Tag: Smile More Stamp and die bundle

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Mixed Media ATC Card

Karen Brown2 Comments

 Hello!  Last year, a cardmaking friend gave me a 1968 dictionary that was part of a classroom set that was no longer used.  I thought it was time to use a page or two in my cardmaking.  I\’ve also been fascinated by some of the ATC\’s (artist trading cards) that I\’ve been seeing on Instagram so that was the inspiration for this card.  

Mixed Media Greeting Card

Pink, Orange, Red and Aqua Acrylic Paint
Using the dictionary pages, I stamped and die cut the flowers using the  Doodle Blooms Bundle.  I then used watercolor pencils and a damp watercolor brush to shade and color the diecuts.
Altenew Doodle Blooms Mixed Media card.

I wanted a rough, colorful background, so I applied pink, orange and red acrylic ink to mixed media paper with a brayer.  After the paint dried, I used the brayer to apply aqua ink over the Narrow Bricks Stencil.  I let this dry and then used the accent leaves from the Tea Time set and the greenery from the Billowing Blossoms stamp to randomly stamp on the background.  For the ATC look, I used the Rounded Rectangles to die-cut my background panel.  The sentiment is from The Birthday Greetings Set.  With black ink, I inked the edges of the background and the sentiment strips and then applied  Tea Party Enamel Dots for the center of the flowers.  

ATC Greeting Card

Gelli Plate Monoprint Card

For this second card, I used gel press printing and acrylic paints (violet, tourquoise, yellow, olive and magenta) to make this striking background.  I used the  Flowing Drops Stencil on my second layer.   I then used Deep Iris Dye Ink to stamp a variety of small images on the background.  I was going for a grungier look on this card.  I love using LOTS of inks, stamps and stencils for a complex mixed media card.
Altenew Smile More stamp and die bundle

Next, I used the Smile More Bundle to stamp and die cut the daisies.  I again watercolored with watercolor pencils.  

violet, turqouise, yellow, olive and magenta gel press background

This was a very fun card to make!

Thank you for stopping by!

Karen

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Altenew Academy – Magical Markers

Karen Brown4 Comments

Hello!  A little update….I haven’t made a card in the past two weeks because we moved out of our house so some renovations could be done. I did pack up a few crafting supplies and had time to finish another Altenew Academy class.  This one was called “Magical Markers” and it was taught by Sara Naumann. Sara had lots of great lessons, but I wanted to show my homework assignment from Lesson One, Metal and Alcohol Markers.  

I had never used alcohol markers on metal, but I LOVED the result.  In lesson one we used markers on Alcohol Ink Foil Tape Sheets.    

My Process:
  • Sara told us to use our alcohol markers and scribble with the broad tip on the foil. Next we spritzed the foil with rubbing alcohol.  Sara used a spray bottle but I used a paint brush dipped in rubbing alcohol.  We waited, turned the panel and spritzed/splattered again.
  • When the panel was dry, I trimmed a 1” strip and die cut some greenery and small circles.  The colored foil is bright and shiny and oh so fun to use on a card!
  • I knew bright yellow daisies would contrast nicely with the shiny green so I stamped and colored three blooms.

I made a top folding A2 card base and stamped a sentiment I thought went well with the foiled accents. The foil is great because you just peel off the backing and the adhesive sticks well to the Cardstock.  I used foam tape for the daisies for a bit of added dimension.

Pro Tips:
  • The foil cuts well with both dies and guillotine style paper trimmers.  
  • The ink color will be lighter and much brighter on the foil than it will be on Cardstock.
I think this photo captures the beautiful shine from the foil.
Altenew Featured Products:  Smile More stamp and die bundle (for flowers and sentiment)
I am so pleased that you stopped by!
Karen

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Altenew Academy: Color Your Day

Karen Brown3 Comments

I just finished this card for Altenew Academy\’s Color Your Day and I wanted to share it.  This is the second class I\’ve taken with Therese Calvird, and she is an excellent instructor!  She is creative, calm and explains her lessons well.


Today\’s card was inspired by Lesson #1. Therese showed us some loose watercoloring and I loved the color blue she used (Tombow #493).  She also suggested that we leave a little white around the edges and I really like that look.
My process:  I stamped my blooms and leaves on watercolor paper with Versafine Onyx black ink.  I then partially colored the images and then used a wet brush to move the color around.  I was sure to leave a bit of white around the edges.  Therese also suggested using just a hint of neutral for the flowers center, which is really pretty. Normally I would color the centers yellow.  I added some clear glossy accents to the flower centers.  
Supplies:
Altenew Smile More stamp and die bundle
Versafine Onyx Black Ink
Watercolor Paper
Tombow Markers:  493, 443, N45, 173, 133
Nuvo Crystal Glaze
Spellbinders Essential Rectangles for the frame
Foam tape for the three blooms and sentiment
Liquid glue for the other elements.

I also wanted to play along with:

I am so pleased that you stopped by!
Karen
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WWC278 – Michelle\’s Challenge: Anything Goes with a Feminine Twist

Karen Brown9 Comments
Do you ever have a leftover scrap that you just love?  That is how this card came to be….I made a pretty background  (link to card here) and had a bit left so that was the starting point for this creation.  I thought it was a pretty feminine card so I selected it to be my design team card for this week\’s Watercooler Wednesday \”Feminine\” Challenge.
I added a bold floral focal point, heat embossed a sentiment, created a layered look with foam tape and added a couple of embellishments from my scrapbooking days.  
Supplies Used:
Altenew Watercolor Stripes Stencil
Altenew Smile More stamp and die bundle
Spellbinder\’s Sentiment
Distress Inks (Salty Ocean, Mermaid Lagoon, Twisted Citron)
Zig Markers:  Emerald, Green Shadow, Pale Yellow, Yellow, Bright Yellow
Initial Embellishments

Make My Monday \”Use Stencils\” Challenge My background is watercoloring with distress ink over a stencil.

Festive Friday FF0062  I picked CAS design, birthday theme and floral theme.

Cut It Up Summer Colors Challenge

Sweet Stampin\’ Create Your Own Background


I am so pleased that you stopped by!
Karen
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Altenew Academy – Let It Shine

Karen Brown3 Comments

I finished Altenew Academy\’s Let It Shine Class and wanted to share this card on my blog.  As the name suggests, our teacher Clarissa Wiley, taught us to embellish our cards with a bit of shine. I am happy with the way this card turned out….but boy did I put in a lot of work.  I had a different layout created in my mind, but when I laid out the design there was  too much metallic gold.  I kept diecutting flags, banners and sentiments strips. Originally there was a lot more metallic gold cardstock but I decided for me, less is more…a little gold goes a long way!    I will save the other elements I created for future cards and it will be nice to have them all ready to go.

Altenew Academy Let It Shine card featuring gold embossing and gold metallic card stock accent.
My inspiration was to use metallic cardstock (lesson #5), gold embossing (lesson #2) and faux watercoloring over ink blending that I learned in Altenew Academy\’s Easy Ink Blending Class.  Another example of this fun technique is here.
My Process:
I started by heat embossing this beautiful daisy in gold and then I lightly inkblended a pale yellow over the bloom.  Next I gently sprayed the flower with water and then used a #8 brush and distress inks to paint on some darker yellow highlights using  wet on wet watercoloring.  I dried with a heat gun and then added random orange highlights using wet on dry watercoloring.  I repeated the same technique with the leaves.  I assembled the card using liquid glue and foam adhessive to raise up the flower bloom.
Supplies:
Altenew Smile More stamps and dies
Distress Inks
Watercolor Paper
Picket Fence Studios Life Changing Blending Brush
#8 Paint Brush
Gold Embossing Powder and Versafine Ink
Metallic Gold Cardstock
Scrap of green cardstock for sentiment
Liquid Glue
Foam Adhesive Tape
A2 cream colored card 

As I said above, I tried a lot of  layouts and decided in this instance, CAS was best for me.

I am also playing along at:  

The Sisterhood of Crafters Favorite Technique Challenge.  I recently learned how to faux watercolor and I am having so much fun with this new to me technique!

Global Design Project – Floral Challenge I am happy to add my flower to the GDP challenge.  

I am so pleased that you stopped by!
Karen
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Altenew Academy – Easy Ink Blending Techniques

Karen Brown1 Comment
Hello and welcome.  I am excited about this new technique I learned at Altenew Academy!  I love ink blending but had never done \”faux watercoloring\” like this.   This is my homework assignment for lesson #5 and I was very inspired by our instructor, Amy Lee, and the process she walked us through. 
 This card has two firsts for me….ink blending on watercolor paper and faux watercoloring over ink blending.  I personally had never considered ink blending on watercolor paper as it is rough, but it worked beautifully! 

 I started by heat embossing 8 images from Altenew\’s Smile More stamp set.     I then inkblended yellow, pink, yellow green and blue over the embossing.  Next,  I dabbed 6 colors of dye ink on my glass media mat.  When my palette was ready, I very lightly spritzed the lower inked panel with water.   With a largish brush, I added contrast using very loose watercoloring (wet on wet). I dried the panel with my heat gun and then added more random color variation using the wet on dry technique.  In total, I used 10 different colors of dye ink to complete my watercoloring. Last, I very lightly added some blue paint splatters.  The watercolor paper warped slightly so I flattened it inside a heavy book.

I finished the card by stamping a large sentiment, mounted on a card base using craft foam for dimension and then added five buttercream jewels.  I will definitely use this technique again in the future.  
Supplies:
Altenew Smile More Stamp Set
Watercolor Paper
White Embossing Powder and Heat Gun
Picket Fence Studio Life Changing Brushes
Black Velvet Brushes (#8 for watercoloring and #2 for paint splatters)
Mini Spray Bottle

I made lots of beautiful ink blended backgrounds during this course, but
 this was my favorite card.

I am playing along at As You Like It \”Favorite Embellishment\” Challenge  I used these buttercream jewels which are my most used embellishment. The color seems to go with everything I create.

UPDATE:  I was so pleased to see my card selected as \”Top 3\” at the As You Like It Challenge.


Thanks for stopping by!
Karen