Altenew Wave Panel

*This post contains affiliate links to Altenew and Simon Says Stamp. 

I had some time to create just for fun this weekend, so I pulled out this Wave Panel die from Altenew that I picked up at the end of last year.

I wanted to color the background, so I started by die cutting the panel from Neenah Solar White cardstock.  All the pieces were then adhered to a base piece of printer paper that I covered with adhesive.  The piece was then run back through my die cutting machine with a piece of printer paper over top to protect it.  Doing this ensures that all the pieces are totally adhered, and essentially creates a paper with subtle lines that is easy to color.

I used my Copics to color using BG09, BG15, BG45, and BG11 for the waves (darkest to lightest), BG11 and B0000 for the sky, and just a bit of N1 at the bottoms of the wave caps.

Once my coloring was completed, I die cut the panel again from Simon Says Stamp Glossy Black cardstock.  The outline piece was then adhered over my colored piece.

The completed panel was adhered to a piece of white cardstock, I added a sentiment from my Waves of Change set as well as a teal mat, and that was that.

I really love how this turned out.  THe use of the Glossy Black outline adds some much dimension.

That's all for me today.  Thanks for visiting!

Christmas Soldier Mashup

 *This post contains affiliate links to Simon Says Stamp and Altenew.

I've got another Christmas card to share today using a mashup of products from different companies.

I was able to craft with a buddy a couple weekends ago.  The great thing about doing that, besides the crafty company, is getting to use supplies that aren't in your own stash.  I was excited about the Tim Holtz Harvey dies which created this cute little soldier.  The dies are pretty versatile, you can create several different soldiers, but this guy was my favorite.  It's a little finicky as there are lots of different pieces, but the result is so much fun.

I thought he would be perfect for a Christmas card.  

For the background, I chose a soft gray cardstock and added some interest by spreading paste through the Christmas Star stencil from Simon Says Stamp.  This was backed with a black mat.

Once that was dry, I popped my little soldier up over the background with foam tape.  

I went with a simple, bold sentiment to balance the soldier, using Altenew's Tall Alpha dies, which were cut from adhesive backed black foam.

This was definitely a fun one to put together!

Mixing up my Card Game - Hero Arts, Altenew, Concord and 9th

*This post contains affiliate links to Altenew

Hi guys!  Today I'm sharing what I'm hoping will become a regular feature on the blog.  I've been feeling a little stress over the volume of 'stuff' I have and the fact that I just don't get around to using it all.  I love it all, but sometimes you need a reason to get things out.

My solution?  A card challenge.  I took little strips of computer paper and wrote the names of all the companies I have stamps/dies/stencils from.  Doesn't matter if they are still in business or not, but I did limit it to companies where I have at least a handful of products to choose from.  I put them all in a plastic cup, and randomly picked three.

Here's what I ended up with:

So then I headed over to peruse my stash.  I ended up picking out a really old Hero Arts background (from the days where they used to collaborate with Basic Grey to create stamps that coordinated with their collections), an older stencil from Altenew (Floral Drape Stencil), and a retired C9 set that I planned to use for the sentiment.

This card did not go exactly according to plan.  

I really love the detail and delicacy in the lines from the background, and thought that stamping them in the spaces of the stencil would provide a really unique and graphic look.  The problem was, that some of the areas of the stencil were too small for the stamp to make an impression, and in the other areas I could get close enough to the edge of the stencil.  

I was about to give up in disgust, but then I saw that there was a lot of ink sitting on the stencil, and thought, let's see what happens if I spread this out.  So, I pulled out a blending brush and used that excess ink (and only that excess ink) to fill in the stencil.

I really liked the effect, it kind of tricks your eye to extend the lines of the stamp so that it doesn't look like it really didn't stamp well.

Once that was done, I trimmed my panel down and then used my heat gun to make sure that the ink was fully set because I knew I was going to heat emboss the sentiment.

The sentiment was embossed with WOW!  Metallic Gold Rich embossing powder.  To get a really pretty, puffy, raised look.  I ended up stamping, adding powder, and heating three times (using the MISTI of course).

This was fun, just in terms of the cardmaking itself and experimenting a bit, and also in terms of giving some love to items that hadn't been used in a while.  As I mentioned, I'm definitely planning to do this more often, and hoping others might take on the challenge too.  If you do, I'd love it if you shared your work with me!

Altenew Mountain Die Set, 10 Minute Card

*This post contains affiliate links to Altenew

OK, I didn't officially time the making of this card, but honestly I think it really took me only ten minutes to create.  This is partly because I had the cardstocks out for another project, so I didn't have to go searching for them.  It's also because these Mountain Dies from Altenew just don't need a lot.  They are the epitome of standalone dies.

I simply die cut each of the edges on a piece of cardstock that was about the width of each of the dies.  I wanted to cut the entire width so that I could adjust how the silhouettes lined up. 

Once I was happy with my landscape, I adhered the pieces to a piece of light blue cardstock, trimming each one down as I went.  I thought about popping up a couple of the layers, but ultimately decided to keep things night and flat for easier mailing.

The sentiment is from my old Topography set for Neat & Tangled.

Really so quick and easy!  These dies are perfect for mass production.  You could easily create card sets varying both the colors used as well as the arrangement of the landscape pieces to mix things up a bit.  

That's all for me.  We've been doing a bunch of rearranging around the house and some purging too, so I'm knee deep in stuff!  

SSS Magnolia Branches Embossing Folder

Happy Thursday before a three day weekend!  Today I'm sharing some cards created using the Magnolia Branches embossing folder from Simon Says Stamp.

I haven't purchased an embossing folder in years, but when I saw this one, I just couldn't help myself, and when it came in the mail, I was impressed.  Embossing folders have definitely evolved!  I really love how sturdy this folder is compared to my older embossing folders.  The thickness means that the embossing is deeper and there's a lot more dimension in the finished product.

I thought I would try out some of my tried and true embossing folder techniques with this new folder.  I started out by using a brayer to add Versafine ink to the embossing folder.  Then I placed a piece of patterned paper into the folder and ran it through my die cutting machine.  I chose a Pinkfresh Studio patterned paper because those tend to be on the thicker side which really lends itself to embossing.

To finish the card off, I added a mat using the same patterned paper that I embossed.  The sentiment is from an old Hero Arts My Monthly Hero Kit.  

There was still some residual ink in my embossing folder, so I put a panel of white cardstock into the folder and ran it through again.  The result was so pretty!

I trimmed the panel down, added a black mat, and an embossed sentiment from Simon Says Stamp's Clean Line Faith set.

I forgot to mention that for all of these cards, when adhering my embossed panel to cardstock/card base, I used Scor-tape.  For mixed media type cards, I find that this kind of adhesive just works better and keeps things where they need to be.

Next up another favorite embossing folder technique.  For this next card I cut a panel of watercolor cardstock and inked it with Mustard Seed and Twisted Citron distress ink.

Then I liberally spritzed my embossing folder with water, placed the inked panel inside and ran it through the die cutting machine.  This really saturates the color in the embossed areas and is so pretty.

For some extra texture, I added some gold and black splatter to the panel.  I might have over splattered a bit as the photos read more splattery than embossed, but trust me there's some great dimension on this panel.

The sentiment is an older Concord and 9th die.  Because the surface of these panels is so variable, it's a little tricky to adhere a die cut sentiment.  My solution was to use adhesive backed foam.  I ran the die through my machine, then left the entire piece in place.  Working from the back of the die cut piece of foam (with the die cut piece still intact), I removed the adhesive from the sentiment.  Then I centered the entire piece over my panel, and pressed it down onto my panel.  The negative pieces could then be pulled away leaving the sentiment in place.

For this last card, I used the same technique as in the above card, this time blending Bundled Sage, Dusty Concord and Faded Jeans distress ink onto my watercolor panel.  After spritzing the embossing folder and running the panel through, I decided to step things up a bit and combine the two techniques that I used today.

I first let the panel dry, then I lined it up in the embossing folder, taping it in place with washi.  I flipped it up, and using my brayer, inked the panel with Dusty Concord ink, and ran it through my machine.  I wanted a deeper color, so I then inked the embossing folder with Faded Jeans ink and repeated the process.

Just as in the last card, I die cut a sentiment (Altenew's Waterbrush Hello die) from adhesive backed foam, kept the sentiment intact in my foam piece, and adhered it after removing the backing from just the sentiment, centering it, and then pressing it onto my panel.  

You can really see the dimension of the design in the below photo.

These panels were really easy and fun to create and I'm looking forward to trying out some different techniques with this embossing folder.  I'm also thinking I might need some more of embossing folders!

Thanks for visiting!

*This post contains affiliate links to Simon Says Stamp

SSS Geometric Builder Squares, Take 1

Hi all!  I finally carved out some time to focus on these Geometric Builder Squares dies from Simon Says Stamp.  Just like a few weeks ago when I was working with the Geometric Circles, I'll be sharing several days worth of cards using these guys.  

Today I thought it would be fun to create essentially the same card, but in two very different styles.

For both of these cards I used the square that cut four triangles.  For this first card, I cut the die twice using four different shades of solid cardstock.  

I then assembled my pattern on a piece of scrap white cardstock by using the same square, i.e. the four colored triangles are in the same order, but I changed the orientation of the square itself, rotating it a quarter turn each time.

I used Altenew's Caps Bold Alphabet dies as well as a sentiment from the retired Typed Sentiments set from Neat & Tangled.  Which was embossed and popped up with foam tape.

For this next card, I pulled four different patterned paper scraps from the piles and piles of scraps that I have, and cut the die twice from each.

This time, I wanted a more quilted look, so the pattern is more regular.  I started by creating a larger square using eight of the triangles, and then expanding the pattern from there to complete the look.

Again, I used a scrap piece of cardstock as my base.  I wanted a more uniform look, so I trimmed my card base down 1/4" so there's 1/2" border all around (the quilted piece is 3" x 4 1/2").  

To add to the quilted/homespun look, I stitched around the border of the quilted piece.  

The sentiment was created using Pinkfresh Studio's Lea's Ornate Lowercase dies and another stamp from the Typed Sentiments set.  I added a bit of stitching to the ends of the secondary sentiment, although my zig zags got a little too close to the 'me' for my liking.  The alpha dies were originally white, but I thought the contrast was a little too much, so I just die cut another set of letters from a soft gray and adhered them over top.  Super easy fix.

Which version is your favorite?  Isn't it so fun to see such different looks from the same basic card?

More from these dies coming soon!

C9 In Bloom, Take 2

Hi all!  As promised I've got more to share with you today using the In Bloom stamp and stencil set from Concord and 9th.

Today's cards feature a simple color blocking technique.

These are so easy to create and I love  the rustic look of them.

I started by taking a piece of Neenah solar white cardstock and cutting it in have widthwise.  

The stencil mask was sprayed with Pixie Spray and placed on the cardstock.

Then I used Post-it tape/Post-its to mask off portions of the panel for inking.  I started with the largest area, fully inked it, then masked off the smaller portions.  For the vertical card I used Faded Jeans, Weathered Wood, and Frayed Burlap Distress Ink.  For the horizontal card, I used Bundled Sage, Antique Linen and Frayed Burlap.

Once my panels were inked, I removed the mask.  The Pixie Spray will sometimes leave a bit of residue on your cardstock, so I just used a gum eraser to remove any bits that were remaining.

Then I placed my panels into the MISTI, placed the image on top, and inked.  I like to experiment a bit with my inks, so I used Versafine for the vertical card and Altenew black ink for the horizontal.  I think I like the Versafine better as it gives a crisper look, but I wanted to see how the Altenew held up.  I think it stamped just fine, but shows a little lighter since it's dye, but htat worked with the more rustic colors I used on the horizontal card.

The vertical card was finished with a sentiment from Concord and 9th's Pretty Poppy stamp set, and I used a sentiment from Altenew's Arabesque Medallion set for the other.

I'm not done with these goodies yet.  I'll have some more to share next week!

*Affiliate Links Below

In Bloom, Concord & 9th Clear Stamps

In Bloom, Concord & 9th Stencils

VersaFine Ink Pad, Onyx Black

VersaMark Ink Pad

White, Hero Arts Embossing Powder

ICraft Pixie Spray

Faded Jeans, Ranger Distress Ink Pad

Weathered Wood, Ranger Distress Ink Pad

Frayed Burlap, Ranger Distress Ink Pad

Bundled Sage, Ranger Distress Ink Pad

Antique Linen, Ranger Distress Ink Pad

SSS Geometric Builder Circles (Take 2)

I'm working with the Geometric Builder Circles set again today.  This time I used just the basic die that cuts the square background and segments the inner circle into eight pieces, four in a ring surrounding the four quadrants of the inner circle.

I decided to go monochromatic with my circle shapes, using white, black, and three shades of gray cardstock.  For this first card, I created three squares using black as the outside border and three using white as the outside border.  

For the black squares, I used my darkest shades of gray on the ring, and then in the inner quadrant the white and lightest gray.  I kept the lighter colors together in each quadrant, so white and the lighter of the two dark grays, and the darker colors together, the darkest gray with the lightest gray.

The white squares were assembled similarly, but in reverse.  White on the outside, then the lightest two shades of gray for the ring sections, then the darkest gray and black for the inner quadrants.  Again, I grouped lightest and darkest together in each quadrant.

The finished pieces were adhered to a white mat, and then to my card base.

I used Altenew's Waterbrush Hello die for the sentiment.  I die cut the sentiment three times with white cardstock and once with red.  The red was a little lighter than I wanted, so I used a Copic to add a little more color to it.  The four layers were adhere together and then to the card.

The second card I made follows the same basic format.  I had so many leftover pieces that I figured I might as well make another card.  I created a black and white square just as I did for the first card, and then added a square with the lightest gray for the outside and one with the darkest gray for the outside.  Again, I kept the quadrants light and dark.

The four squares were again adhered to a white mat and then to my card base.

This sentiment was created the same way as in the first card, but this time I used the You Matter sentiment die from Simon Says Stamp.

I love the pop of red against that neutral background.

I am really having a hard time putting these dies away....I'll have some more cards to share with you next week!

SSS Holly Jolly Scattered Stars 3 Ways

Happy Friday!  

There's a new release at Simon Says Stamp, and I've got a few cards to share today using the new Scattered Stars stencil.  This is one of those stencils that you're going to reach for over and over again.  It's perfect for all sorts of occasions, and just the right size to add a little texture to any background.

As soon as I saw it, I knew I wanted to make some Christmas cards.  

For this first card, I created a festive starry background by simply inking the stencil three times over a panel of kraft cardstock using three different ink colors:  Altenew Evergreen and Ruby Red, and WPlus9 white pigment ink.  Each time I inked, I rotated/shifted the stencil.

The card was finished off with red mat and a simple joy stamped/die cut sentiment from Concord and 9th's Joyful Tiles stamp set that was popped up with foam dots.

Next, I created an ombre look on a panel of kraft cardstock using a couple of Dylusions Ink Sprays, London Blue and After Midnight.

Once my panel was dry, I placed the stencil over top and applied Wendy Vecchi embossing paste and set the panel aside to dry.

When I came back, I realized that because the Ink Sprays are water reactive, the color seeped into the embossing paste (this wasn't readily apparent when I first applied it).  

I love the look, but it wasn't reading Chirstmas to me, it was reading patriotic.  I added a simple matted sentiment from Altenew's Land of the Free set.  And that's how a Veteran's Day card ended up here in the middle of my Christmas cards.  

Last up, a super simple Christmas card.

I started by free hand watercoloring a rectangularish focal point.  I used a lot of water on the area, added very saturated color to the edges, and let the panel air dry to get this look.

Then I stamped the sentiment, from Simon Says Stamp's Holiday Greetings Mix I set in Versafine.

Next, I cut a mask to cover up the sentiment, and very very carefully applied embossing paste to the stencil.  I was being careful because I wanted to add stars all around the sentiment/panel, but I didn't want any too close to the edge of the panel.

I'm really happy with how this one turned out, and am thinking I'll create a few more of these before the season is over.

That's all for me today.  Be sure to stop by and see the rest of the release over at Simon Says Stamp!