Altenew: A Year In Review Blog Hop + Giveaway

December 28, 2021January 8, 2022 Karen Brown48 Comments

Hello and welcome! You likely arrived from Juhi’s blog….don’t you just love her collection?

I am so excited to be participating in Altenew’s 2021 A Year in Review Blog Hop! I really enjoyed looking back through my projects and selecting some of my favorite creations. This first card was my most popular Altenew creation on Instagram and I still have it setting on a bookshelf in my studio. I love how bright, happy and cheerful the card is. I used The Tall Tales stamp and die set and you can read my original blog post HERE.

Altenew Tall Tales Bookcase Slimline Card in rainbow colors. — Tall Tales Stamp and Die Set

This mixed media card was by far my most popular blog post of 2021! I created my own color palette with gel press prints and die cut my blooms using Altenew’s Cosmos Craft-A-Flower. If I had to pick one favorite 2021 product it would be this Cosmos kit. You can read my original post HERE. I have another favorite card below that also uses this Cosmos kit.

Altenew Cosmos Craft A Flower card die cut from gel press prints. — Cosmos Craft A Flower Layering Die Kit

I love the Mega Alphabet Collection and I have several letters that I use frequently. This is a card I made for my friend Kathy. I used the ink smooshing technique and I really like how this project turned out. The Garden Trellis Cover Die is so versatile and I love the pop of white it provides on this card. You can read my original post HERE.

Altnew Mega Alphabet K ink smoosh card with Garden Trellis cover die background. — Mega Alphabet Collection & Garden Trellis Cover Die

I discovered the joy of gel press printing this year and I love how this project turned out. The Peruvian Lily Layering Dies create a big showy bloom that is absolutely beautiful! Altenew’s Essential Sentiment Strips Dies are also a favorite of mine. You can read my original blog post HERE.

Altenew Craft a Flower Peruvian Lily die cut from gel press prints. — Peruvian Lily Layering Die Set

Weekend Doodles may be my all time favorite Altenew stamp set! On this card, I combined the Weekend Doodles with Altenew Artist Markers (I used Water Garden Set G on this card) and Cross Stitch Cover Die for a crisp clean look. You can read my original post HERE.

Altenew Weekend Doodles card. — Weekend Doodles

As I said above, Altenew’s Cosmos Craft-A-Flower Layering Die Set is my favorite 2021 crafting product. On this card I watercolored panels for my die-cutting. This was my second most popular 2021 blog post and you can read it HERE.

Altenew Craft a Flower Cosmos card. — Cosmos Craft A Flower Layering Die Kit

I adore the The Doodle Blooms Stamp and Die Set! The stamps are whimsical and just make me happy. I again made gel press prints for all the elements of this card. You can read my original post HERE for all the details on how I created this project. I’d like to add that my favorite embellishment is Enamel Dots. I find they really add beautiful detail to projects and I always like to have a variety of colors on hand.

Altenew Doodle Blooms card die cut from gel press prints. — Doodle Blooms

Altenew’s Hibiscus Garden is the first layering die set that I ever bought and it is still a favorite! The potted hibiscus plants around my pool were the inspiration for this mixed media card created from gel press prints. You can read more about this project and a companion card HERE.

Altenew Garden Hibiscus card die cut from gel press prints. — HIbiscus Garden 3D Dies

I really like the simplicity of this card made with The Modern Squares Embossing Folder, white pigment ink and The Fancy Celebrate die. You can read the original post HERE.

Altenew Modern Squares Embossing Folder and Fancy Celebrate die. — Modern Squares Embossing Folder and Fancy Celebrate Die

Sometimes a mini stamp can have a big impact on a card and I think this Bee Kind stamp and die set is adorable and at a great price point. I added a simple watercolor background combined with a Garden Trellis die cut and three enamel dots. My Bee Kind blog post with additional companion card can be found HERE.

Altenew Bee Kind Mini Stamp + Garden Trellis Cover Die. — Bee Kind Mini Stamp Set and Garden Trellis Cover Die

Prizes:

Altenew is giving away a $30 gift certificate to 5 lucky winners and a $15 gift certificate to 4 lucky winners! Please leave a comment on the Altenew Card Blog HERE or share Altenew projects with #AltenewBest2021 on social media by 01/06/2022 for a chance to win. 9 winners will be announced on the Altenew Winners Page on 01/08/2022.

Additional Chance to Win:

WINNER: Marisela Delgado YOU are the winner of a $10 Altenew gift certificate! Please email winner@altenew.com by 01/18/2022 with the subject line Altenew 2021 Year In Review Blog Hop Winner from Karen Brown’s Blog.

I also have a $10 Gift Certificate to GIVEAWAY to the Altenew Online Store. I will choose a random winner from the commentors on this post and announce it here at my blog on 1/08/2022.

BLOG HOP:

Karen Brown You Are Here! 🙂

Next stop is Kari and her beautiful florals!

You made it to the end! I don’t have one favorite card but these are what I consider my “Best of 2021”. I’d love to hear which is your favorite card in the comments section. If you like what you see, consider following me on Instagram: @karens_mini and my blog (see the subscription bar at the top right corner of this post). Thank you for stopping by!

Wishing you health and happiness in 2022.

Karen

Cardmaking with Glitter Cardstock

December 10, 2021December 5, 2021 Karen Brown2 Comments

Cardmaking with Altenew Glitter Cardstock in Pink Brilliance + Cosmos Layering Dies.

Glitter and shine….sometimes it is fun to add a little sparkle to a card! Today I used some Glitter Cardstock to make an ultra girly card. I used glitter cardstock as the bottom layer on my blooms, flower centers and sentiment. I created this card to be part of Altenew’s Educator Instagram Hop and we’d love for you to “hop” along with us. You can start at @altenewllc and my IG hande is: karens_mini. Hope to see you!

My Process:

I started by creating my own color palette with watercolors. I took two full sheets of 9 x 12″ watercolor paper, taped them to hardboard panels and then applied watercolors (3 pinks, 2 yellows, 2 oranges and 4 greens) with Altenew’s 36 Pan Watercolor Set and an 18 Brush. I let the watercolor dry and then added a second layer for vibrant color. I let the panels dry overnight so they would die cut well.
The flowers and leaves are from one of my all time favorite die sets: Altenew Craft-A-Flower Cosmos Layering Dies.
The next morning I die cut the bottom floral layers from Altenew’s Pink Brilliance Glitter Cardstock. The bottom layer from the flower center was cut from Gilded Glitter Cardstock. The top two floral layers and greenery were die cut from the watercolor panels that dried overnight. I assembled the blooms with liquid glue.
For the background, I applied Embossing Paste over Altenew’s Narrow Brick Stencil and then let the panel dry.
The sentiment was die-cut from Altenew’s Essential Sentiment Strips.

I think the end result is a happy cheerful birthday card that I can’t wait to give my friend. Thank you for stopping by!

Karen

cardmaking · papercrafting

Amazing Paper Grace December 2021 Kit

December 1, 2021April 26, 2022 Karen Brown2 Comments

Hello friends! Today I have some brightly colored inspiration for Spellbinders Amazing Paper Grace December 2021 Die Cutting Kit. You can also purchase just Enchanting Pocket Kit from Spellbinders.

The detail on these dies is just beautiful and I found the dies are so versatile! The three cards I made are all A2 sized, but the dies could easily make bigger cards too.

Spellbinders Amazing Paper Grace December 2021 Kit + Shimmer Powder

As many of you know, I love to create my own colored papers to use in my projects. On my first card, I created a panel by adding shimmer powders (I used Tonic Brand) to watercolor paper. The result was bold colors with a bit of subtle shimmer.

My Process:

I made three panels, one for each curlicue die cut plus smaller panels for the floral elements. One panel was shimmer powder on watercolor paper and the rest of the panels were watercolor on watercolor paper. For the watercolor, I applied the color, dried and then applied a second coat for a more saturated look. Prior to applying color, I did tape the watercolor paper to a hardboard to minimize warping.
For two cards, I die cut the curlique backdrop from the colored panels. For the third, I die cut it from white card stock and placed it over the aqua water-colored background. I like the card both ways! The backdrop was then adhered to the card with foam tape for lots of beautiful dimension.
Next, I die cut loads of flowers, leaves and greenery. I added a few extra die cuts from the Petite Floral Potpourri die set.
The sentiment is Sugar Coated Sentiments, which I heat embossed on black cardstock.
I used a wax tip embellishment wand and Bearly Glue to adhere white gems to the flower centers. I have tried a lot of liquid glues and found for small die-cuts that Bearly Glue is the best. The flowers were attached to the card with foam tape.

Spellbinders Amazing Paper Grace December 2021 Kit with Shimmer Powder background. — Closeup of the lovely detail on the die cuts.

Spellbinders Amazing Paper Grace December 2021 Kit with watercolor background panel — This card has the colored panel behind the die cut.

This card was die cut from watercolored panels.

I am so happy you stopped by to see my projects.

Karen

cardmaking · papercrafting

Altenew Washi Tape Explorer Blog Hop + Giveaway

November 11, 2021November 10, 2021 Karen Brown23 Comments

Hello and welcome to Altenew’s Washi Tape Explorer Blog Hop! Washi tape is a beautiful way to add interest to your papercrafting projects and Altenew has 40% off on ALL Washi Tapes from 11/10/2021 until 11/16/2021 at 11:59 PM EST. Take a look at Altenew’s Collection of Washi Tapes.

Using Washi Tape for a Background

Washi tape can make a very dramatic background. For this card, I ink blended my circle die-cut with Warm Sunshine using my Large Ink Blending Tool. I added two additional layers of ink around the outer edge to darken the perimeter. The background is the Many Dots Washi Tape adhered at an angle.

Using Washi Tape as an Accent

For my second card, I added my favorite Painted Grid Washi Tape along two sides of the card to partically frame my flowers. The flowers are Altenew’s Paint-A-Flower Clematis stamp, which is GORGEOUS and so fun to create with. I finished the card off with a couple of pearl grey New Day Enamel Dots.

Giveaway Prizes

$200 in total prizes! To celebrate this occasion, Altenew is giving away a $100 gift certificate to 1 lucky winner and a $20 gift certificate to 5 winners! Please leave a comment on the Altenew Card Blog and/or each designer’s blog post on the blog hop list below by 11/17/2021 for a chance to win. Altenew will draw 6 random winners from the comments left on each stop of this blog hop and announce the winners on the Altenew Winners Page on 11/19/2021.

BLOG HOP:

Karen Brown You Are Here!

Nenette S. Madero

Nandini Karmarkar

Sande Woodson

I am so glad you stopped by….happy crafting!

Karen

cardmaking · papercrafting

Spellbinders November 2021 Amazing Paper Grace Kit

November 1, 2021April 26, 2022 Karen Brown1 Comment

Spellbinders Amazing Paper Grace November 2021 Die of the Month Christmas Tree Die Kit.

I LOVE Spellbinder’s 3D Vignette Pop Up Christmas Tree!

I was SO excited when I opened The November 2021 Amazing Paper Grace Kit! When I saw those lovely Christmas Tree dies and the assortment of gift boxes I knew the projects would be just stunning and I couldn’t wait to get started. One of the first things I do when planning a card is to think about the colors I want to use. Traditional green and red would be so beautiful but I decided to go with teal and pink. Since it is Christmas, I also wanted to add some sparkle so I used some festive glitter cardstock as accents. In person, the glitter cardstock just shimmers and shines.

Spellbinders Amazing Paper Grace November 2021 Die Cut Christmas Tree Card.

I have been looking for a good glue for small die-cuts and I just purchased some Bearly Glue and it is a game-changer! The nozzle offers precise application and doesn’t seem to clog like other applicators I’ve tried. I used Bearly Glue for the first time on this post.

Products used on Card 1:

Spellbinders Amazing Paper Grace November 2021 Die Kit
Lagoon Card Stock
Dazzling Diamond Glitter Cardstock
Watermelon Fusion Cardstock (I think this has been discontinued)
Pretty Plaid Embossing Folder
Bearly Glue
Paper Scraps for the Gift Boxes

Spellbinders Amazing Paper Grace November 2021 Trio of Christmas Trees + Glitter Cardstock Card

I just love the swirls on the smallest tree die so I made a second card with a trio of trees.

Products Used on Card 2:

Spellbinders Amazing Paper Grace November 2021 Die Kit
Lagoon Cardstock
Waterfall Cardstock
Pink Sand Cardstock
Watermelon Fusion Cardstock (I think this has been discontinued)
Tourmaline Pink Glitter Cardstock
Dazzling Diamond Glitter Cardstock
Bearly Glue
Paper Scraps for the Gift Boxes

To organize the smaller die-cuts, I put the components for each element in a little dish.

Wishing you a happy holiday season!

Karen

cardmaking · papercrafting

Altenew Educators “Alphabet Name Game” Blog Hop, Linky Party + Giveaway

October 4, 2021February 3, 2022 Karen Brown29 Comments

“K” is for…..Karen! I was inspired to make an initial notecard for Altenew’s “Alphabet Name Game” Blog Hop. I love to make my own paper so I started by coming up with a color palette. I wanted a bright happy card so I selected aqua, green, yellow, pink and tangerine.

Ink Smooshing Technique

I started by making three inked panels. Here was my technique:

I liberally inked an 6×6″ acrylic block with Altenew Inks. I wanted an ombre gradient look so went in rows across the block.
I very liberally sprayed the inked block with water
“Smooshed” the block onto a piece of watercolor paper
Weighted the ink/block with a book for 5 minutes
Uncovered. If the ink pooled, I dabbed with a paper towel.
I made a “second generation” panel for the background by taking a piece of Bristol Cardstock and soaking up the excess ink on my work space.

Panel one and the background were made with Seashore Mini Ink Cube Set (Lagoon & Volcano Lake), Rainbow Prism Mini Ink Cube Set (Parrot & Warm Sunshine). Panel two was Coral Berry and Orange Cream.

I let the panels dry overnight and then I started my die-cutting. The “K” is from Altenew’s Mega Alphabet Collection and the grid background uses Altenew’s GardenTrellis Cover die, which is a favorite of mine.

Altenew Garden Trellis Cover Die + Ink Smooshing Technique.

Here is a closeup of the card.

Prizes:

$200 in total prizes! Altenew is giving away a $35 gift certificate to 2 lucky winners and a $20 gift certificate to 5 winners! Please leave a comment on the Altenew Card Blog and/or each designer’s blog post on the blog hop list below by 10/09/2021 for a chance to win.

There’s MORE! What’s a hop without YOU?! We have included an Inlinkz at the Altenew blog for you to enter your gorgeous Altenew “Alphabet Name Game” creations. We will pick 2 of our favorite handmade creations from those who joined the linky party and they will each receive a $15 Altenew gift certificate!

Altenew will draw 7 random winners from the comments left on each stop of this blog hop and announce the winners on the Altenew Winners Page on 10/11/2021.

Hop list:

Michelle Ochoa Murray

Irina Fonina

Penny Pynnonen

Anna Patricia Mahtani

Karen Brown (You made it to the end!)

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

cardmaking · papercrafting

Elegant Shaped Sympathy Cards| Spellbinders APG October Kit

October 1, 2021September 28, 2021 Karen BrownLeave a comment

The October 2021 Amazing Paper Grace Die of the Month is both beautiful and elegant.

Navy and Gold Sympathy Cards

Navy and Gold is such a classic color combination and I thought it would work really well for my pair of sympathy cards. I started by diecutting the border overlay from navy cardstock. I wanted a shaped card so I made a 5 x 7″ white cardbase and then I taped the top of the outline die just above the fold of the card so the fold would stay intact.

Navy and Gold color combination for elegant shaped sympathy cards.

Next, using the the border die again, I die cut the filigree from Brush Gold Metallic Cardstock. I think the brush gold is very elegant and I like that it is not as shiny as mirror gold. I carefully saved the small die-cuts so that I could do a partial inlay and I saved the gold border overlay for card #2. I then die cut the middle oval filigree from navy and the oval outline from Brush Gold Metalic Cardstock.

Next, I assembled my card using liquid glue and added four inlay pieces to each corner. I gold embossed a sentiment and mounted it using foam tape.

For card #2 I used the gold die-cut filigree over a navy base with cream accents.

Amazing Paper Grace October 2021 Die of the Month

I also cut floral accent pieces from the dies included in this months kit. The two cream leafy branches in the bottom corners were the only components that aren’t included in the kit and they are from Amazing Grace’s Petite Floral Potpourri.

Spellbinders Amazing Paper Grace October 2021 Die of the Month.

I am so pleased you stopped by today. If you have another moment, I’d love to hear which card you like best.

Karen

cardmaking · papercrafting

Spellbinders: Susan’s Garden Party Geranium Basket

September 20, 2021September 21, 2021 Karen BrownLeave a comment

Spellbinders Geranium and Antique Wooden Bucket from Susan's Garden Club

Hello friends…happy Monday! I spent part of my weekend creating with this lovely geranium and antique bucket die set designed by Susan Tierney-Cockburn. I’ve always loved geraniums so this was an especially fun project for me.

Card Details

I wanted a lot of color variation in my geraniums so I started by “ink smooshing” four panels of watercolor paper.

I liberally inked a 6×6″ acrylic block with Distress Inks. I wanted an ombre gradient look so went in rows across the block.
I very liberally sprayed the inked block with water then “smooshed” the block onto a piece of watercolor paper.
I weighted the ink/block with a book for 5 minutes.
Next, I uncovered the panel and If the ink pooled, I dabbed the excess ink with a paper towel.

For the geranium buds, I used two shades of red on the top half of the panel and two shades of pink on the bottom. The colors mixed and mingled and gave me the color variation I was looking for. Panel #2 for the basket was done with a light tan and brown. Panel #3 for the leaves mixed three shades of green. And the background panel was created with Tumbled Glass Distress Ink.

Once my panels were dry, I started die-cutting with the dies from Spellbinders Geranium and Antique Wooden Bucket from Susan’s Garden Club. I used brown, pink and green watercolor markers to go around the edges of the bucket, blossoms and leaves. I then gently shaped the leaves and buds. To finish the blooms I added a dot of pink glimmer lacquer to the centers.

For the background, I used longtime favorite Spellbinders Essential Rectangles Etched Die on my blue background panel for a little subtle interest. I then mounted my bucket with foam tape and then glued on my leaves, blooms and sentiment,

Die Cut Geranium card with hand crafted papers.

This geranium die set is beautiful, artistic and very versatile. I can see using it for birthdays, Mother’s Day, Sympathy cards, Thank You Notes etc.

Thank you for visiting today!

Karen

cardmaking · papercrafting

Spellbinders: Holiday Flora Collection

September 11, 2021September 7, 2021 Karen BrownLeave a comment

Flowers + Die-Cutting….one of my favorite combos! Susan Tierney-Cockburn created the most delicious collections of holiday dies and I had so much fun playing with them!

I used three of her new kits on my cards:

Die Cut Papercraft Amaryllis

Amaryllis are always a favorite of mine, so I was excited to create a project. For my card, I made all my own papers using a gel press. I made six monoprints for my die-cuts: dark blue, medium blue, light blue (background), green and yellow-green (stamins) and tan.

Once the panels were completed, my card came together very quickly! The buds were very easy to shape for a lovely 3D effect. Both of my cards are 5 x 7″.

Mixed Media card using Gel Press Die Cut Prints

Susan’s collection is for the holidays, but I think the flowers are so versatile! I made the Amaryllis into a lovely birthday card by heat embossing my sentiment on the basket.

Die Cut Christmas Cactus Holiday Card

I have a Chistmas Cactus that is 25 years old so I really wanted to create a paper twin using Susan’s kit.! I have no idea how old cacti can live my mine is still hanging in there.

I again made my own gel press prints for this Christmas card. I made a blue panel for the background + two green prints, a pink coral and used the other other half of the tan monoprint for my basket. I added some pink glimmer lacquer to some of the tips for my buds.

I love both of these cards and can’t decide which is my favorite! Thanks for popping in to take a look at my post.

Karen

papercrafting

Spellbinders Vintage Cash Register

September 4, 2021September 7, 2021 Karen BrownLeave a comment

Amazing Paper Grace 2021 September Die of the Month Kit

Hello and welcome! I just returned from a wonderful road trip to The Pacific Northwest. My husband and I had a great time but we are back home and I was excited to get back into my craft room.

My first project was this Amazing Paper Grace September Die of the Month! Becca always creates such fun dies and this month is a beautiful vintage cash register.

Cardmaking Using Gel Press Prints

To keep the vintage feel, I decided to create my own papers using a gel press. I really enjoy making monoprints so I got to work making a assortment of prints. For this card I used six: dark turquoise with hints of brown and green; light turquoise; white with leftover blue, green and purple(background); copper; plus two green panels.

I die cut my components and used foam tape to adhere to my backgound. I distressed the die cuts a bit more with brown watercolor markers around the edges and around the buttons. The cash register buttons are flat clear jewels.

My card is a 5 1/2″ x 5 1/2″ square. To finish my card, I added a bit of greenery from Spellbinder’s Petite Floral Potpourri.

September’s kit was lots of fun to play with and there are so many lovely details. I think you will enjoy this die kit.

Thank you for stopping by!

Karen