layered stencil

Altenew March 2023 Stampwheel Release Blog Hop + Giveaway ($300 in Total Prizes!)

March 30, 2023

Good morning! Today is the day… the long-ancitipated Stampwheel from Altenew is finally officially here! This exciting new tool debuted at NAMTA last spring, and is finally available to preorder! The Stampwheel is an innovative, multi-purpose tool, making stamping, stenciling, and blending super easy. We are doing a blog hop today to share lots of fun inspiration on how to use this new crafty tool! You can see the full hop list below or on the Altenew Card Blog.

After some experimenting with the Stampwheel, I found that the most unique way to use it was with layering stencils, a product category that Altenew does so very well! I sometimes find stencils to be a bit futzy to create with, having to fuss with washi tape, adhesive sprays, magnets etc, in order to achieve crisp blending, but the amazing photopolymer Stage (the base) on the Stampwheel creates an “adhesive” background upon which your card base can adhere cleanly and easily, while your stencil adheres to the photopolymer around your card base

For my project today, I created a card using the beautiful Greenwood Flowers layering stencil set. I began by placing my A2 card front on the photopolymer Stage of the Stampwheel. This Stage is basically a giant photopolymer stamp, flat on one side and gridded lines on the other. The flat “sticky” side is the side upon which you adhere your cardstock; if it becomes less sticky, simply wipe it with clean water and allow it to air dry, just like you would your regular photopolymer stamps! I adhered the white card front in the center of the photopolymer Stage, then placed my stencils over the top and did my ink blending. The sticky surface of the Stage creates a perfect seal around the entirety of card front so that your stencil will be hard pressed to move whilst you’re blending! No need to fuss with washi tape, adhesive spray, or copy paper anymore. So easy!

After I had quickly blended my floral pattern on my card front, I wanted to create a color-coordinated sentiment by using the same purple inks that I used for my flowers. I die cut the Fancy For You from some white cardstock, then adhered it to the Stage. I then used my blending brushes to blend the Shades of Purple inks over the plain white die cut while it was still attached to the Stage. This die cut is super intricate and a bit finicky for ink blending, so normally to do this I would have to keep it in the negative space and add washi tape to the back to keep the die cut from moving, but being able to adhere it to the Stampwheel’s Stage made the process super quick and simple! Once I had finished ink blending, I used Altenew’s Stamp Cleaner and a microfiber cloth to whisk away any remnants of ink left on the photopolymer. It worked beautifully! I did have some staining from some red ink on a different project, but it doesn’t affect the stickiness at all. It just looks well-loved.

Once I had finished all of my ink blending, I die cut a label shape from the Labels and Tags 2 die set using some heavyweight vellum. The opaque die cut softens the background pattern to allow the blended sentiment die cut to stand out. I adhered the greeting to the vellum, then flipped it over and added some foam tape to the solid areas on the back side of the vellum, hiding the adhesive to keep it from marring the vellum. I added a few glittery butterflies cut using the Mix and Match Mariposa dies and Dazzling Diamond glitter cardstock. A few minty green gems finished it off. Colorful, springy, and pops of sparkle scream spring!

Well, that’s all for my project using the brand new Stampwheel! This new tool is sure to be an excellent addition to your crafty bag of tricks, with some super unique uses that make it a great complement to the tools you already have in your craft room. The current stock is already sold out, but the next round of Stampwheel products are available for preorder! Click HERE to see all of the details.

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 $20 gift certificate to 10 winners! Please leave a comment on the Altenew Card Blog and/or each designer’s blog post on the blog hop list below by 04/05/2023 for a chance to win. Altenew will draw 11 random winners from the comments left on each stop of this blog hop and announce the winners on the Altenew Winners Page on 04/07/2023.*The winner of the $100 gift certificate will be chosen from comments left on the Altenew blog.

Here’s the full hop list:

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

Altenew March 2023 Marvelous Monthly Series Release Blog Hop #1 + Giveaway ($300 in Total Prizes!)

March 17, 2023

Good morning! Today, the folks at Altenew are hopping along to celebrate the newest Marvelous Monthly release for March, 2023! These monthly subscription series are always such fun and a great value, providing so many different elements to create a huge variety of stunning cards. I have two cards to share with you today, featuring the new Build-A-Garden: Dancing Poppies and Craft Your Life Project Kit: Delicate Garden. Here’s a peek at the two different sets that I’ll be using today:

I love that you receive so many different elements in each kit so that you can mix and match, depending on what kind of coloring medium (or none at all!) that you feel like using that day! If you are loving these kits as much as I am, you can always SUBSCRIBE to be sure that you receive a kit each month (and at a discount!). Let’s get started on the details for my projects today!

I love the juxtaposition of crisp black accents and softly colored flowers, and it was this color combination that I had in mind when creating both of these cards. I used Spicy Yogurt cardstock with coral, peach, and mint with intense black accents to create this pair of cards!

For my first card, I stamped the images from Dancing Poppies onto some watercolor paper using Obsidian pigment ink, then clear embossed over the top, which helps to add a level of crispness to the stamping. I used the Artists’ 24 Pan Watercolor Set to add some soft pinky coral to the poppy flowers and some pale minty green to the leaves. I used the one-and-done die to die cut all of the watercolored flowers.

For the background, I wanted to highlight those shiny black lines and dramatic black centers on the watercolored poppies, so I layered together the Rattan Stripes Cover Die twice from some black cardstock, then the Garden Trellis cover plate cut once from black cardstock, to create this unique, super textured, layered background. I adhered all three pieces to a Spicy Yogurt cardstock base using liquid adhesive.

For the greeting, I die cut the “thanks” Sweet Sentiment dies from black and Spicy Yogurt cardstock to coordinate nicely with the creamy background and the watercolor paper itself. I arranged the flowers on my rattan card front, popping them up with Instant Dimension Foam Tape, then added the greeting at the bottom. The final step was to add some gems for sparkle!

My second project features the stunning new Craft Your Life Project Kit: Delicate Garden. I began by stamping all of the floral images in the stamp set using Obsidian pigment ink, then clear embossed over the top to again create those super crisp black lines on my white cardstock. I used the coordinating stencils included in the kit to do some subtle, soft ink blending, creating peachy and minty bouquets using Strawberry, Pink Pearl, Coral Bliss, and Coral Berry inks for the flowers, and Green Meadows inks for the foliage. I die cut all of the blended flowers using the coordinating dies, included with the kit.

I loved each of the floral bouquets so much that I couldn’t bear to leave one off of the card, so I expanded my canvas and created a slimline card front to display them all properly! I created the base from more Spicy Yogurt cardstock, then die cut a large Nesting Slim Labels panel, upon which I stamped some of the floral bouquets again using Obsidian pigment ink, then clear embossed over the top. I popped up the embossed label die cut on the slimline card front using some more Instant Dimension Foam Tape, then arranged the blended florals in a pretty swag down the front of the card. I adhered the bouquet with more foam tape, to create a double layer of foam tape along the edges of the die cut. So much height!

I heat embossed the greetings from the Delicate Garden using the Obsidian and clear embossing powder combination, then fussy cut them with my sharp scissors. I popped those images up from the card front using yet another layer of foam tape, for a grand total of three layers of foam tape in the center of the card! Definitely a card to be hand delivered or placed inside a package, ha. Finally, I added a few black crystals for one last pop of black and touch of sparkle.

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

$300+ in total prizes! To celebrate this release, Altenew is giving away a FULL RELEASE BUNDLE to 1 grand prize winner and a $25 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 March 23, 2023 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 March 24, 2023. *The grand prize winner will be chosen from comments left on the Altenew Card Blog.

Here’s the full hop list:

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

Pinkfresh Studio Challenge for February 2023-Stripes and Plaid!

February 7, 2023

It’s a new month, so it’s time for a new Pinkfresh Studio challenge! This month, we’re focusing on plaid and stripes– some of my favorite patterns! I feel like stripes and plaid are both neutrals and the perfect companion to flowers, which we know are basically my favorite. I hadn’t had an opportunity to use the new Floral Outline Die yet, and it reminded me so much of crocheted lace on a baby blanket that I thought it would be perfect paired with some plaid stenciling! Let’s get started with the details.

I began by die cutting the Floral Outline Die from some of Spellbinders’s White Glitter Foam. I wanted extra dimension, and normally would have used multiple die cuts glued together. This die is so intricate, however, that I didn’t feel like poking the tiny pieces out from multiple die cuts. A couple of passes through my die cut machine with this foam and I have a sparkling, ready-made dimensional die cut!

To continue the crocheted baby blanket theme, I blended the Ballet Slipper, Apricot, and Lemon Whip inks with the Dainty Plaid layered stencil set. Sometimes I can be a bit heavy-handed with my ink blending (I can be a tad impatient; it’s a problem), so the blended plaid came out a bit brighter than I intended. It was easily fixed, however, by layering an A2 panel of vellum over the top, which immediately softened the colors! I adhered the glittery foam lace over the top of the vellum, then flipped it over and added tiny dots of adhesive on the back of the vellum, hiding them behind the solid spots of the foam die cut that I had already adhered. Soft, springy, and because the pink ink was softened so much by the vellum, basically gender-neutral!

For the greeting, I used a hot foiled Sentiment Suite: Hello die cut, which I had previously hot foiled on white cardstock using Champagne hot foil and die cut with the coordinating die. I also die cut the “baby” from some more white cardstock using the Jeff Alpha die set. I arranged the sentiment die cuts on the card front, adhering them with foam tape for extra dimension. Finally, I added some Peach Fuzz gems to the center of the larger flowers to add a bit more sparkle!

Well, that’s all for my project today! The Pinkfresh Studio February 2023 Challenge runs through Tuesday, February 28. The winner will be announced on March 4, 2023! Pinkfresh Studio is giving a $50 shopping spree to the winner, so it definitely can pay to participate. I hope you’ll check it out! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!

Hero Arts February 2023 My Monthly Hero Kit+NEW Premium Kit Launch+Giveaway!

February 6, 2023

Happy Monday, friends! Today is an extra fun Monday, because it’s Hero Arts Premium My Monthly Hero Kit launch day, and we’re celebrating with a blog hop! You should have arrived here from Dana Joy, and your next stop is Ilina Crouse. The new Premium Kit features all of the goodies that you love each month from the My Monthly Hero kit with some fabulous extras to give you even more amazing creative options and extend the fun!

Here’s a peek at this month’s Classic My Monthly Hero Kit:

And here’s a peek at the new Premium Kit:

So many wonderful goodies in each kit, but the new Premium Kit has even more incredible value with those gorgeous (and super plentiful) new dies and coordinating rub-ons! As a fun bonus for current subscribers (people who subscribed before January 31), you will receive the Premium Kit upgrade for free to try it out! If you’re interested in subscribing, here are a few details as to why a subscription might be a good route to take for you:

You can check out the subscription packages HERE.

I have three projects to share with you today, so let’s get started with the details!

My first two projects use items from the Classic My Monthly Hero Kit and the Premium Kit in a lovely, feminine color combination of Peony, Pink Grapefruit, and Pale Tomato. I blended several panels using this combination in various levels of intensity using Ink Blending Brushes from Hero Arts.

My first project uses elements from the Classic My Monthly Hero Kit. I die cut the beautiful, super detailed window die from the center of one of the lightly blended panels, then used the coordinating layering stencils with the same Peony, Pink Grapefruit, and Pale Tomato shades of ink to create a very subtle, monochromatic blend on the die cut areas.

To add a little extra shimmer and interest to the card front, I used a blending brush to add Embossing Ink (that I’ve dedicated only to use with my Embossing Ink by labeling the back of it) for the top detailed layer of stencils, then pounced some shimmery pigment powder over the top of the sticky ink, combining Perfect Pearls Gold and Pink Gumball. I love using Embossing Ink with stencils-it adds such a fun and interesting element to your layered stencil cards!

For the window opening, I decided to use another super lightly blended panel of cardstock, heat embossing one of the greetings from the included 3×4 stamp set with gold embossing powder in the center of the blended A2 panel. I did some second generation stamping with the little butterfly stamp that is also included in the 3×4 stamp set. I inked up the butterfly with some Pale Tomato ink, stamped it off once on some scratch paper, then stamped it on the blended sentiment panel so that the butterflies looked like they were fluttering behind the sentiment in the sunset. I popped the stenciled die cut panel up with some foam tape over the top of the sentiment panel, popping the wings of the partially-die-cut butterflies up a bit for extra dimension!

My second project features some of the super detailed Fancy Dies from the Premium Kit. These dies are super versatile because they come with a removable detail layer as well as the simple outline frame, which coordinates with the rub-ons that are included in the Premium Kit . I die cut several of the detailed butterflies from some brushed gold foil cardstock and gold glitter cardstock.

For the card base, I wanted to create an ethereal, feminine, mixed-media feel, so I stamped the script background stamp from the new Background Texture Strips stamp set on the more vibrant of the blended background panels using Embossing Ink, again pouncing the Perfect Pearls Gold and Pink Gumball mixture to create subtle shimmer on my background. I also mixed some water in with the pigment powder and splattered it, along with some gold watercolor, on the card front for lots of artsy sparkle and shimmer. To add one final layer of interest and color to the background, I used the butterfly and diamond stamps from the small stamp set in the Kit, stamping full strength on the bottom and stamping off once as the background blending became lighter in color. So many layers on this background!

I popped up the golden butterflies with some foam tape, slightly curving the wings up to add extra dimension. I heat embossed a greeting from that same small stamp set (it packs a lot of punch for only a 3×4 stamp set!) using gold embossing powder, then trimmed it with my sharp scissors and added some coordinating blending to the bottom and edges. A few shiny gems added a bit more sparkle and texture!

My last card today uses a couple of the add-ons. I loved the combination of the shiny gold, Peony, and Pale Tomato inks, so I kept that color scheme going throughout this card, as well! I began by heat embossing the beautiful new Fluttering Butterflies Bold Prints stamp onto an A2 panel of white cardstock. I then blended Peony ink at the top and Pale Tomato ink at the bottom, slackening my pressure towards the center of the card so that the colors blended beautifully together in a smooth ombré.

Next, I heat embossed some of the super detailed butterflies from the aptly-named Beautiful Butterflies stamp set, embossing them in gold on some of Hero Arts’s Vellum cardstock and die cutting them with the coordinating dies (which you can purchase in a bundle with the stamp set HERE). I love using vellum for images like butterflies… I think it makes them so light and ethereal! I also heat embossed a greeting from the new Monarch and Milkweed bundle, die cutting it with the coordinating dies.

I die cut a glittery gold frame using the Museum Frame Fancy Die and popped it up on the blended butterfly background using foam adhesive. I arranged the butterflies so that they were fluttering on the card front, adding some tiny pieces of foam tape behind the solid embossed portions to keep the translucent vellum as clean as possible. I also added the blended greeting die cut, tucking it amongst the fluttering butterflies. The final touch was a few shimmering iridescent pink pearls for some more shine and texture!

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, February 12th at 11:59pm Pacific, and the winner will be announced on the Hero Arts blog the following week.

The new February Collection from Hero Arts is a marvelous array of products that has something for everyone-and the new Premium Kit is going to add so many more options to your crafty time! Your next stop is Ilina Crouse. Thanks so much for reading today, and happy hopping!

Pinkfresh Studio January 2023 Stamp+Die+Stencil+Hot Foil Plate Release Blog Hop + Giveaway!

January 23, 2023

Good morning, and happy Monday! Today, Pinkfresh Studio is hopping along to celebrate their first new release of the brand new year! I am always delighted to work with Pinkfresh Studio products, but it’s even more exciting for me when I get to use stamps that I’ve illustrated. The new Wonderful In Every Way is one of my most favorite illustrations that I’ve created, and I’m so excited to finally see it in a tangible stamp. And, bonus, Pinkfresh Studio has even created a coordinating hot foil plate to complement the stamp, die, and layering stencils, and I will share another project using that product tomorrow. Today, I have two projects to share using new goodies from this month’s new release using my current color combination obsession. Let’s get started with the details!

Both of my cards today feature bold, dramatic black backgrounds with brightly colored flowers as the focal point. In order to keep my color scheme as cohesive as possible, when coloring, I go one step further by coloring around the edge of my colored image with a black marker. This helps to visually keep the color scheme for both cards as true as possible, avoiding that white outline that detracts from the overall color scheme.

My first card uses the beautiful new Floral Trio stamp, die, and stencil suite. I began by stamping the main floral image from the Floral Trio stamp set onto some white cardstock using black pigment ink, then clear embossed over the top. I like to do this especially with images that will be stenciled, because the clear embossing powder seals the black lines and prevents them from smudging while blending.

I paired the Floral Trio Layering Stencils with Peach Fuzz, Coral Reef, Passion Fruit, Olive, and Evergreen inks from Pinkfresh Studio, using a light touch and some soft blending brushes to achieve a more subtle effect. I can be somewhat heavy-handed sometimes when it comes to ink blending, so I made special effort to use a light touch with these images, and I love the result with the soft peachy flowers and fresh green foliage! I used a black copic marker around the edge of the finished blended flowers, then used the coordinating die to die cut the floral bouquet.

When I am working with new hot foil products, I always try to hot foil with several different colors of foil and cardstock, so that I have lots of options when the time actually comes to start creating with the new goodies. I had hot foiled the beautiful new Floral Lace Hot Foil image onto some black cardstock using matte platinum hot foil from Spellbinders, and I had also hot foiled the greetings from the new Wonderful Sentiments Hot Foil set using the same matte platinum foil so that the two designs could work together nicely. I trimmed down my hot foiled panel, then popped it up on an A2 black card front using foam adhesive.

I added a sparkly black glitter foam die cut border cut using an Essentials: Lacey Edgers die. I adhered the floral bouquet to the card front with some more foam tape, creating a double layer of height, then added the greeting (creating a triple layer of foam-eek!) and a few Champagne Glitter Drops for some sparkle! I love how adding that simple black edge around the die cut makes those lovely peachy blooms pop from the dramatic dark background. Such a simple step, but I think it makes the card so much more interesting.

My second project features my new Wonderful In Every Way stamps and the coordinating dies. I wanted to do some simple watercoloring to show how much fun these stamps are to color! Because I had already hot foiled my black and platinum sentiments using that matte platinum hot foil and the Wonderful Sentiments Hot Foil, I heat embossed the large poppy image from Wonderful In Every Way using platinum sparkle embossing powder, which matches the platinum foil beautifully, onto some Arches cold press watercolor paper.

I taped the panel down to my watercolor board and used my Daniel Smith paints in shades of bright coral and red with olive green for the foliage to watercolor the large, open image. I love how easy the watercoloring for this image can be; the large petals of the flower and simple foliage help simplify the coloring process and give you plenty of area in which to work with those nooks and crannies! I used a black Karin watercolor marker to color around the edges of my image before die cutting, again using that black die cut edge to keep the color scheme true.

For the card base, I heat embossed the poppy image from Wonderful In Every Way along the edge of a black A2 card front using the same sparkling platinum embossing powder. This adds almost a lacy effect to the background, creating an intricate pattern, but maintaining the dramatic black and not adding any extra colors to the background helps to keep the focus on those watercolored poppies.

I die cut a coordinating platinum foil frame using the Fancy Circles die. I popped up the circle on the black embossed background using foam tape, then added the watercolored floral die cut over the top, allowing the simply embossed images on the card front to peek out from behind the colorful watercolored image. I added another greeting from the Wonderful Sentiments Hot Foil set, which I also die cut with the coordinating dies. The last touch was a few sparkling Champagne Glitter Drops.

Well, that’s all for my projects today! I have another project for you tomorrow, featuring my new Wonderful In Every Way Hot Foil Plate with the layering stencils, so I hope you will come back tomorrow to take a peek.

Now for some fun giveaway information! Pinkfresh Studio is giving away their full release over on the Pinkfresh Studio Blog and YouTube channel, as well as ten $25 gift cards to the shop drawn from comments left along the hop! Simply leave a comment at each stop on the hop to be eligible to win! Winners will be announced on the Pinkfresh Studio Blog on January 31, 2023.

Here’s the full list of hop participants:

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