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

October 4, 2021October 5, 2021 Karen Brown27 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

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

cardmaking · papercrafting

Spellbinders Amazing Paper Grace August 2021 Die

August 1, 2021September 21, 2021 Karen Brown2 Comments

Spellbinder’s August 2021 Amazing Paper Grace Die of the Month

Hello, I am so happy to see you! I’ve had a fun weekend creating three cards with Spellbinder’s August Amazing Paper Grace Club Kit.

Card Details

My inspiration for this first card came from color. I was laying out different color palettes and really liked this khaki and aqua combination. I started by cutting the lacy components from white cardstock and the two background accent pieces from Waterfall cardstock. I also cut a 5 5/8″ background square from Neenah Dessert Storm. The white card base is 6 x 6″. The brown embossed Make A Wish from Sugar Coated Sentiments fit perfectly in the center square.

I die cut three flower buds from Lagoon cardstock. Then using The Tool ‘n One with Quilling Tip, I spritzed the die cut with water, slipped the outside end in the slot and rolled (pretty side in). I adjusted the tightness of the curl to make three blooms of differing sizes for variation in my design. I glued the blooms to flower bases cut from Petite Floral Potpourri etched dies and then added enamel dots for the flower centers.

Assembly went quick! I added die cut leaves, Patootie Burst Paper Flowers, and four pearls for embellishment.

Die Cut Octagon Grid Companion Card

Spellbinder's August 2021 Amazing Paper Grace die cut octagon tile card in Kraft, Aqua, Brown and Pink.

This kit has so many interesting dies and I wanted to show you how versatile the components are. To me, the small octogon die looked like a tile and I thought it would be fun to die cut “tiles” from designer paper. I noticed that my design would fit perfectly in one of my all time favorites, Nestabilities Essential Rectangles so I used that for my background.

I really like how this card turned out.

Companion Card

Spellbinder's August 2021 Amazing Paper Grace Die of the Month Card in Kraft, Pink and Aqua.

I noticed that the half circle curlicues looked like a flower pot so that was the inspiration for my second companion card. I die cut two curlicue elements and a khaki half circle from the August kit and then die cut flowers and leaves from Spellbinders Variety Cardstock using The Petite Floral Potpourri Etched Dies. I used Patootie Burst Paper Flowers for the center of the blooms. The Happy Birthday is from Sugar Coated Sentiments and I again used Nestabilities Essential Rectangles for added interest on the background.

I wound up with three very different cards all using the August 2021 Amazing Paper Grace Dies of the Month.

Spellbinders August 2021 Amazing Paper Grace Die of the Month cards

If you have another moment, I would love to hear which card is your favorite.

Karen

papercrafting

Spellbinders July 2021 Club Kits of the Month Blog Hop

July 15, 2021July 14, 2021 Karen Brown38 Comments

Hello friends and welcome to Spellbinder’s July Club Kits Blog Hop!

I think these are probably the most adorable papercrafting projects that I’ve ever made! These little pop-up houses are created using the July 2021 Amazing Paper Grace Die of the Month and they are just so cute!

July 2021 Amazing Paper Grace Die of the Month

Karen - Brown - 2021 - July APG Club Kit - Blog Hop - Trio

Home Sweet Home Pop Up 3D Vignettes

I adore papercrafting so I really enjoyed creating this Pop Up Die Cut House. The assembly is straight forward and the house was easy to put together.

The house is designed to flatten for mailing. I tested this, and mine “popped up” just fine after being in an envelop.

Karen - Brown - 2021 - July APG kit - Blog Hop - 2-WM I used Lagoon cardstock for the eaves, windows and doors and Graphite for the roof. I love the contrast of these colors against the fresh white of the house. The door knob and flower center are enamel dots.The body of the house is designed to hold a tabbed card (or three). I left mine blank as I plan to hand write a note to include when I send. Karen - Brown - 2021 - July APG kit - Blog Hop - 2-WM

Giveaway:
To celebrate this release, we are giving away a $50 gift certificate to 3 lucky blog readers – selected from the comments on our blog. Giveaway closes on Sunday, July 18th, 11:59 pm MST. The winner will be announced in this blog hop post the following Tuesday. The winner is responsible for shipping costs, duties, and taxes.

Please note, store credit (gift certificate) cannot be applied to Club Subscriptions. Store credit can be applied to shop past Club products, Club extras and regular releases.

Blog Hop: You are currently at Karen Brown’s Post (Kennyscards.com) and your next stop is Tanya Boser

Spellbinders Blog
Becca Feeken
Tina Smith
Bibi Cameron
Annie Williams
Becky Roberts
Yasmin Diaz
Jennifer Snyder
Kathy Clement
Hussena Calcuttawala
Marie Heiderscheit
Jill Hilliard
Laurie Willison
Ilina Crouse
Virginia Lu
Emily Midgett
Jean Manis
Sheri Holt
Sandra Nagel
Joy Baldwin
Rosemary Dennis
Henriëtte van Mierlo
Betty Wright
Melody Rupple
Jenny Colacicco
Emily Leiphart
Vera Yates
Tracy Ware
Gemma Campbell
Alanna Moses
Michelle Starcher
Deborah Jenkins
Erin Thompson
Birgit Norton
Michelle Sheler
Sandhya Iyer
Jennifer Kotas
Jessica Vasher
Olga Direktorenko
Karen Brown
Tanya Boser
Martha Lucia Gomez
Amy Kolling

Ready to shop? You can find all the Club Kits HERE.

I am so pleased you stopped by!

Karen

cardmaking

Altenew Craft-A-Flower: Daffodil & Glitter CardstockRelease Blog Hop + Giveaway

July 7, 2021July 8, 2021 Karen Brown24 Comments

Using Glitter Cardstock in Cardmaking

Hello paper crafters! Altenew just released some GORGEOUS glitter cardstock and it is just wonderful for cardmaking. I love the sparkle that it adds!

For my first card I used three colors of blue glitter cardstock (Moonlight, Blue Apatite and Starlight) from the Ocean Reflection combo pack. I used Altenew’s Rippling Rings Border Die to die-cut three strands of circles and then glued them to a white panel. I wanted a bold high-contrast sentiment so I inked a scrap of cardstock with Purple Wine Ink from The Rose Petal Mini Cube Set and then die cut my Simply Hello Sentiment. This card came together very quickly but is just lovely!

Altenew's Ocean Reflections Glitter Cardstock + Rippling Rings Border Die

You can see the shimmer a bit better in this second photo.

Altenew's Ocean Reflections Glitter Cardstcok + Rippling Rings Border Dies.

Last month I made a rainbow Gum Drop card that I just loved so I thought I would do a sparkly variation using glitter cardstock. The “gum drop” is from Altenew’s Color Band Die Set.

Altenew's Glitter Cardstock + Color Bands Dies

I used Glitter Cardstock from the following sets:

There are also some wonderful bundles available:

Sparkling Florals Glitter Gradient Layering Dies Bundle
Bedazzled Flowers Glitter Gradient Layering Dies Bundle
Floral Dazzle Glitter Gradient Die Cutting Bundle
Sparkle Dazzle Glitter Gradient Bundle

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 07/13/2021 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 07/15/2021.

BLOG HOP:

Ready to shop? Check out Altenew’s New Collections Here. The Glitter Cardstock is selling very quickly so if it sells out by the time you order remember to sign up for the back-in-stock option so you will be notified by email when it arrives.

I am so very happy that you stopped by! I love reading your comments so if you have another moment, let me know what think about my post.

Thanks,

Karen

papercrafting

Spellbinders July 2021 Amazing Paper Grace Club Kit of the Month: Home Sweet Home Pop Up 3D Vignette

July 3, 2021July 4, 2021 Karen BrownLeave a comment

Hello friends! I think these are probably the most adorable papercrafting projects that I\’ve ever made! These little pop-up houses are the July 2021 Amazing Paper Grace Die of the Month and they are just so cute.

Home Sweet Home Pop Up 3D Vignette

I used Dahlia pink cardstock for my first house and I think it is just scrumptious! Woudn\’t this make an adorable wedding card?

This is my first pop-up card and I will say that the assembly was very straight forward.

I used two enamel dots, one for the door knob and one for the flower center.

The details are just wonderful. You can see that there is embossing along the roof peak and also around two of the windows.

The house is designed to hold cards inside. I left this one blank as I am going to hand write a personal note to my friend.

I used Teal Topaz cardstock on my second house and I have to say it has been my favorite color to use this summer.

The houses are designed so they can be flattened for mailing, but they pop right back into position when you take them out of the envelop.

I am so pleased that you stopped by to see these fun houses!

Karen

Uncategorized

Altenew Craft-A-Flower: Peruvian Lily Layering Die Set Release Blog Hop + Giveaway

June 7, 2021 Karen Brown37 Comments

Altenew Craft-A-Flower: Peruvian Lily Layering Die Set

Hello friends! Today is release day for Altenew\’s June Craft-A-Flower: Peruvian Lily. I just adore each month\’s kit because there are so many die-cutting possibilities. You can subscribe HERE for a specially discounted price (plus you won\’t miss a single kit) or you can purchase the Peruvian Lily or you can buy the Peruvian Lily + the gradient cardstock bundle.

Each month I usually make my own paper for my craft-a-flower kit…sometimes I watercolor panels, or ink blend but this month I was in a gel print mood. With gel prints, you never know what you are going to get so I start with colors in mind and then start printing. These are pretty basic prints but they look so pretty when die-cut. For June I was thinking either an orange or pink bloom with a blue background so I laid out some prints. I love the blue background…kinda Monetish and I ultimately decided on an orange and yellow lilly. I will be using the pink panels soon.

These dies were easy to line up and the lily is big and showy. The sentiment is one of my favorites from the Essential Sentiment Die Set.

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 6/13/2021 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 06/15/2021.

Karen Brown < You Are Here

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you enjoy this month\’s kit as much as I have.

Karen

Uncategorized

Altenew Adventures Ahead Stamps/Dies/Stencils/More Collection Release Blog Hop + Giveaway

June 4, 2021 Karen Brown33 Comments

Hello! I was so excited and inspired by Altenew\’s June Adventures Ahead Stamp and Die Collection that I created 8 cards! So many ideas!

Die Cutting With Scraps

Altenew\’s Color Bands dies are wonderful and at a great price point! If you like to die-cut there are endless possibilites….I found them so addiciting! For this first card, I used brightly colored scraps of gel press prints. My inspiration was gum drops and I die cut 14 rainbow hued \”gum drops\” and adhered them to my card with foam tape. I crafted my slimline card using the Nesting Slim Rectangles Die Set.

Die Cutting With Gel Press Prints

I wanted rainbow colors for my \”squiggles\” card also. I used the same Color Bands Dies as above.

$Die cutting with Altenew\'s Color Band die set.$

I selected an assortment of simple gel press prints and started die cutting. I took a quick photo (below) of the print assortment I started with. I wanted lots of beautiful white space so I again used Altenew\’s Nesting Slim Rectangle Dies to make another slimline card.

3D Embossing Gel Press Prints

I don\’t think I can ever have too many brick elements to craft with so I was very excited about Altenew\’s new Brick Wall 3D Embossing Folder. For this card I took a gel press print and ran it through my embossing machine. I think this panel makes a beautiful background for my two Cosmos Die Cut Flowers.

Vintage Feel Scene Card

I was captivated by the new Seas The Day stamp and die bundle. I love a good scene card and thought it would be fun to create a vignette of a girl watching a boat race. I went with an off-white vintage feel and made two of these…one for my daughter and one to go with a graduation gift. And, don\’t you just love those animated Pelicans!

Four Quick and Easy Cards

I came up with an idea for a quick and easy masculine card. The lines on the Seas The Day sailboat are just beautiful and I thought a \”blueprint look\” would be very striking. I stamped the boat with Saphire from the Glacier Caves mini ink cube set. I then hand inked an accent panel and sentiment strip with the same Saphire ink and Altenew\’s Large Blending Tool and set this behind the sailboat to frame the top panel. I like the coordinating saphire sentiment band (Altenew Essential Sentiment Strips). Very easy, very striking and very masculine…a winning combination.

$A quick and easy masculine card featuring the sail boat for Altenew\'s Seas The Day Stamp set.$

It is graduation season so my last three cards are for the graduate. The detail on the Feathered Friends dies is beautiful! I die cut three from cardstock and then popped them on a white Brick Wall 3D Embossing Folder panel and added a die-cut Essential Sentiment Strips sentiment.

These next two cards came together very quickly! The backgrounds are from the Rainbow Blots 6×6\” Paper Pack which is filled with gorgeous papers with highly saturated color. These packs are at a great price point and with 24 sheets, you can make loads of projects.

Using the Rainbow Blots paper pack, I trimmed down two panels and then die cut two sets of sentiments using Altenew\’s new Reach For The Stars die. This sentiment definitely makes a statement!

I am sending these two cards with graduation gifts.

Are You Ready For Some 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 06/09/2021 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 06/11/2021.

You\’ve probably just seen Bridget Casey\’s lovely projects and you will love Laurie Willison\’s post.

BLOG HOP:

Altenew Card Blog

Are You Ready to Shop? Free Gift Oportunities:

Here are THREE ways to get a FREEBIE to kickstart your creativity! Free gift will be added to cart automatically.

· Get a FREE brand new Adventures Ahead Release Inspiration Guide (worth $5.99) with every order of high-value Exotic Garden release bundles. SHOP HERE! *Exclusions apply.

· Get a FREE brand new Creative Jump Start Class with every order from the new Adventures Ahead release collection from 6/04/2021 through 6/10/2021. SHOP HERE!

· Get a FREE brand new Adventures Ahead Release Mini Inspiration Guide with every order from 06/04/2021 through 06/06/2021. Shop HERE!

I am honored that you stopped by my blog…thank you! If you have another moment, I would love to hear which card you like best.

Karen