layered stencil

Altenew April 2025 Release Blog Hop + Giveaway!

April 10, 2025

Hi friends! I am hopping along with my friends at Altenew today to celebrate and share inspiration using their latest release for April 2025 (which you can check out HERE). You should have arrived from Dana, and your next stop is Therese. You can also start back at the beginning at the Altenew Blog. The Anniversary release is always fantastic, and each year Altenew releases an extra large stamp set that is super special and unique. This year’s Flourishing Bouquet is no different. I have three different projects to share with you today using a vibrant

*I have gathered links to all of the products used at the bottom of the post for your convenience, using affiliate links. Thank you for shopping with my links! I truly appreciate your support for my work!*

This trio of projects was inspired by a dress from my daughter’s closet, featuring a unique plum, fuchsia, mustard, and gold color palette. I selected Acai Berry, Mangrove Root, Sicilian Amber, Rubellite, and Golden Honeycomb Fresh Dye Ink from my ink wall, as well as some shimmering gold pigment ink from my ink stash to add some sparkle. I also pulled several shades of cardstock from Altenew’s Crafty Necessities line, including Cosmic Berry, Rubellite, and Sicilian Amber and some pearlescent gold cardstock that coordinated beautifully with the other colors in the palette.

For my first project, I used Lisa Horton Crafts Solid Gold pigment ink to impress the the Floral Serenade Press Plate into some Sicilian Amber cardstock, backing the colored cardstock panel with a piece of inexpensive but thick watercolor cardstock to add some extra padding and allow the pattern to impress into the thinner colored cardstock. I matted the tone-on-tone patterned panel with an A2 piece of Cosmic Berry cardstock to add a frame, then used a sentiment created with one of the greetings from the Flowering Hedge Registration Press Plate, Cosmic Berry Cardstock, and more gold pigment ink. I also impressed a sentiment strip onto some pearlescent gold cardstock without any ink, allowing the deep impression on the coated cardstock to create the crisp sentiment. I framed the greeting with some die cuts created using the new Zero Waste Oval Serenity Dies, arranging them in clusters around the large sentiment, finally finishing the project off with some gems and a pretty plum ribbon bow.

For my second project, I created a piece of wall art that will be gorgeous adorning the wall in my daughter’s new bathroom! I first stamped the huge floral arrangement from the new Flourishing Bouquet stamp set onto a panel of cardstock using Permanent Mist Gray ink and the Stampwheel 2.0. The Stampwheel 2.0 has a removable panel, allowing you to work with extra large stamps, giving you tons of versatility and options for creativity! I stamped the image with the pale gray ink, then used the layering stencils and ink blending tools to blend Acai Berry, Mangrove Root, Sicilian Amber, Rubellite, and Golden Honeycomb Fresh Dye Ink, creating a vibrant floral panel. To add some definition between the petals and to add veins to the foliage, I added some shiny gold paint pen lines; the shine and shimmer is just divine! I matted the 6.5″ x 8.5″ panel with some slightly larger Acai Berry cardstock, then added a full 8″ x 10″ Pearlescent Gold cardstock backer. I placed the image in a crisp white frame, and I can’t wait to hang it on the wall in my daughter’s “big girl” bathroom!

For my final project, I paired the same color palette with the new Flowering Hedge Registration Press Plate. These layered Press Plate sets are super user friendly, creating a multi-colored image with the help of the included, pre-printed acetate panel that makes lining the images up a breeze. I used Mangrove Root, Sicilian Amber, and Rubellite Fresh Dye Ink with each layer, impressing the images onto thick Betterpress cardstock. I used the coordinating dies to die cut the gorgeous floral frame, popping it up on some Cosmic Berry cardstock with foam adhesive. I used another gold and plum letterpress sentiment from the Flowering Hedge set, placing it in the center of the floral frame with a double layer of foam adhesive. I embellished the greeting pieces with some leftover Zero Waste Oval Serenity die cuts created with Cosmic Berry, Rubellite, and gold shimmer cardstock. Finally, I added a touch more sparkle with some more coordinating gems!

Well, that’s all for my projects today. Isn’t that color palette scrumptious?

Now for some fun giveaway information!

$300 in total prizes! To celebrate this release, Altenew is giving away a $100 gift certificate to 1 lucky winner and a $50 gift certificate to 4 winners! Please leave a comment on the Altenew Card Blog and/or each designer’s blog post on the blog hop list below by April 17th for a chance to win. Altenew will draw 5 random winners from the comments left on each stop of this blog hop and announce the winners on the Altenew Winners Page on April 19th, 2025.
The winner of the $100 gift certificate will be chosen from comments left on the Altenew blog.

Here’s the full hop list in case you get lost:

Thanks so much for stopping by today, and happy 11th anniversary to Altenew!

Adore Frame for Valentine’s Day with Simon Says Stamp!

February 14, 2025

This post was sponsored by Simon Says Stamp. Thanks, Simon!

Hi friends, and Happy Valentine’s Day! As a busy mom, sometimes it’s hard to get organized enough to decorate for each holiday. I am usually able to do some major Christmas decorating, and some autumnal switches, but outside of that… our decor remains pretty neutral throughout the year. I have ambitions to change that, and so have been trying to create more home decor items with my crafting supplies. I went to my local dollar store and found the most adorable wooden frames that are perfect for customizing based on the season! I want to make a series of them that we can easily switch out for each mini-holiday, starting with Valentine’s Day. I covered this frame with pink, hearts, and lots of sparkle, so let’s get started with the details!

To begin my project, I painted the wooden frame with Tim Holtz Distress Picked Raspberry Distress Paint, creating a perfectly pink base on which to decorate with my stencils and dies! As it was drying, I used Bubblegum, Taffy, and Sweets Pawsitively Saturated Inks with Dragonfruit ink from Concord and 9th to blend the sweet pattern from the Heart Banners Stencil set onto some pale pink cardstock. I love the variated shades of pink on this background!

After my frame had finished drying, I adhered the stenciled heart background panel inside (the original frame comes with a little chalkboard, but that’s easy enough to cover up with some Tear-rifically Tacky Tape!), then die cut the detail layer of the Adore die from some Magenta Glitter Cardstock and the shadow from a leftover piece of the same pale pink used for the background. I popped the sentiment up with foam adhesive, then “framed” it in with the adorable Card Corners dies cut from deep pink and more Magenta Glitter Cardstock. I adorned the wooden frame’s corners with some glittery pink Nested Round Hearts die cuts and some Bubblegum Pawsitively Dazzling Gems for extra sparkle.

Well, that’s all for my project today. This 4×6 frame is just the right size to put on a mantle or even on your desk at work! I am having so much fun customizing these simple wooden frames, and super inexpensively, too! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and Happy Valentine’s Day!

Pinkfresh Studio “Pure Bliss” Release Blog Hop

February 11, 2025

Hi friends! I am hopping along with my friends at Pinkfresh Studio to help introduce the new Pure Bliss collection for February 2025! You should have arrived here from Isha, and your next stop is Erica. You can also start at the beginning over on the Pinkfresh Studio Blog. We had about 5 days with absolutely stunning temperatures amidst the bitterly cold days, so I am channeling that springtime feeling with my projects today, adding in a bit of icy blue to cool things back down to the winter temps that came back with a vengeance. Let’s get started with the details on my projects!

For both of my projects today, I chose to work with a cool palette featuring Meadow, Wisteria, Lavender, Slumber inks, pulling in the soft blues and purples of late winter with the cheery, vibrant fresh green of early spring. The images in the new Floral Field die and stencil set reminded me so much of a field of tulips!

To begin, I die cut a panel of plain white cardstock using the new the new Floral Field die, and I even contemplated leaving it plain, allowing the beautiful debossed details to enhance the beauty of the image. I decided to pair those gorgeous ink colors with the coordinating layering stencils, however, using Pinkfresh Studio’s exceptional blending brushes to add super soft blending. I kept the purple tulips simple, concentrating the color towards the bottom of hte bloom, and kept the color concentrated at the top of the blue blooms, fading gently down into white towards the base of the bloom. For the greenery, I kept things simple with one shade of ink, only increasing or decreasing the amount of pressure used to make the images more or less vibrant.

After I had finished blending the beautiful field of flowers, I used the large blending brushes to gently blend Lavender, Slumber, and Meadow inks on a panel of plain white cardstock, concentrating the green down towards the bottom to indicate “grass,” while softly blending the blue and purple together to create a serene sky backdrop. I popped up the floral die cut on the blended background with some foam adhesive, then added a die cut Blanket Stitched Octagons frame, cut from plain white cardstock. For the greeting, I used a sentiment from the Classic Correspondence stamp set, stamping the sentiment in Lavender, then again directly over the top with embossing ink, then adding Iridescent Lavender embossing powder, which adds a delightful iridescent shimmer to the sentiment, the unique texture of which helps the sentiment to stand out amongst the matte blended background. Finally, I added a smattering of Iridescent Bubble Drops for an additional bit of shine!

For my second project, I continued my cool, springy color palette into this card featuring the new Fresh Florals stencil + die set. The new standalone floral die sets from Pinkfresh Studio are so much fun to play with, because not only do they feature Pinkfresh’s unique one-pass die design allowing you to die cut many images at once, the coordinating stencils allow you to blend multiple colors for the different blooms to create tons of versatility within each product suite! I used the same Meadow, Wisteria, Lavender, and Slumber color palette to blend the flowers and greenery from the Fresh Florals stencil set onto a panel of white cardstock. I kept the colors very light, concentrating the darkest areas around the edges of the stenciled images and fading towards the center of each bloom. I used the 1/2″ blending brushes to add some touches of Slumber on the tips of the greenery, adding some fun color gradation on the foliage. I also die cut another set of the Fresh Florals images from some Pinkfresh Studio Silver Glitter cardstock to use for the flower centers and to add some sparkling foliage to my bouquet.

For the background, I used the new Stitched Basketweave die on a panel of coordinating lavender cardstock, trimming the long edges so that I could offset the panel on a piece of coordinating cornflower blue cardstock. The Stitched Basketweave die is a crafty staple design; the neutral, consistent pattern provides lovely texture behind your focal point without detracting from it, while also keeping the backdrop subtly interesting. I popped up the basketweave strip with some thin foam adhesive and added a vellum Nested Hexagon Blanket Stitch Die cut, around which I built my bouquet of stenciled and die cut flowers. For the greeting, I stamped a sentiment from the Classic Correspondence stamp set onto some light gray cardstock using white pigment ink, then added some more Iridescent Lavender embossing powder to add luminous shimmer and a touch of subtle purple color. I die cut the sentiment with its coordinating die and tucked it amongst the flowers. Finally, I added some touches of silver with the glittering foliage, flower centers, and some Matte Silver Pearls, finishing everything off with a delicate white silk bow.

Well, that’s all for my projects today! Now for some fun giveaway information:

Pinkfresh Studio will give away the full release on the Pinkfresh blog and YouTube channel. They also will give away TEN $50 gift cards along the hop. The winners will be selected from the comments.
All winners will be posted on February 19, 2025, on our GIVEAWAY PAGE. Winners must check that page and claim their prize within 2 weeks.

Here’s the full hop list in case you get lost:

Thanks so much for stopping by today, and happy hopping!

Altenew December 2024 Blog Hop + Giveaway!

December 11, 2024

Hi friends! I am hopping along with Altenew today to celebrate their December 2024 release! You should have arrived here from Therese, and your next stop is Cathy. You can also start back at the beginning at the Altenew Blog! It is feeling like winter outside today, which is a perfect backdrop for this serene and icy blue card using some of the gorgeous new Fresh Dye Inks and the new Build-A-Garden: Dreamy Dahlias product suite. Let’s get started on the details for my project!

To begin, I stamped the bold and beautiful floral image from the new Build-A-Garden: Dreamy Dahlias product suite. This large-scale image creates a breathtakingly detailed and generously-sized floral arrangement, which you can stamp perfectly and easily using the new Stampwheel 2.0! I stamped the image using the lightest shade of blue from the new Tranquility Fresh Dye Ink quartet, then stamped directly over the top again with some sticky embossing ink and covered the entire image with gorgeous Iridescent Blue embossing powder. The combination of the colored ink base layer with the translucent, iridescent embossing powder creates an absolutely magical finished effect. Subtle, but oh so lovely.

After I had heat embossed the entire image, I used the coordinating stencils from the Build-A-Garden: Dreamy Dahlias product suite and the beautiful blues in the Tranquility Fresh Dye Ink quartet to add stenciled details to this lovely monochromatic floral image. Chinoiserie is having a moment right now in home decor, and so I was channeling that blue and white imagery with the tranquil blues on this card! After I had finished stenciling all of the layers, holding my cardstock and stencils down using the sticky mat from the Stampwheel 2.0 to make stenciling super simple and quick, I used the coordinating Add-On Die to cut the intricate floral arrangement out.

To create a simple background, I decided to add a touch of texture to my white card front using the new Terrazzo Press Plate on some plain white cardstock. Now, I am a bit of a hoarder when it comes to my “specialty” cardstock, so when working to create a background whose function is mainly to add a touch of textural interest behind my focal point, I like to use a hack that I learned from the incredibly talented Carissa Wiley. Rather than use a panel of the expensive letterpress cardstock, you can place a panel of “scrap” cardstock (I use inexpensive watercolor paper that I don’t like for watercoloring but works beautifully for this technique!) behind your panel of white or colored cardstock, tape them together using light-tack tape, then use them in your Better Press Letter Press system like you would for a normal press plate. This technique impresses the pattern into your plain cardstock, allowing you to stretch the uses for your Press Plate system even further!

I blended the lightest shade from the Tranquility Fresh Dye Ink quartet around the edges of the textured panel, then mounted my floral die cut with foam adhesive, trimming off any excess that might be hanging over the edges. I also created a sentiment with one of the greetings included with the Build-A-Garden: Dreamy Dahlias product suite, stamping it first with the darkest color from the ink suite and then again with embossing ink, covering it with the same Iridescent Blue embossing powder to create that magical shimmer and shine. I popped up the greeting with some foam adhesive, then added a white bow and some sparkling embellishments for added texture and interest!

Well, that’s all for my project today. Now for some fun giveaway information!

$300 in total prizes! To celebrate this release, Altenew is giving away a $100 gift certificate to 1 lucky winner and a $50 gift certificate to 4 winners! Please leave a comment on the Altenew Card Blog and/or each designer’s blog post on the blog hop list below by December 17th for a chance to win. Altenew will draw 5 random winners from the comments left on each stop of this blog hop and announce the winners on the Altenew Winners Page on December 19th, 2024.
The winner of the $100 gift certificate will be chosen from comments left on the Altenew blog.

Here’s the full hop list in case you get lost:

Thanks so much for stopping by today, and happy hopping!

Hero Arts July Release Blog Hop + Giveaway!

July 1, 2024

Hi friends! Hero Arts is releasing their new collection for July 2024, and we are hopping along to celebrate! You can get the full hop list HERE on the Hero Arts Blog. You can view the full July Release HERE. I am so excited to be hopping along with Hero Arts today, as they are celebrating their 50th anniversary throughout 2024. Such an amazing company! I was lucky to be part of the Creative Team for Hero Arts for several years, and it’s such a joy to join in now as a guest. I have a pair of pretty ocean-themed cards today using the new release, so let’s get started with the details!

Hero Arts has made some changes to their monthly releases, giving you several options for subscriptions, depending on your favorite ways to create! You can check out the full post over on the Hero Arts blog to see all of the details on these new subscriptions. I did some mixing and matching with the new July Layering Stencil of the Month, the sweet sandcastle dies from the July Card Kit of the Month, and some older products that work so beautifully with these ocean-themed goodies.

For my first card, I created a sweet shaker card using the July Layering Stencil of the Month, which creates a fun ocean background using four different stencils. I blended Mist, Paradise, and Bermuda inks with the layering stencils, then added some light blending around the edges of the A2 panel using Paradise ink, creating a bit of a spotlight on the center of the patterned panel. I used some leftover stamp packaging to create the pocket for the flat shaker card, then filled it with some coordinating blue and white sequins. These flat shaker cards are such fun and such an interesting way to use an entire blended background!

For the front of the card, I stamped a greeting from Sea Quotes using Bermuda ink, then stamped over the top with embossing ink and added some Iridescent Blue embossing powder for added shimmer and shine. I also stamped and embossed the “you’re amazing” from Message Strips. To add a little more textural interest and sparkle to the front of the card, I added a few glittery white die cuts from the older standalone Sea Creatures die set. I popped the sentiment die cuts up with some foam adhesive, then added the glittery accent die cuts with some liquid adhesive to add multiple layers of height.

For my second card, I paired the adorable standalone sandcastle dies from the July Card Kit of the Month with some alcohol marker coloring and another sentiment from the Sea Quotes set. I die cut the sandcastle dies from plain white cardstock and used OLO Markers to color the images with grays and aquas. I used the fine tip of the brush point to add some “grains of sand” texture to the bottom of the sandcastle… I don’t know if there is actually gray sand anywhere in the world, but I’m going to take some artistic license here! I colored the bucket, shovel, and a few extra seashells and starfish cut using the Sea Creatures die set.

For the card base, I blended some Mist ink in the center of my white A2 card panel, then splattered the background with sparkling handmade watercolors for extra texture. I used another stamped and embossed sentiment from Sea Quotes and Message Strips, then arranged all of the die cuts in a cluster over the blended, splattered area. I adhered the different pieces with both foam adhesive and liquid adhesive, creating multiple layers of height. The final touch was to add a few sparkling gems to fill in a few of the blank spaces!

Well, that’s all for my projects today. Now for some fun giveaway information:

Hero Arts will give away a $50 gift card, drawn from the comments left across the hop. Enter by Sunday, July 7th at 11:59pm Pacific, and the winner will be announced on the Hero Arts blog the following week.

You can see the full hop list HERE on the Hero Arts Blog. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!