Tag: Mixed Media

cardmaking · Mixed Media · papercrafting

Easy DIY Glitter Cardstock

Karen BrownLeave a comment
Easy DIY Glitter Cardstock tutorial.

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

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.

Altenew Enamel Dots for flower centers.

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.

Aqua Altenew Terrific Tags + Doodle Blooms stamp and die bundle

I love how the tags turned out so I’ve included some closeup photos.

Pink Altenew handmade gift tag

There is a detailed list of the inks, supplies and enamel dots used below.

Altenew Orange Cream Glitter gift tag.
Pink Altenew Glitter cardstock gift tag.

The tags are so happy and cheerful together and I think they would make a great gift for a friend.

DIY rainbow hued gift tags made with Altenew Terrific Tags and Doodle Blooms stamp and die set.

Ink Used:

Stamps, Dies and Supplies:

Enamel Dots Used:

Sentiments:

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

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Altenew Certified Educators Instagram Blog Hop

Karen Brown1 Comment

Layered Floral Die-Cutting with Altenew’s Cosmos Kit

 I am so excited to be participating in my first Altenew Educator Hop!  I LOVE this month\’s Cosmos Craft-A-Flower Kit and wanted to create another bright springy card.  Here is a LINK to my first card.  

Die-cut watercolored pink flowers

Mixed Media Background

I made a background using the recently released Narrow Brick Stencil.  I mixed Texture Embossing Paste and Shimmer Spray which I then tinted with diluted purple Watercolor from the 36 pan set.  I repeated this and added diluted pink watercolor to a second pile of embossing paste.  I then ran this over the stencil in random locations.  The two colors of brick are the same colors I used on the flowers.  

Altenew Cosmos kit

Water Coloring Panels for Die-Cutting

On two panels of watercolor paper,  I brushed on bold watercolors from the 36 pan set.  I dried the panels and added a second layer so I had really saturated color.  Here is a photo of the three panels I used to make this card.

Before I begin die-cutting I like to take a permanent pen and mark the layering dies with a #1 and #2 for each flower.  It just takes just a minute but then it is so much easier to keep up with the little pieces. After I die cut, I also write the corresponding number on the back of the die-cut in pencil in case they get mixed up on my workspace.  

Pink die-cut flowers with mixed media background

These flowers are so easy to assemble and make such a gorgeous showy flower.  I used liquid glue and foam tape to assemble my card.  To finish, I added Tea Party Enamel Dots.


We would love for you to hop with us!  My Instagram Handle is: @karens_mini 

There are beautiful cards and prizes too….check it out!

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Karen
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WWC299 – Heidi\’s Challenge: All About Occasions

Karen Brown7 Comments

 

Hello, hello and welcome!  We are creating \”Occasion\” cards this week at Watercooler Wednesday and we would love to see your card in our gallery.  Heidi is our hostess.   I made a Mixed Media encouragement card.

I really like the rustic vintage brick background combined with the heat embossed spray of flowers.  

This background was made by hand-dipping the background in diluted die ink and custom tinting my embossing paste.  

  • I mixed brown ink with water and Irridescent Shimmer Spray and then dipped a piece of Bristol cardstock into the puddle.  I dried the panel and then repeated.
  • I blended my Embossing Paste with brown ink for the bricks.  
  • I swiped the embossing paste over my stencil with a palette knife.  I wanted a rough look so I didn\’t cover the entire stencil and I made sure there was a variety of thickness to the paste. 
  • While the embossing paste was wet, I sprinkled just a bit of brown metallic embossing powder on the paste, wiped most of it off and then heat set. I love the texture and interest it adds. 
  • I heat embossed Altenew\’s Best Mom spray (in brown metalic) and then die-cut the image.  
I am also playing along with:



Tic Tac Toe  I chose diagonal top right to bottom left.  Brown, ink blending and metallic.

UPDATE:  I was so pleased to see my card was a Team Pick at Tic Tac Toe.

I am so pleased that you stopped by!
Karen
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WWC294 – Marsha\’s Challenge: Anything Goes With a Masculine Twist

Karen Brown10 Comments

 

Hello, hello and welcome!  This week we are creating masculine cards at Watercooler Wednesday.  I\’ve made a fun mixed media card using Altenew\’s Mega T Aphabet die and thanks die.

My Process:
  • I started with a 140 lb weight watercolor panel and then die cut the T. 
  • With a wide rough brush (I used a house painting trim brush) I applied a layer of gesso and then dried. 
  • Using a Carved Pumpkin mini distress ink cube I dabbed orange on the panel in random locations.  
  • I sprayed Iridescent Shimmer Spray to the panel which moved the distress ink around a bit and then dried with a heat tool.
  • I added another layer of randomly dabbed Carved Pumpkin Distress Ink which I again activated with the shimmer spray and then dried.
  • I then mixed gesso with Mermaid Lagoon distress ink and applied with a strip of cardstock for a rustic feel.  I then tinted the gesso a bit darker with the same distress ink and applied a bit more with the cardstock strip.  This way I have two shades of aqua on the card which I think gives added interest. Dry.
  • I dabbed a bit of Versamark ink on the panel, sprinkled on gold embossing powder and rubbed off most of it so that there were just touches of gold on the panel.  I heat set.
  • I die cut the thanks die from turquoise card stock.
  • I added the T panel to a cream colored A2 cardbase and glued on the sentiment.
This thank you card was so fun to make! There is a gorgeous shimmery sheen that does not photograph well, but the card just glows in person.

I am also playing along with:


Simon Says Stamp \”Layer It Up\”  I used 7 layers of gesso, distress ink, shimmer spray, embossing powder plus two die cut layers.  

I am so glad that you stopped by!
Karen 
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Multi Media Cards With Loads of Gorgeous Texture

Karen Brown4 Comments

Hello, hello and welcome!  I am excited to share a couple of cards that I made after taking Demystifying Mixed Media at Altenew Academy.  I think I can safely say this is the most fun class I\’ve taken to date.  Tania Ahmed is a wonderful and inspiring instructor and I went crazy making backgrounds!  I made 7 cards and 8 backgrounds, two of which I am showcasing in this blog post.  I will be sharing the rest of the cards in future posts.  


I love that there are really no rules with mixed media. It seems the best thing to do is lay out your messiest supplies and then select a bunch for each card.  Do not be a minimalist when experimenting with multi-media.

This first background was made by hand-dipping the background and custom tinting my embossing paste.  

  • I mixed Zig Cobalt Blue with water and Irridescent Shimmer Spray and then dipped a piece of Bristol cardstock into the colorful puddle.  I dried the panel and then repeated.
  • I tinted my Embossing Paste with Carved Pumpkin distress ink for a fallish vibe.  
  • I swiped the embossing paste over my stencil with a palette knife.  I wanted a rough look so I didn\’t cover the entire stencil and I made sure there was a variety of thickness to the paste. 
  • While the embossing paste was wet, I sprinkled just a bit of Peach Embossing Powder on the paste and then heat set. I love the texture and interest it adds. 
  • I heat embossed Altenew\’s Best Mom spray (in brown) and then watercolored and die-cut the image.  
I think the aqua, sherbet and brown make for a very striking card.

My second card uses watercolored embossing paste, tulle (a first on a card for me) and loads of paint splatters.

  • I applied texture paste through the Feathered Leaves Stencil and then heat set.
  • Using diluted watercolors mixed with shimmer spray, I loosely colored the background in blue and yellow.
  • Using a damp paint brush, I feathered the watercolor edges and then dabbed with a cloth to soften the edges.
  • I added blue, yellow and black paint splatters.  
  • I stamped, watercolored and die cut the  Weekend Doodles floral spray.
  • I cut an oval from some tulle gift wrapping ribbon and glued to the back of the floral spray and then adhered the combo to the card base.
  • I added a simple sentiment embellished with Painted Grid Washi Tape.

I am also playing along with:

Creative Artiste\’s Mixed Media Challenge I used paint, shimmer spray, embossing paste, embossing powder and of course paper.  

The Flower Challenge #49 \”Circles\”  I love the textured circles on this background.

UPDATE:  The top card won at The Flower Challenge \”Circles\” Challenge

I hope you will stop by in the near future and see the rest of the Multi-Media cards that I created.

Karen