Carrie's Custom Cards

Thursday, July 17, 2025

Elegant Bows Birthday Card

My father-in-law's birthday was earlier this month, and I made him this masculine birthday card to celebrate.

I started by creating an A2 card base out of heavyweight white cardstock. Then I watercolored some watercolor paper and trimmed it just smaller than the front of the card base.

For the presents, I used Altenew's Fine Frames: Squares Die Set. It die cuts squares with very thin frames around them in several different sizes. I used the inner squares as the gifts and trimmed the thin frames to become the strings on the gifts.

For the bows, I used the new Elegant Bows set by Altenew that includes an embossing folder, stencil set, and coordinating die. I chose three of the bows for my little presents and added them to the gifts. I arranged the little gifts using both Art Glitter glue and Altenew's Instant Dimension Foam tape.

I've recently become an affiliate for Altenew, so if you are interested in ordering something lovely from Altenew and would like to use my link, thank you very much! Here's the link: Carrie's Altenew affiliate page

Challenges I'm entering:

July 2025 Inspiration Challenge - Butterfly Greetings – Altenew

****Pammie's Inky Pinkies**** **********Challenges**********:ATG (1/3; ends 7/21/25) C10

The Paper Funday Challenges: ATG with optional twist of fun with stencils (I used stencils to color the bows on the presents) (4/6; ends at the end of the month)

Word Art Wednesday: ATG (2/5 for the week; 2/10 for the challenge; ends 7/31/25)

A Place To Start: ATG with option of using vellum (3/8; ends at the end of the month)

613 Avenue Create: ATG with optional twist of any holiday (3/8; ends at the end of the month)

Lil Patch of Crafty Friends Challenge ...: ATG (3/3; ends 7/18/25)

Allsorts challenge blog: For a child or ATG (3/5; ends 7/17/25)

Classic Design Challenge Blog: ATG (unlimited entries; ends 8/12/25)

A Perfect Time To Craft Open Challenge: ATG (unlimited entries; ends at the end of the month)

No more challenges.

Amorous Dream Sympathy Card

One of my husband's aunts passed away this past weekend, and I created several sympathy cards for her husband and each of her 3 daughters. I'm working on sympathy cards for all her siblings, too. Her confirmation verse was John 3:16, and that was the text the pastor taught on during her service, so I plan to include a bookmark with that verse on it inside the sympathy cards. Her funeral was a celebration of her life and the legacy of love for Jesus and love for her family and community. Our family will miss her sweet smile and kind heart.

For this card, I followed a tutorial by Lynn Dunn here: 4-Panel Z Fold Card Design - Lynn Dunn - Stamptastic Designs LLC. I trimmed all my papers (all papers used on this card were from Your Paper Insider's Box 11. I was a Guest Designer for that box and am still using all the pretty papers in it) according to Lynn's measurements and then set about decorating the card. I used Altenew's Stencil Art: Amorous Dream and coordinating die to die cut and then stencil the roses and leaves. I attached my flowers to the front of the card using Altenew's Instant Dimension Foam Tape.

For the inside of the card, I stamped "Heartfelt Sympathy" onto the same cardstock I used for the card base using Altenew's Craft-Your-Life: Bewitching Rose project kit. Then I stamped "praying for you" onto the same cardstock using Altenew's Craft-Your-Life: Casual Bouquets project kit. I added the sentiments to the inside panels of the card and then finished the card off using 3 enamel dots from Altenew's Whispering Woodland Enamel Dot collection.

Papers from Your Paper Inside Box 11: Deep Blue Ruche, Pale Blue Thai Unryu, Mist Colorplan, Fairway Metallic Stardream.

Challenges I'm entering:

July 2025 Inspiration Challenge - Butterfly Greetings – Altenew

Creative Creases #105: ATG with a fun fold project (I'm on the DT so just entering this card for fun)

The Paper Funday Challenges: ATG with optional twist of fun with stencils (3/6; ends at the end of the month)

Word Art Wednesday: ATG (1/5 for the week; 1/10 for the challenge; ends 7/31/25)

Crazy is our fame - STENCILS are our game!: ATG with option of using your flag colors (3/3; ends at the end of the month)

A Place To Start: ATG with option of using vellum (2/8; ends at the end of the month)

613 Avenue Create: ATG with optional twist of any holiday (2/8; ends at the end of the month)

Lil Patch of Crafty Friends Challenge ...: ATG (2/3; ends 7/18/25)

We Love to Create mixed media Challenge Blog...sponsored by Polkadoodles: ATG (2/2; ends at the end of the month)

Beautiful Blossoms Challenge: ATG with flowers as the focus (1/6; ends 8/12/25)

Polkadoodles Cardmaking, Craft & Scrapbooking Challenge: ATG (2/4; ends at the end of the month)

Allsorts challenge blog: For a child or ATG (2/5; ends 7/17/25)

Do-Al(l) Creative - CHALLENGE BLOG: #103 - Gate Fold Card: ATG with option of Gatefold card (2/3; ends at the end of the month)

fourseasons: ATG Summer (ends at the end of the month)

Paper Rocks Scissors: ATG with paper and/or scissors (4/5; ends at the end of the month)

Mix It Up Challenge Blog: ATG with optional Mixed Media (4/5; ends at the end of August)

Love To Craft Challenge Blog: ATG (4/5; ends at the end of August)

Classic Design Challenge Blog: ATG (unlimited entries; ends 8/12/25)

A Perfect Time To Craft Open Challenge: ATG (unlimited entries; ends at the end of the month)

Thursday, July 10, 2025

Geranium Gatefold Birthday Card

July is a big month for birthdays in my family, so I've been making a lot of fun birthday cards. I made this gatefold card for my sister-in-law's birthday earlier this week.

I started my card by creating a sand-colored gatefold card base that was 5 by 7 inches. Then, I used Altenew's Phthalo Green from the Palette Perfection Artists' Watercolor Tube Bundle to paint watercolor cardstock. After it dried, I trimmed the painted cardstock to fit both sides of the gatefold and embossed the panels using the 3D embossing folder from Altenew's Craft-Your-Life: Elegant Motifs set. I layered orange cardstock behind the green panels.

I used Altenew's Stencil Art: Painted Geraniums and coordinating die set to create 2 of the Painted Geraniums. I added one to the front of the card to see where I needed to cut it and then used my paper trimmer to cut the image into 2 sections for the gatefold panels. I added the image with Altenew's Instant Dimension Foam Tape. Then I stamped "Happy Birthday" from Altenew's Craft-Your-Life: Bewitching Rose project kit and trimmed the words to then pop up on foam tape on the front panels of the card. To finish the front of the card, I trimmed some of the second Painted Geraniums image to fit on the front of the orange belly band I created to hold the card shut.

For the inside of the card, I stamped the floral image from the same Bewitching Rose set I used for the sentiment onto orange cardstock using Altenew's Orange Cream Crisp Dye Ink. I stamped part of the image on the top left and part of the image on the bottom right. Then I added more pieces of the Painted Geranium image that I trimmed to fit the other corners. I finished the inside by stamping "have a lovely day" from Altenew's Craft-Your-Life: Casual Bouquets project kit.

My sister-in-law loved her card when I took her out to lunch to celebrate her birthday, and she was especially delighted that I brought her a bag of sweet cherries I had picked at an orchard near my house the day before. It's cherry season in my area of Michigan right now, and I can eat them like candy! I feel like sweet cherries are a hug straight from the Lord!

Challenges I'm entering:

Creative Creases #105: ATG with a fun fold project (I'm on the DT so just entering this card for fun)

The Paper Funday Challenges: ATG with optional twist of fun with stencils (2/6; ends at the end of the month)

Word Art Wednesday: ATG (1/5 for the week; 4/10 for the challenge; ends 7/17/25)

simonsaysstampblog.com/wednesdaychallenge/: Emboss it (1/5; ends 7/16/25)

Crazy is our fame - STENCILS are our game!: ATG with option of using your flag colors

A Place To Start: ATG with option of using vellum (1/8; ends at the end of the month)

simonsaysstampblog.com/mondaychallenge/: Fun with paint (1/5; ends 7/14/25)

613 Avenue Create: ATG with optional twist of any holiday (1/8; ends at the end of the month)

Lil Patch of Crafty Friends Challenge ...: ATG (1/3; ends 7/18/25)

We Love to Create mixed media Challenge Blog...sponsored by Polkadoodles: ATG (1/2; ends at the end of the month)

Beautiful Blossoms Challenge: ATG with flowers as the focus (5/6; ends 7/12/25)

Polkadoodles Cardmaking, Craft & Scrapbooking Challenge: ATG (1/4; ends at the end of the month)

Allsorts challenge blog: For a child or ATG (1/5; ends 7/17/25)

Do-Al(l) Creative - CHALLENGE BLOG: #103 - Gate Fold Card: ATG with option of Gatefold card (1/3; ends at the end of the month)

Tic Tac Toe Challenge - Inspiring creativity 8-ways each week Foliage, layers, flowers (3/3; ends 7/17/25)

fourseasons: ATG Summer (ends at the end of the month)

Paper Rocks Scissors: ATG with paper and/or scissors (3/5; ends at the end of the month)

Mix It Up Challenge Blog: ATG with optional Mixed Media (3/5; ends at the end of August)

Love To Craft Challenge Blog: ATG (3/5; ends at the end of August)

Crafts Galore Encore Challenge Blog: ATG (3/3; ends at the end of the month)

Classic Design Challenge Blog: ATG (unlimited entries; ends 7/12/25)

A Perfect Time To Craft Open Challenge: ATG (unlimited entries; ends at the end of the month)

Art Impressions Blog: SPRITZ, SPLATTER AND PAINT! Challenge #407 (2/2; ends 7/16/25)

Friday, July 4, 2025

Congrats Mixed Media Card

I recently attended a great mixed media class taught by Altenew Educator Carrianne Banul. It was fun to play with stencils, paste, ink, and metallic thread! Everyone in the class had a unique card, and I loved seeing everyone's take on Carrieanne's techniques.

I started by spritzing Altenew Warm Sunshine Metallic Shimmer Ink Spray on 2 watercolor panels cut to A2 size. Then I spritzed some Brutus Monroe Coral Chroma Mist onto the panels. I really love the combination of Yellow and Coral together!

For the panel that would become the card front, I spread Altenew's Brushed Pyrite Shimmer Relief Paste through Altenew's Scattered Tiles stencil and then used my heat tool on it to dry it slightly. Normally I would have left it to dry overnight, but we were doing everything in real time during the class, and the instructor also stamped over her shimmer relief paste before it was dry. The stamping actually left a cool impression in the paste that looks like tiny dots since I was using Altenew's Dotted Pinwheel stamp to stamp in random spots on the panel.

The next step was to add a flower die cut and a sentiment to the panel, but I felt like my Craft-A-Flower: Daisy got lost against the similarly colored background. I decided to try out a new die set I just purchased recently called Fine Frames: Squares from Altenew. It die cuts a very thin frame as well as the inner square, and so I used it on black mixed media cardstock I had sprayed with Altenew's Antique Gold Shimmer Ink Spray as well as on plain black cardstock. I die cut two layers of the plain black cardstock, adhered them together, and then adhered the frame from the sprayed mixed media cardstock around the plain black square. I added black metallic thread with foam tape and then popped up the daisy onto the foam tape.

For the "congrats" sentiment, I die cut the words "congrats" twice out of black cardstock using Altenew's Versatile Greetings 2 set and adhered the die cuts together. Then I trimmed the word into 4 sections and adhered them to the card beside the daisy.

For the inside of the card, I took the other piece of watercolor cardstock I had sprayed with Warm Sunshine and Coral sprays and stamped "You...are amazing, inspire me every day, are shining" using sentiments from Altenew's Vintage Garden. Then I added a gold die cut from Altenew's Zero Waste: Berries & Branches die to finish the inside of the card.

This special congrats card is going to my oldest daughter. She recently competed in the Cheese Monger Invitational in New York City and took first place in two of the events. I'm so proud of her for all the hard work she did to prepare for the contest and for her bravery to go to NYC and compete. She is on the spectrum, and events with unfamiliar people in unfamiliar places are extra tough.

Inside the card:

Challenges I'm entering:

fourseasons: ATG Summer (ends at the end of the month)

Paper Rocks Scissors: ATG with paper and/or scissors (2/5; ends at the end of the month)

Mix It Up Challenge Blog: ATG with optional Mixed Media (2/5; ends at the end of August)

Love To Craft Challenge Blog: ATG (2/5; ends at the end of August)

Crafts Galore Encore Challenge Blog: ATG (2/3; ends at the end of the month)

Classic Design Challenge Blog: ATG (unlimited entries; ends 7/12/25)

A Perfect Time To Craft Open Challenge: ATG (unlimited entries; ends at the end of the month)

Art Impressions Blog: SPRITZ, SPLATTER AND PAINT! Challenge #407 (ends 7/16/25)

Cardz 4 Galz: Welcome to summer (1/3; ends 7/9/25)

Crazy is our fame - STENCILS are our game!: ATG with stencils; optional theme to add your flag colors (1/3; ends at the end of the month)

Tic Tac Toe Challenge - Inspiring creativity 8-ways each week Layers (I have layers of sprays, paste, and stamping), free, summer colors (2/3; ends 7/17/25)

Word Power: ATG with words as the focus (1/3; ends at the end of the month)

Creative Fingers Challenge Blog: ATG (3/3; ends 7/11/25)

Crafty Catz: ATG (3/3; ends 7/11/25)

Word Art Wednesday: ATG (3/5 for the week; 3/10 for the challenge; ends 7/16/25)

The Paper Funday Challenges: ATG with optional twist of Fun with Stencils (I used a stencil with Shimmer Relief Paste on my card) (1/6; ends at the end of the month)

simonsaysstampblog.com/wednesdaychallenge/: Sending Flowers (2/5; ends 7/9/25)

little red wagon: Bold or bright colors (ends 7/8/25)

Poinsettia Corner Tuck Fold Card

I don't know about you, but I always enjoy a Christmas in July card! It's swelteringly hot and humid here in Michigan, so it's nice to think about cooler temps!

For the Corner Tuck Fold card design, I followed Susan Campfield's tutorial here: Pretty in Pink! Corner Tuck Fold Card with the Coneflower Celebration! I used Altenew's Perfect Poinsettias 3D embossing folder, Altenew's Poinsettia 3D die set, and Altenew's Fancy Peace die for all the embossing and die cutting on the card. I also used Altenew's Instant Dimension Foam Tape for some of the layers on the poinsettia to give the poinsettia quite a bit of dimension.

To finish the card, I added a few CTMH gold sparkle dots.

Here's where the side of the panel with the poinsettia gets tucked into the embossed corner panel. The embossed panel has Instant Dimension Foam Tape on the outside edges but no tape in the center section so the flap can tuck underneath it:

Here's a look at the papers I used for the card:

Challenges I'm entering:

C.R.A.F.T. Challenge: Christmas (2/3; ends 7/9/25)

Craft Rocket Challenges: Christmas in July (ends at the end of the month)

Creative Inspiration Challenges: ATG (2/2; ends at the end of the month)

Creative Knockouts: Christmas in July (1/3; ends 7/17/25) C10

The Paper Shelter: Christmas in July (1/2; ends 7/9/25)

Fab 'n' Funky Challenges: Christmas in July (1/2; ends 7/15/25)

Can You Handle The Pressure?: ATG with an embossing folder (1/3;ends 7/9/25)

Word Art Wednesday: ATG (1/5 for the week; 1/10 for the challenge; ends 7/16/25)

simonsaysstampblog.com/wednesdaychallenge/: Sending Flowers (2/5; ends 7/9/25)

Tic Tac Toe Challenge - Inspiring creativity 8-ways each week Foliage, layers, flower

No more challenges.

Double Split Panel Easel Card for Creative Creases Challenge #105

It's time for a new challenge over on the Creative Creases Challenge blog, and I thought I'd go with a winter in July theme! It's been blistering hot and humid here in Michigan recently, so snowflakes sound lovely!

For my snowflake card, I chose a fun fold I've never seen before. The inspiration comes from Elodie Tanchaud, a French cardmaker who goes by @elostamp. Here's a link to her written instructions on her blog: Tutoriel : Carte chevalet -. The instructions are in French, which was a lot of fun for me! My degree is in secondary education for French and Social Studies, and I was a French tutor (among a dozen or so other subjects) with an online tutoring company for many years. Anyway, I first planned to convert the measurements from centimeters to inches, but my paper trimmer and scorer has centimeters as well as inches on it, so I just went ahead and followed all the metric measurements. I made a template first, and I think I'll work on adjusting the template slightly so the card is a bit shorter. It wound up being 4 1/8 by 5 13/16 inches, so just a little too long for an A2 envelope, but it would be easy enough to adjust the length. I like to create templates of the fun folds I try, and I store them with the instruction sheets in page protectors so I can easily refer to them later.

I recently received Box #11 from Your Paper Insider in exchange for creating a project with the papers and posting it on social media with their hashtag, and I have been thrilled with the papers in the box! If you'd like to see the first card I made with their papers, check out this link: Carrie's Custom Cards: Slatted Z-Fold Birthday Card for Your Paper Insider. Of course, with so many wonderful papers in Box #11, I couldn't stop at just one card! 😂 There are several gorgeous metallic, pearlescent, and sparkly papers in the box, and I thought they would be great for this snowflake card. There's also a thick gray cardstock that I thought would be great for the base layers. So to create this card, I started by trimming and scoring all the pieces for the card base and layers. Then I adhered them together to create the split panels for the easel card. Next, I die cut snowflake layers out of my specialty papers from Box #11 using Altenew's Layered Snowflakes die set. The white snowflake layers are a lovely pearlescent that has some pretty shimmer to it in person. I struggle to capture metallics, pearlescent, and holographic papers in my photos, so if you have any suggestions, please leave me a comment. These are the papers I used for the card: Silver Lustre Cadillac (a flat metallic gray), Silver Holographic Double Pillars (great shine in person!), Wrought Iron Gray Enviro Raw (for the card base), Vanilla Pearl Cosmo Odeon, White Thai Unryu (this is the paper on the gray layers that I thought looked a bit like a snowy background with the pretty white fibers in it), and Luster Diamond Glitter (so much fun sparkle on that one!).

For the sentiment, I stamped and die cut "Warm hugs" using Altenew's Pumpkin Patch stamp and coordinating die set. I used VersaMark ink to stamp the sentiment and then heat embossed it using white embossing powder. I die cut the coordinating die 3 more times with the Wrought Iron Gray cardstock, which is a thick cardstock and worked great to create layers behind the sentiment so it has some dimension to serve as the stopper for the easel panel.

I hope you'll join the fun over on the Creative Creases Challenge blog this month with your own fun fold projects! Here's a link for fun fold inspiration and to add your creations: Creative Creases #105

The inside panel of the card stands up like an easel:

More views:

Top view:

The card folds flat for mailing. Simply fold down the panel that rests against the sentiment:

A look at the papers from Your Paper Insider Box #11

that I used for this card:

Challenges I'm entering:

Heart's Quest for Shaped Cards and Tags: HQFSCAT #7 July 2025 Anything Goes on Shaped Card or Shaped Tag + #6 Brags: ATG with shaped cards or tags (1/3; ends at the end of the month)

Christmas BINGO Challenges: Letter O: fancy fold card base, ivory, and embossing (my sentiment is heat embossed) (1/8; ends mid-August)

As You Like It Challenge: Favorite color combination and why: I love gray/silver and white for winter cards because I think they create a look of elegance for snowy winter scenes (3/3; ends 7/9/25)

C.R.A.F.T. Challenge: Christmas (2/3; ends 7/9/25)

Craft Rocket Challenges: Christmas in July (ends at the end of the month)

Creative Inspiration Challenges: ATG (1/2; ends at the end of the month)

Paper Rocks Scissors: ATG with paper and/or scissors (1/5; ends at the end of the month)

Mix It Up Challenge Blog: ATG with optional Mixed Media (1/5; ends at the end of August)

Love To Craft Challenge Blog: ATG (1/5; ends at the end of August)

Crafts Galore Encore Challenge Blog: ATG (1/3; ends at the end of the month)

Classic Design Challenge Blog: ATG (unlimited entries; ends 7/12/25)

A Perfect Time To Craft Open Challenge: ATG (unlimited entries; ends at the end of the month)

Creative Fingers Challenge Blog: ATG (2/3; ends 7/11/25)

Crafty Catz: ATG (2/3; ends 7/11/25)

Word Art Wednesday: ATG (2/5 for the week; 2/10 for the challenge; ends 7/16/25)

The Paper Funday Challenges: ATG with optional twist of Fun with Stencils (1/6; ends at the end of the month)

Tuesday, July 1, 2025

Thank You Card for A Perfect Time To Craft

I was blessed to win 1st Prize in the January challenge over on the A Perfect Time to Craft blog, and one of the perks besides the lovely digital papers I won was the opportunity to be a Guest Designer for the July challenge. For being a Guest Designer, I had my choice of another of Anne Constantly-Carding's beautiful sets of digital papers, and I chose the lovely Starry Night set which you can purchase here: Starry Night Alcohol Ink Background Set - Payhip. The set is full of gorgeous alcohol ink backgrounds.

I wanted to use the beautiful digital alcohol ink papers for my card, so I started by printing out the first paper in the set and noticed it had lovely white splatters in the design. I decided the colors would look great on a black background, so I trimmed a panel of black cardstock to 3 1/2" by 6" and added splatters of Altenew's Titanium White Gouache I had spritzed with a little water. For my card base, I created a white mini slimline card base that is 3 3/4" by 6 1/4".

To create the flowers and leaves, I die cut Altenew's Amaryllis set using the Starry Night digital paper. Then I arranged the flowers and leaves the way I wanted them on the black panel and added glue and Altenew's Instant Dimension Foam Tape to adhere them to the panel. I then added a piece of black fun foam I had trimmed to 3 1/4" by 5 3/4" and added that to the back of the panel before adhering the panel to my white card base.

For the sentiment, I stamped and die cut the "thanks" sentiment using Altenew's Build-A-Garden: Bougainvillea set. I used the die to die cut an additional layer out of black fun foam so the sentiment pops up a bit.

If you'd like to participate in the A Perfect Time to Craft challenge, it's always anything goes, and you can add your projects here: A Perfect Time To Craft Open Challenge. I hope I'll see you in the gallery this month! 😊

Challenges I'm entering:

Allsorts challenge blog: Seaside or ATG (5/5; ends 7/4/25)

Word Art Wednesday: ATG (5/5 for the week; 10/10 for the challenge; ends 7/2/25)

simonsaysstampblog.com/wednesdaychallenge/: ATG (3/5; ends 7/2/25)

Dream Valley Challenge: ATG (2/3; ends 7/18/25)

Crafty Catz: ATG (2/5; ends 7/10/25)

Creative Fingers Challenge Blog: ATG (2/3; ends 7/10/25)