe Mixed Media Christmas Gift Tags

Hello! My post today features a favorite new Spellbinders collection from Cathe Holden called Christmas Flea Market Finds. Cathe included stamps, printed die cuts, paper and stickers and they are SO fun to create with!

Using printed die cuts in cardmaking.

I created three mixed media tags with a vintage vibe. For all three tags, I created backgrounds using ink sprays. I mixed Ocean Waves aqua, Shimmer Spray for extra sparkle and a little water spray to slightly dilute the color. I dabbed my tag in the mixture, dried and then repeated two more times.

Next, I worked on my layouts. I knew I wanted to stencil grit paste on one card and I wanted all of the tags to be distressed.

Vintage look Christmas Gift tag with stenciled grit paste background.

I love the texture and interest that the grit paste adds to the tag.

Adding texture and interest with grit paste and a stencil in cardmaking.

Two of the cards also include stamps. To get the vintage-look inky blue, I combined denim and brown inks. White paint splatters were added to two of the cards and I thought they added a wintry look.

Distressed Christmas gift tag with pre-printed die cuts, stamp and stickers with a hand dyed aqua background.

When I create this type of mixed media project, I love to pull out all my supplies and just start playing. I made a huge fun mess!

How to get a vintage look when stamping papercrafts.

Spellbinders/Cathe Holden Supplies Used:

Other Supplies:

Cathe Holden Christmas Flea Market Finds Vintage look distressed gift tags.

Last week, I added a post with Cathe Holden Christmas cards which you can read HERE.

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

cardmaking · Mixed Media · papercrafting

Spellbinders + Cathe Holden Christmas Flea Market Finds Cards

Karen Brown1 Comment
Spellbinders + Cathe Holden Christmas Flea Market Finds Card.

Quick and Easy Vintage Look Christmas Card

Hello! Spellbinders and Cathe Holden just came out with a Christmas Edition of her Flea Market Finds and it was so fun to create with! Today, I used her Home for the Holiday’s paper pad: (CH-021) and Jingle Bells Miscellany die cuts (CH-019). I had fun laying out each item and then coming up with combinations for my cards.

The first card was quick and easy but I love result. My background is made from 2 pages from the paper pad that I combined at the midpoint. Using craft foam for dimesion, I attached the background to an A2 card base. Then, I just popped on the Christmas Tree and sentiment with foam tape.

Vintage Look Christmas card made with die cut ephemera.

Cardmaking with Vintage Ephemera

Cardmaking with Vintage Christmas Ephemera from Spellbinders + Cathe Holden

My second card is a collage style pieced together with designer paper, printed die-cuts and stamps. I used 2 rectangles and two 1.25″ squares of paper cut from the Home for the Holidays paper pad for my background. I distressed my kraft card base, background panel and the die cuts with 3 different Distress Crayons (bronze, gathered twig and aged mohogany) and then added lots of ephemera from the Jingle Bells Miscellany die cut pack. I also used 2 stamps from Cathe Holden’s previously released stamp kit called Handle with Care and added a tiny little paper clip.

Grunged Up Mixed Media Vintage Collage and Ephemera Christmas card.

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

cardmaking · papercrafting

Spellbinders Magical Deer Card

Karen Brown1 Comment
Spellbinders Magical Deer S4-1215 Christmas Card die cut kit

Hello! I am excited to share a new Spellbinders Collection that releases today called Winter Tales that was designed by the talented Zsoka Marko. I was instantly attracted to this die kit called Magical Deer: S4-1215. I love the Nordic look and used Scandanavian red and blue as accent colors to give the neutrals some pop.

Die cutting and paper crafting with Spellbinders Winter Tales Magical Deer kit.

None of the dies are particularly big so I chose three browns, a red and a blue from my scrap pile. I glued all the pieces, except the deer’s head, directly to my background. I used foam tape for the head and I added crystal accents (SCS-128) to my flower centers. The sentiment is from the Amazing Paper Grace Christmas Tree kit (which is currently on sale!). For a bit more color, I added a matching red border to my background and then popped it on an A2 Top Folding Card Base. This card came together very quickly and I am pleased with the finished result.

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

cardmaking · Mixed Media · papercrafting

Using Colorful Paper Scraps on Handmade Cards

Karen Brown1 Comment
Using Colorful Scraps on DIY Rainbow Hued Grid Cards.

Rainbow Colored Grid Card

Hello and thanks for stopping by! I was in a mood to use my paper scraps again. My old square paper punch was out of whack so I purchased a new one and put it to use cutting squares from leftover colorful gel press scraps. I LOVE this bold rainbow hued look! I die cut an extra large sentiment: Altenew’s Mega Hello to finish the card.

Using Leftover Gel Press Scraps on handmade cards.

Thanks for popping by!

Karen

cardmaking · papercrafting

Spellbinders September 2022 Card Club Kits

Karen Brown1 Comment
Spellbinders Large Die of the Month Thankful Tractor handmade card.
Thankful Tractor Card

Hello friends! It’s reveal day for Spellbinders September Club Kits and I am excited to share four cards with you. My projects feature the Large Die of the Month, Small Die of the Month and Embossing Folder of the Month and as you can see, the new kits are so fun!

Spellbinders September 2022 Large Die of the Month Club Kit: Thankful Tractor

Its harvest time and I love the veggies and adorable tractor included with this month’s Large Die of the Month kit called Thankful Tractor! The kit is large so I made a substantial 5 x 7″ card. I used bright bold green, yellow and orange cardstock for my focal elements. To set the stage I embossed my background with the September Embossing Folder of the Month. Next, I tore a piece of kraft cardstock and then lightly ink blended my “dirt”. I assembled my project with glue and foam tape. I found using a sticky mat helped with the die cut assembly.

Die Cut Tractor Card with trailer filled with vegetables, pumpkin, corn and squash.
Spellbinders Thankful Tractor

Spellbinders September Embossing Folder of the Month: Scattered Fall

I love the vegetables so much that I made a second card. I again embossed the background with the September Embossing Folder of the Month. The basket was die cut from Frosted Silver Mirror Cardstock using last month’s Large Die Kit of the Month called “Strawberry Patch”.

Spellbinders September 2022 Large Die of the Month card with die-cut vegetables.
Spellbinders Scattered Fall Embossing Folder

I added a sentiment (retired) and flowers from the kit that were embellished with Crystal Mix Gems (SCS-128) and then used a Spellbinders A2 Top Fold Card Base.

Die Cut Basket full of vegetables card with pumpkin, eggplant, squash, and corn.

Spellbinders Small Die of the Month: Stitched Fall Leaves

This month’s Small Die of the Month has loads of beautiful stitched leaves with coordinating shadows plus two word sentiments (hello fall). For my first card, I wanted to showcase the elegant simplicity of just one leaf. The stitching went very quickly and I kept the rest of the card clean and simple.

I used the included hello sentiment die. This is a beautiful yet delicate die and I’ve found it works well if you attach a sheet of double sided adhesive paper to the cardstock prior to die cutting. After you die cut, just pull away the backing paper and apply!

Wouldn’t it be fun to make a series of these as a gift?

Spellbinders September 2022 Small Die of the Month card: Stitched Fall Leaves.
Stitched Fall Leaves

Products Used:

Clean and Simple stitched die cut leaf card.

“Unstitched” Card

Spellbinders Unstitched Leaf Card.
“Unstitched” Fall Leaves

The leaf dies in the September Small Die of the Month kit are so fun that I wanted to make a card without stitching. To keep the theme, I mounted the leaf and shadow on a panel die-cut with one of my favorites, Essential Rectangles Dies. I love how this keeps the unstitched card theme. The gold details are achieved using Brushed Gold Cardstock and I mounted the panel with foam tape on an A2 Top Fold Cardbase. I find the result is a fresh clean card.

Spellbinders September 2022 Die of the Month Card: Stitched Leaves in white and gold.

I think the September kits are sure to be favorites…what do you think?

Karen