Tag: Altenew

Cardmaking Kit · Give Away

Altenew 10th Anniversary Blog Hop Day 2 + Giveaway (over $3,500 in Total Prizes)

Karen Brown141 Comments
A Polaroid-look beach scene card using Altenew's Summer Wishes stamp, die and coloring stencil bundle.

Ahoy, crafty mates! It’s time to set sail on a creative adventure as we embark on Altenew’s 10th Anniversary Blog Hop! There is wonderful inspiration AND $3,500 in prizes!!!

“Summer Wishes” Beach Scene Card Kit:

Altenew’s Summer Wishes cardmaking bundle is all about bringing the beauty and tranquility of the beach to your crafting table and this is the favorite kit that I chose for this Hop. Inspired by the sun-kissed shores and crystal-clear waters of paradise, this bundle is filled with the stamps, dies and coloring stencils you need to create stunning beach scene cards that will transport your recipients to a coastal oasis. In keeping with the vacation theme, I created a “Polaroid-look” frame to set my scene.

Products used:

Create a beach scene card with Altenew's Summer Wishes stamp, die and coloring stencil kit.

Giveaway Prizes

Over $3,500 in total prizes! We are giving away a $50 Altenew gift certificate to 10 winners, a $20 ArtistrybyAltenew gift certificate to 5 winners, and an online papercrafting class ($39.99 value) from Altenew Academy Online Class to 14 winners. There are also 28 awesome companies/crafty friends who are celebrating with us, and they are offering the following prizes:

Be sure to leave comments by 04/16/2024 for a chance to win one of 68 prizes! To make the hop more exciting, start your comment with “Hi from (city or country where you’re from)!” 68 winners will be chosen at random from the comments left on any of the blogs listed below and will be announced on the Altenew Card Blog on 04/19/2024.

Join Altenew’s 10th Anniversary Blog Hop

Ready to dive in and get crafting? Join Altenew’s 10th Anniversary Card Hop and be inspired by a wave of creativity from fellow crafters! I am Karen, and I am #7 on today’s hop. You likely came from Jennifer Johnston’s great blog and the fabulous Penny Pynnonen is next!

Click the blue bar below to enter:

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter
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Anniversary Special Offers

Ready to Dive In?

Grab your sunscreen, a refreshing drink, and your crafting supplies – it’s time to set sail and hop with us! Whether you’re a seasoned cardmaker or just dipping your toes into the world of papercrafting, there’s something for everyone to enjoy on this anniversary adventure.

So come on board, and let’s make some waves and I’ll see you on the sandy shores of creativity!

Happy crafting!

Karen

cardmaking · Die cutting · Stamping

Altenew | Layered Stamping with the Bird of the Woods Set

Karen BrownLeave a comment
Creating with Altenew's Bird of the Woods Stamp and Die Bundle using blue and yellow inks.

Today, I’m thrilled to share with you some delightful inspiration featuring Altenew’s enchanting Bird of the Woods Layering Stamp set and coordinating dies. This bundle is so fun and versatile and the color possibilities are endless!

Altenew is hosting an Instagram Hop with loads of prizes and this is the card I made for the Hop. Click HERE if you’d like to join us! The hop ends April 1st.

Altenew’s StampWheel is just perfect for this project because you can easily stamp your outline and then do your layer stamping. The sticky mat holds everything perfectly in place. I put my layered stamps all around the top so that once I had everything positioned, I could set up an assembly line and rotate for multiple cards.

My background is another old favorite called Burlap Texture die.

Cardmaking with Altenew Bird of the Woods stamp and die bundle.

Products Used:

So grab your favorite cardstock, ink pads, and embellishments, and let’s get crafting! Join me as we explore the endless creative possibilities of Altenew’s Bird of the Woods stamp and die kit. Happy crafting!

Karen

Best Of · cardmaking · Rainbow Colors

The Best of 2023 | Altenew

Karen BrownLeave a comment

Hello friends! I am so excited to be participating again in Altenew’s A Year In Review Instagram Hop. I really enjoyed looking back through my projects and selecting some favorite creations.

Rainbow Color Cards

Best Handmade Cards of 2023

Interestingly, all of these cards were in blog posts I created in March! The first three were part of Altenew’s March Release, which I think knocked it out of the park. This was also my most popular blog post for 2023.

The first card (above) makes a “2 For 1” card and you can read the post HERE plus see the second card.

Products Used:

Best cards with watercolor markers

This Sweet Blossoms Layering Die Set is a real beauty and is definitely a new favorite!

Rainbow Arch Hugs card,

Altenew’s  Archway Die Set is so fun and is perfect for mass producing cards.  All you need to do is change up the order of each rainbow arch.

Tips for Making Vibrant Colorful Cards

The next two cards were from a blog post I wrote called Tips for Making Vibrant Colorful Cards, and you can find that post HERE.

This Hello card was so easy to make and it was my #1 card on Instagram.

Best card with rainbow stripe background

Products Used on This Card:

Best Hello Friends Card

Products Used:

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Karen

cardmaking · papercrafting · Video

3 Colorful Sentiment Focused Cards +Video

Karen Brown2 Comments
3 Sentiment Focused Handmade Cards

Sometimes, you just want your sentiment to be the star of your card. Today I am sharing three cards where the focal point is the sentiment. The video (below) is also part of Altenew’s Let’s Get Sentimental Video Hop.

Love Card or Valentine

Love, Love, Love Die Cut Valentine Card

I felt like getting a little inky and messy, which is always fun in the craft room! I started by creating three gradient watercolor panels that were the basis for my sentiment die cuts. I wanted BOLD colors so I used Altenew’s lusciously pigmented Spring Garden Mix Watercolor Markers + the love die from Altenew’s Script Words set. I kept things Clean and Simple for this first card.

I made this card for my husband, but wouldn’t it be great for a Valentine?

VIDEO

I created a short video for Altenew’s “Let’s Get Sentimental “Video Hop that shows my process. Watch below on YouTube or click below to watch on my blog.

Watch on my blog:

Congratulations Card for Graduation

Die Cut Congrats Graduation Card

I needed a Graduation card for my nephew and I came up with this design using Altenew’s Archway die set (includes both the wave and tree + a rainbow that I used twice HERE) + Script Words Congrats Die. The Archway die set is one of my favorite 2023 releases.

Hello Friend Card

Hello Friend handmade card.

I wanted to add some texture to my next card so I embossed my background with Altenew’s Playful Circles. The die cuts are Simply Hello and Simply Friend.

Here is another variation of a bright fun “hello friend” card I did a few months ago.

Altenew Spring Garden Mix Watercolor Markers + Script Word Dies + Archways die set.

Supplies:

Here are links to the supplies I used on these cards….click the icon to start shopping. Compensated Affiliate links are used at no additional cost to you. Your support helps me bring you new projects, content and videos. Thank you!

Other Supplies Available at Amazon:

Faber Castell Collapsible Watercolor Cup

Tonic Studios paper trimmer

Removeable Highlighter Tape

Tonic Studios Craft Pick

3M Painter’s Tape
Altenew Script Words "love" die + handmade card.

I took a bunch of photos and am including the rest here.

Altenew Script Words die cut handmade cards.

And finally, one standing photo…. Don’t you just love top fold cards?

Clean and Simple CAS Valentine

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

Give Away

I’ve Got A Giveaway! | 2 Altenew $25 Gift Cards

Karen BrownLeave a comment

Hi! I wanted to give you a heads up that I am hosting an Instagram Giveaway that just started! Here is a link to my Instagram page so you can join in the fun…it is so easy.

Giveaway Details:

I am giving away 2 $25 Altenew Gift Cards and I want to make sure you get a chance to win.

Just follow these easy steps for a chance to win:

1. FOLLOW @Karens_mini and @altenewllc on Instagram

2. LIKE the corresponding Giveaway post.

3. COMMENT on the Giveaway Instagram post.

2 Winners will be announced on my Instagram post one week from today.

If you would like to see the original post for this card, please click HERE.

Shop at Altenew HERE.

Good Luck!

Karen

cardmaking · Die cutting · Video

Altenew | Sweet Blossoms Floral Die Cut Card With Rainbow Stripe Background + Video

Karen BrownLeave a comment
How to create rainbow striped card backgrounds with colored cardstock strips + Altenew's Sweet Blossoms floral die set.

Die Cutting with Outline Dies

Die cut flower and leaf silhouettes over a rainbow striped background makes for a colorful high impact card. I love Altenew’s Sweet Blossom’s Layering Dies and wanted to play with them again (You can see my first card HERE). This time I wanted to use just the outline dies so you could see the beautiful background I created.

Altenew Sweet Blossoms Layering Die Set handmade card

I created a short video (below) to show how I made my background panel. I love rainbow striped backgrounds so I have two pouches (see final photo) where I keep my pre-cut colored cardstock strips. The pouch on the left has a variety of widths and all the strips in the right pouch are cut to 1/4″ widths. It is easy to take a paper trimmer and cut lots of strips and then it is so quick to make a colorful background. For this card, I used PaperTrey’s Perfect Match Colored Cardstock.

Click HERE to see a card where I used just 1/4″ strips.

For this card, I wanted variety so I used colored cardstock bands from both packets. I like to use Altenew’s Glue Tape Runner when making these types of backgrounds.

I wanted my flower bloom to sit on a stem, so I did a little surgery on the larger leaf die cut, and with scissors, I cut off the top three leaves. This left me with a stem and an additional little leaf cluster to use on my card.

I wanted substantial die cuts, so using the Sweet Blossoms and Vertical Greetings sets, I die cut each element three times and then glued them together.

Quick Video: How I Created This Rainbow Striped Background

Products and Supplies Used on this Card:

Altenew No Hassle Storage Pouches

Products Available on Amazon:

Tonic Studios paper trimmer

I am SO happy you stopped by today!

Karen

cardmaking · papercrafting

Tips for Making Vibrant Colorful Cards

Karen Brown5 Comments
Tips for Making Vibrant Colorful Cards

Today I wanted to share some Tips and Tricks for making bold, vibrant colorful cards. The Featured Stamps are from Altenew’s March 2023 Mini Stamp Collection.

TIP #1: Use Watercolor Markers which have tons of pigment.

Below, you can see the watercolor panel that I used for my die cut word sentiments. I added Rubelite and Autumn Blaze from Altenew’s Spring Garden Brush Markers and then used a #18 brush and water to blend the colors. I did not increase the saturation on this card, the color on the screen is the true color in person. So bright and happy!

Making backgrounds with Watercolor Markers.

Products Used:

Altenew's Mini Coneflower Stamp and Die + Altenew's Spring Garden Brush Markers

TIP #2: Use Strips of Cardstock in Rainbow Colors

I like to keep strips of colorful cardstock on hand for quick cards. The strips on this card are each 1/4″ wide and they are a snap to make with your paper trimmer.

Using strips of colored cardstock to make colorful rainbow backgrounds.

Products Used on This Card:

Altenew's Mini Dogwood Stamp and Die on a handmade card.

TIP #3: Create a Rainbow Gradient Accent Strip

On Bristol Cardstock, I blended watercolors from Altenew’s Spring Garden Brush Marker Set in Rainbow Order. I used water and a #18 Brush to blend the colors. I created a 5.5″ x 4.25 inch panel and trimmed off a 1.75″ strip for this card, reserving the remaining panel for a future project.

Altenew's Spring Garden Brush Marker Set + handmade card

Products Used:

Altenew's Mini Dahlia Stamp and Die Set + handmade card

Thanks for stopping by! What do you think…..do you have a favorite?

Karen

cardmaking · Hot Foiling

Altenew March 2023 Marvelous Monthly Series Release Blog Hop #2 + Giveaway ($300 in Total Prizes!)

Karen Brown35 Comments
Altenew Spark Joy: Sweet Strawberries Foiling Kit + handmade card

The March 2023 Altenew Spark Joy release is pure sweetness! These strawberries are just adorable and I had so much fun creating my cards. Today’s post is part of a HOP for the Marvelous Monthly series and there are wonderful prizes along the way.

Hot Foiling + Coloring Stencils

For my two cards I am using Altenew’s Sweet Strawberries Hot Foil Plates and Coloring Stencils. The darling sentiment is included with the kit.

Rainbow Foil + Coordinating Coloring Stencils on an Altenew Spark Joy Sweet Strawberries handmade card

For my first sweet card, I used rainbow foil with my plates and then I “colored” the images with the coordinating coloring stencils and Altenew Crisp Dye Ink. I LOVE coloring with stencils and with the slick cardstock (I used Yupo Paper on card #1), the blending is so easy. I got a great result foiling on Yupo paper. It isn’t bright white, but is a bit creamy and I love the soft result.

Altenew Sweet Strawberries Hot Foil Kit + handmade card.

For Card #2, I used X-Press It Blending Cardstock, black foil and I also added some black enamel dots. The X-Press It paper is whiter, but the foiling on the Yupo paper (Card #1) was flawless.

Hot Foiling on Yupo Paper and X-Press Blending Cardstock.

Products Used:

Giveaway Prizes

$300+ in total prizes! To celebrate this release, Altenew is giving away a $100 gift card to 1 grand prize winner and a $20 gift card to 10 winners! Please leave a comment on the Altenew Card Blog and/or each designer’s blog post on the blog hop list below by March 26, 2023 for a chance to win.

Altenew will draw 5 random winners from the comments left on each stop of this blog hop and announce the winners on the Altenew Winners Page on March 28, 2023. *The grand prize winner will be chosen from comments left on the Altenew Card Blog.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter
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I am so pleased you stopped by!

Karen

cardmaking · papercrafting

Altenew Celebrating Parents Card Drive 2023 Blog Hop + Giveaway ($200 in Total Prizes!)

Karen Brown33 Comments

Altenew's Stunning Sakura + Trailblazing Fresh Dye Ink + Card

Hello, I am sharing two cards that I created using Altenew’s new Stunning Sakura stamp, die and coloring stencils for The Celebrating Parents Card Drive and Blog Hop!

For my birthday, I received received Altenew’s Trailblazing Fresh Dye Ink Mini Ink Cubes so of course I elected to use the periwinkle hues on this project. I also received Sarah Renae Clark’s Color Cubes (Volumes 1 and 2) and I wanted to use her cards for my color inspiration. I sorted through all the gorgeous color combinations and settled on #206, which you can see in the top left corner of the photographs.

Creating with Altenew’s Stunning Sakura Stamp Bundle

Altenew's Stunning Sakura Stamp, Coloring Stencil and Die on a handmade card.

Quick and Easy Coloring with Stencils:

How to Use Coloring Stencils + Altenew's Stunning Sakura floral stamp

I love the violet/lilac color combo!

Stamped floral card in Violets and Lilac purples

These cards are perfect for Mother’s Day….or a birthday!

We hope to see YOUR cards as part of the Celebrating Parents Card Drive.

Altenew's Stunning Sakura coloring stencils.

Products Used:

I really appreciate that you stopped by and are participating in this Blog Hop. Your next stop is Ishani and her projects are always such a treat! You can see the all the hop stops by clicking the button below:

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter
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Giveaway Prizes

$200 in total prizes! To celebrate this release, Altenew is giving away a $50 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 03/20/2023 for a chance to win. 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 03/21/2023.

Giving Back Info

We have handpicked a few Altenew products that are perfect for your Mother’s Day and Father’s Day cards (and other year-round crafting projects! Check out the collection HERE. We’ll donate $1 with every order of the products included in this collection from 2/28/2023 until 5/14/2023 to the Food Bank of Central New York to support seniors in need.

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

cardmaking · papercrafting

Altenew March 2023 Stamp/Die/Stencil & More Release Blog Hop #2 + Giveaway ($300 in Total Prizes!)

Karen Brown56 Comments

Welcome to Altenew’s March Release and Blog Hop! I have SEVEN cards to share with you today. I was so excited and inspired by the Japandi Release….I had SO many ideas! I decided to do a “Rainbow” themed post and I am so pleased you stopped by. You can see Altenew’s entire release HERE.

Rainbow Gradient cards with Altenew Zero Waste Leaf Pattern Cover Die Kit.

Rainbow Gradient Handcrafted Cards

I started by watercoloring a bunch of panels for my cards, which I find this fun and therapeutic. On watercolor paper, using water and one of Altenew’s #18 brushes, I watercolored bands of color from Altenew’s Spring Garden Brush Marker set. I love how bright and vibrant the colors are with these markers! You can see two of my finished panels below.

Negative 2-For-1 card with Altenew's Zero Waste Leaf Pattern Cover Die.

2-For-1 Cards

Once my panels were dry, I started die cutting. My first two projects are 2-For-1 Cards using the beautiful new Zero-Waste Leaf Pattern Cover Die. When you are done, you have the pieces for a “Positive” Card and a “Negative” Card, and I love them both!

The Zero-Waste Leaf Pattern Cover Die and Archway Die Set (below) are part of the Zen Garden Ensemble from Altenew.

How To Make Rainbow Gradient Die Cut Cards:

  • On Watercolor Paper, paint rainbow bands of color with Spring Garden Watercolor Brush Markers and then blend with water and a #18 Paintbrush. I taped my panel to a hardboard with blue painters tape prior to painting. Dry.
  • I used the “Press and Seal” Method. After I die cut my Zero Waste panel, I smoothed Glad Press and Seal Multipurpose Sealing Wrap over the top of the die cut panel. I then flipped it over and using tweezers added cut Instant Dimension Foam Tape to the back of each positive die cut. Next, I carefully flipped the panel over and adhered onto an A2 card base. Then I removed the Press and Seal.
  • I die cut my Simply Hello sentiment twice from black cardstock, glued the pieces together and added to the bottom right of my card.
  • For my Negative Card, I added liquid glue to the back of the panel and then adhered directly to an A2 card base. I added my Sweet Sentiments Celebrate die cut and shadow to the center of my card and voila, two bright and happy cards!
2-For-1 Cards with Altenew's Zero Waste Leaf Pattern Cover Die.

This Sweet Blossoms Layering Die Set is a real beauty and is definitely a new favorite!

Altenew's Sweet Blossoms Layering Die Kit + Rainbow Gradient Card.

You can see two of my watercolor panels just prior to die-cutting. I again used my Spring Garden Watercolor Markers and I really love the rainbow gradient across the blooms. For my sentiment, I die cut “For You” from the new Vertical Greetings Die Set and then backed with a scrap from the rainbow panel shown below.

Rainbow Gradient Card panels using Altenew's Spring Garden Watercolor Brush Markers.

Inlay Rainbow Die Cutting

Altenew's Archway Die Set + Rainbow Inlay Card.

Altenew’s new Archway Die Set is so fun and is perfect for mass producing cards. Cut the rainbow from 7 or more colors of cardstock, change the order and you can make a bunch of cards quickly. The included tree die adds a lot of interest. I added a coordinating sentiment and shadow from Altenew’s Sweet Sentiments Die Set.

Masculine Rainbow Card + Altenew's Archway Cover Die.

On card 2, I changed up the color order. I think these would be perfect for Get Well, Birthday, Graduation…

Rainbow Inlay Die Cut with Altenew's Archways Die Kit.

Quick and Easy Die Cut Cards

I thought the tree from the Archway Die Set was so pretty that I made a third quick and easy card. I die cut the tree from white cardstock and used the negative panel, placed Instant Dimension Foam Tape on the back and then adhered to my rainbow panel (watercolored with Spring Garden Brush Markers). I added a few of the white interior pieces and popped it on a fog A2 card base and added another die cut sentiment from Altenew’s Sweet Sentiments. Be sure to save the positive diecut for a future 2-For-1 card.

The Archways Die Set also comes with a third “Wave” die that I know you will also love!

Quick and Easy Rainbow Gradient Card with tree from Altenew's Archways Die Kit.

I used Altenew’s Leaf Essential Die Set for my 7th card and this card came together VERY quickly! On this card I used colored cardstock in bright vibrant hues. I added a few Enamel Dots and another Sweet Sentiments die and shadow.

Colorful Leaf Essential Die Cut Card + Altenew.

Giveaway Prizes:

$300 in total prizes! To celebrate this release, Altenew is giving away a *$100 gift certificate to 1 lucky winner and a $20 gift certificate to 10 winners! Please leave a comment on the Altenew Card Blog and/or each designer’s blog post on the blog hop list below by 03/12/2023 for a chance to win. Altenew will draw 11 random winners from the comments left on each stop of this blog hop and announce the winners on the Altenew Winners Page on 03/13/2023.

You probably came from April’s Blog and the next stop is talented Tenia! You can see the all the hop stops by clicking the button below:

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter
https://fresh.inlinkz.com/js/widget/load.js?id=c0efdbe6b4add43dd7ef

*The winner of the $100 gift certificate will be chosen from comments left on the Altenew blog. 

I am so pleased you stopped by and would love to hear which card was your favorite!

Karen