Mini Stamps – Kenny's 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 Mini Coneflower Stamp
Altenew’s Spring Garden Brush Markers
Altenew’s Simply Hello Die
Altenew’s Simply Friend Die
Altenew Instant Dimension Foam Tape
Altenew #18 Brush
Watercolor Paper (for die cut sentiments and the pink/orange accent strip) which I taped to a hardboard to minimize warping.
Bristol Cardstock (for the Coneflower)

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
1/4″ Strips Trimmed From Colorful Cardstock
Altenew Sweet Sentiments Dies
Altenew Instant Dimension Foam Tape
Tonic Studios Paper Trimmer

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 Spring Garden Brush Marker Set
Altenew’s Mini Dahlia Stamp and Die Set
Altenew’s Simply Hello Die
Altenew #18 Brush
Altenew Instant Dimension Foam Tape
Bristol Cardstock
Black Cardstock scrap for accent strip
Brushed Gold Cardstock for sentiment (die cut twice for dimension)

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

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

Karen

Altenew's Modern Eucalyptus on a Clean and Simple handmade card.

Tips for Clean and Simple Handmade Cards

Hello and welcome! You are probably here “hopping” with the Altenew Educators and I am pleased you stopped by! To start at the beginning of Altenew’s Hop, please click HERE.

Today I have two clean and simple cards to share. This is not my typical style, but I do love CAS cards. To me, Clean and Simple means LOTs of white space. To make that work, I like contrast so I used bold colors and black accents to make my card pop.

I think Mini stamps work so well with CAS cards so I chose Altenew’s Modern Eucalyptus Stamp and Die Bundle for my first card. I did some simple coloring with Altenew Artist Markers (Sets F: Sunshine Valley and G: Water Garden) and then die cut my Eucalyptus. I wanted to spotlight the plant, so I also cut a small background panel using one of my most used staples – Rounded Rectangles Dies. I heat embossed the sentiment (Birthday Greetings) and laid it over the rounded rectangle die cut. A thin black border helps tie the elements together.

For my second card, I used Altenew’s Tall Vase Stamp and Die Bundle. I colored and die cut the image and then mounted on a small die cut (Rounded Rectangles Dies) and added my sentiment: Birthday Greetings.

Pro Tips for Successful Clean and Simple Cards:

Mini Stamps Work Great
Bold Simple Colors
Add a hint or two of black
Remember to use contrast
Don’t forget to leave lots of open white space

I think it would be fun to make a pack with thank you sentiments for a handmade gift.

Prizes:

$130 in total prizes! Altenew is giving away a $20 gift certificate to 3 lucky winners and a $15 gift certificate to 4 winners! To win, please comment on the Altenew Card Blog and/or each designer’s blog post on the blog hop list below by 07/03/2022.

There’s MORE! Join our party! We have included an Inlinkz at the Altenew blog for you to enter your beautiful, Altenew “Clean and Simple” creations.

We will pick one of our favorite handmade creations from those who joined the linky party, and they will receive a $10 Altenew gift certificate!

Altenew will draw 5 random winners from the comments left on each blog hop stop and announce the winners on the Altenew Winners Page on 07/04/2022.

Hop list: