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

March 14, 2023March 16, 2023 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:

I started by stamping my Stunning Sakura florals with black pigment ink and then set them aside to dry.
Next, using my Trailblazing Fresh Dye Inks, the coordinating stencils and my Mini Blending Tools, I colored my florals.
Die cutting was quick as the dies matched up perfectly with the stamped images.
I custom ink blended my background with Puffy Heart Crisp Dye Ink and my large Blending Tool. I went heavier in the corner and lighter as I blended down.
For Card 1, I used the new Vertical Greetings Sentiment Die and for Card 2 I stamped a sentiment that is included with the stamp set.
I trimmed down my background panels and adhered to an A2 card base with Instant Dimension Foam Tape. I then added my florals with more Foam Tape. I wanted to change the orientation up, so Card 1 has the stem at the bottom and Card 2 has the stem coming in from the side like a tree branch. I really like both orientations. 🙂
For Card 1, I added three Enamel Dots (Shades of Purple).

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:

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

Altenew Background Check – It’s All About the Background

May 20, 2022May 18, 2022 Karen BrownLeave a comment

Altenew's Majestic Bouquet layering stamp and die bundle card in blues.

The Educators at Altenew are hopping on Intstagram and the theme is “Background Check – it’s All About the Background“! I wanted to combine fun backgrounds with Majestic Bouquet, my favorite floral stamp layering set from the past year. I think it is just gorgeous done in blues!

For my background I used Altenew’s Cross Stitch Cover Die . I ran the cover die through my die-cutting machine and then cut out a tag using Altenew’s Terrific Tags die set. The little perferations add just the right amount of interest to showcase the beautiful floral bloom.

Altenew Majestic Bouquet + Terrific Tags + Cross Stitch Canvas Cover die in Glacier Caves Blues.

Supplies used card #1:

Majestic Bouquet Stamp and Die Bundle
Terrific Tags Die
Cross Stitch Cover Die (tag background for card 1)
Glacier Caves Mini Ink Cube Set (floral bloom)
Glacier Caves Enamel Dots
Birthday Greetings Sentiment

Other than the enamel dots, all that was needed was a bit of ribbon or twine.

Handmade card with Altenew Terrific Tags background and Altenew Majestic Bouquet floral die cut.

If you would like to see my first post using Altenew’s Majestic Bouquet, click HERE. My Majestic Blooms Instagram post made my “Top 9” for 2021. 🙂

Adding texture to Altenew die cut Terrific Tags + Majestic Bloom 3D Embossing Folder.

For my second card I went BOLD! I love the gorgeous red against the white textured background. I die cut the tag first and then embossed the tag so I wouldn’t loose the lovely detailed embossing. I got a great impression by embossing on 80# cardstock

Supplies Used for Card #2:

Altenew Majestic Bouquet Stamp and Die Bundle
Altenew Majestic Bloom 3D Embossing Folder
Altenew Terrific Tags Die
Altenew Red Cosmos Ink Cube Set
Altenew Birthday Greetings Sentiment

Altenew Majestic Bouquet + Majestic Bloom 3D Embossing Folder handmade card.

Adding twine or ribbon is easy: Double the twine and poke the two ends through the hole. Next, slip the ends through the looped middle and then pull flat. Neat, easy and functional.

Altenew Majestic Bouquet Layering Stamp set + Red Cosmos Ink Set.

It was good seeing you today!

Karen

cardmaking · Mixed Media · papercrafting

Easy DIY Glitter Cardstock

May 5, 2022April 23, 2022 Karen BrownLeave a comment

Don’t you just love bright summery colors? I’ve been thinking about making a shimmery rainbow hued tag set and I thought now was the perfect time. Recently, I started making my own glitter cardstock, and I have been loving the subtle sparkle it adds to my projects!

Rainbow Colored Gift Tags + Altenew Terrific Tags dies

The process is easy and fun…all you need is some ink and Altenew Iridescent Shimmer Ink Spray.

How To Make Your Own Glitter Cardstock

I taped some watercolor paper to a hard board and brushed water over the surface with a #18 brush.
Next, I mixed Altenew Dye Inks with Iridescent Shimmer Spray (no water was added) and I painted the mixture on the wet watercolor paper. I wanted an intense color so I applied three layers but I didn’t bother to let it dry in between.
I stamped, colored and die cut a bunch of floral elements from Altenew’s Doodle Blooms stamp and die bundle.
I let my shimmer panels dry overnight so that they would die-cut well, but you could speed up the drying with your heat tool.

How to make glitter cardstock using Altenew Shimmer Spray.

Next, I die cut my tags using the largest finned die from Altenew’s Terrific Tags die set and worked on my layouts

How to make your own gift tags with Altenew Terrific Tags.

To finish off the cards, I added an Enamel Dot to each flower center.

The background is so pretty in person but it’s hard to see the sparkle in the photos so I added a quick video below:

Video clip showing shimmer on DIY Glitter Cardstock

Adding twine or ribbon is easy: Double the twine and poke the two ends through the hole. Next, slip the ends through the looped middle and then pull flat. Neat, easy and functional.