Altenew Cube Builder Stencil Two Ways

It's Wednesday, halfway through the week!  Today I'm sharing two cards featuring Altenew's Cube Builder stencil.  This is one of those products that made me think "why didn't I think of that?"  It's such a genius design, and you guys know I love everything geometric.

I was so anxious to use this stencil it really did not sit long (unusual for me!).  I inked up two backgrounds, one in cool blue/teal colors and the other in warm yellow/orange.  I also used two different methods of inking.  The blue/teal was done with my usual method (Tim Holtz inking tool and distress ink), the yellow/orange was done with Clarity Stencil Brushes.

I actually created these panels the other day when I was hanging out with my crafty friends JJ and Tessa,  Tessa brought her brushes so I could try them.  They are really high quality, I was surprised at how big and heavy they were.  They took some getting used to, when I first tried them the hairs on the brush kept slipping under the stencil.  You get a softer less crisp look with these.  I think the main benefit would be if you want a really soft background sometimes that's harder to achieve with the blending tools, and also you're less likely to get those hard edges that you sometimes get with blending tools that you have to work like the dickens to then blend out.  I liked them, but they are not on the top of my wishlist just because they are a little more expensive and for the most part I can use my blending tools to achieve a similar look.




For this first card I kept things clean and simple, just trimmed the stenciled panel down, added a mat and then the sentiment which was created using Altenew's Bold Alphabet die set (incidentally I love these alpha dies, they are not cheap, but between these and my Journaling Alpha dies for Neat & Tangled, I might be set on alphabet dies), and their Label Love set.  To add a little more interest I popped those items up.



For the second card, to mix things up a bit, I trimmed the inked panel down to get an interesting shape, and then adhered it over a darker cardstock panel to give it a nice pop.

Same M.O. as the first card with the Bold Alphabet dies and Label Love set, but I thought the black was too much a contrast, so I used white for the dies and stamped the label with Lagoon ink.



What do you think?  Which do you like best?  I seriously can't recommend this stencil enough it's SO MUCH FUN!  You're definitely going to see more of it!

*Affiliate Links Below

Altenew Stencils, Cube Builder

Altenew Dies, Bold Alphabet

Altenew Clear Stamps, Label Love

Altenew Crisp Dye Ink Pad, Lagoon

Claritystamp Stencil Brushes, Set of 4

VersaFine Ink Pad, Onyx Black