Monday, March 18, 2024

Prickly Pear Mixed Media Card

I recently attended the Card Maker Success Summit and have been inspired to try some mixed media cards. I broke out my gouache, gold paint, sprays, and Pearl Ex powders and went to work painting, splattering, and spritzing on water color papers. After they dried, I die cut Altenew's Craft-A-Flower Prickly Pear die set out of some of them and used another one as a background for my flowers and leaves. These flowers are so easy to assemble with the keyhole system Altenew uses on their Craft-A-Flower die sets. 

I adhered the background to a pink A2 card base using foam tape. Then I arranged the flowers and leaves how I wanted them and used Press 'n Seal to keep them in place while I glued them down by layers. The final layer (the flower on the left) was adhered using more foam tape. This one is definitely going to need a non-machinable stamp, but it's worth it! 



Close up of the flowers:


 Challenges I'm entering:


Double Trouble Paper Crafting (doubletroublechallenge.blogspot.com): Thing 1: Florals Thing 3: Entered Beautiful Blossoms Challenge (2/4; ends 3/28/24)

Allsorts challenge blog: Feathers or Fur or ATG (2/3; ends 3/22/24)

Word Art Wednesday: ATG (4/5 for the week; 4/10 for the challenge; ends 3/27/24)

The Paper Funday Challenges: ATG with twist of use dies (6/6; ends at the end of the month)

The Diva's that cut ....paper! (die-cut-divas.blogspot.com): ATG (4/4; ends at the end of the month)

Creative Moments: #256 *Flora and Fauna* (carabbiemomentsofcraft.blogspot.com): ATG or optional twist of floral or fauna (2/3; ends 4/4/24)

Gem of A Craft Challenge (pinkgemchallengeblog.blogspot.com): ATG (2/2; ends 3/22/24)

613 Avenue Create (avenue613.blogspot.com): ATG with optional twist of diamonds or pearls (ends at the end of the month)

Crafty Catz (craftycatzweeklychallenge.blogspot.com): ATG with optional twist of monochrome (ends 3/21/24)

Creative Fingers Challenge Blog: ATG (ends 3/21/24)

Ellibelle's Corner: Ellibelle's Crafty Wednesday (simplyellibelle.com): ATG (ends at the end of the month)

Digi Choosday Cardmaking & Crafting Challenge: ATG (2/2; ends 3/19/24)

A Place To Start (hereisaplacetostart.blogspot.com): ATG with option of square cards (ends at the end of the month)

Doodle Challenge (rabiscochallenge.blogspot.com): ATG (2/5; ends at the end of the month)





Saturday, March 16, 2024

When You Go Through Deep Waters Card

One of my favorite Bible verses is Isaiah 43:2. The entire verse is so beautiful as it promises God's presence and protection when we "go through deep waters" and "walk through fire." We won't be overwhelmed by the waters or consumed by the flames because our loving heavenly Father is beside us through it all.

I created this card for my sister and brother-in-law who recently lost their 18-year-old son. My nephew was a bright, funny, hard-working young man, and this loss is as devastating as it is unexpected. Yet we do not grieve as those without hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13) because we know he is with the Lord in heaven, and we will see him again one day. Still, there is the separation that death brings while we are still here on earth, and it's very painful. We are clinging to Jesus and trusting Him to strengthen and uphold us in this time of mourning. He is faithful!

The word art on the card is from the Silhouette Design Store, and I did an offset of it and made it into a print and cut in the Silhouette Design Studio software.

For the background panel, I used a few shades of blue Pearl Ex powders on water color paper and sprayed water on them. Then I sprayed some blue ink and blotted that a bit. I also added some touches of Stormy Skies distress ink onto the panel and a few big water droplets. I used my heat tool to dry the panel and then ran it through Altenew's From Land to See 3D embossing folder. I ran it through three times in total so that I could have the waves over the entire panel and have some of them seem closer than those in the background. 

The boat was created using Altenew's Wooden Rowboat die set. I die cut the pieces out of a few different colors of brown and black and then did a little ink blending on the wooden planks. I added the boat and the sentiment with foam tape. 





I find Altenew's grip mat is helpful for holding things in place while I'm blending die cuts or assembling pieces. I used it here to hold the base of the card down while I adhered the front panel. 


Challenges I'm entering: 


 Word Art Wednesday: ATG (3/5 for the week; 3/10 for the challenge; ends 3/27/24)

The Paper Funday Challenges: ATG with twist of use dies (5/6; ends at the end of the month)

The Diva's that cut ....paper! (die-cut-divas.blogspot.com): ATG (3/4; ends at the end of the month)

Creative Moments: #256 *Flora and Fauna* (carabbiemomentsofcraft.blogspot.com): ATG or optional twist of floral or fauna (1/3; ends 4/4/24)

Gem of A Craft Challenge (pinkgemchallengeblog.blogspot.com): ATG (1/2; ends 3/22/24)

Allsorts challenge blog: Feathers or fur or ATG (1/3; ends 3/21/24)

Can You Handle The Pressure? (cyhtp.blogspot.com): ATG with optioinal twist of bling (1/3; ends 3/19/24)

Polkadoodles Cardmaking, Craft & Scrapbooking Challenge: ATG (1/2; ends 3/29/24)

We Love to Create mixed media Challenge Blog...sponsored by Polkadoodles (welove2create.blogspot.com): ATG with mixed media (I used Pearl EX powders, sprays, and water coloring with distress ink) (2/2; ends at the end of the month)

613 Avenue Create (avenue613.blogspot.com): ATG with optional twist of diamonds or pearls (ends at the end of the month)

Crafty Catz (craftycatzweeklychallenge.blogspot.com): ATG with optional twist of monochrome (ends 3/21/24)

Creative Fingers Challenge Blog: ATG (ends 3/21/24)

Ellibelle's Corner: Ellibelle's Crafty Wednesday (simplyellibelle.com): ATG (ends at the end of the month)

Ellibelle's Corner: I spy with my little eye (simplyellibelle.com): B (Boat) (ends 3/18/24)

Digi Choosday Cardmaking & Crafting Challenge: ATG (1/2; ends 3/19/24)

A Place To Start (hereisaplacetostart.blogspot.com): ATG with option of square cards (ends at the end of the month)

Doodle Challenge (rabiscochallenge.blogspot.com): ATG (1/5; ends at the end of the month)

Friday, March 15, 2024

Diamond Pop-Up Card for Creative Creases #78

It's time for another new challenge over at the Creative Creases Challenge where it's always anything goes with a fun fold! I have the privilege of being a guest designer again, and I chose a fun fold called a Diamond Pop-Up card for my card design this time. If you'd like details about how to create this fold, check out this YouTube tutorial by Connie Stewart here: Diamond Pop Up Card For The Win | Anyone Can DIY Fun Fold Cards (youtube.com). Hope to see your fun-fold projects over on the Creative Creases blog here: https://wp.me/p4bS0N-bCf

I chose pink card stock for the A2 card base and the pop-up mechanism inside. For the front of the card, I used 4 different yellow inks by Altenew. I put a little of each of the inks down on my glass mat and then sprayed them with water and smooshed them onto watercolor card stock I had trimmed to 4 X 5 1/4 inches. Then I chose some pretty pink cardstocks to die cut the petals of Altenew's Grand Peony and used scraps of green to die cut the leaves and a small scrap of yellow to die cut the center of the peony. I added a bit of ink blending to the pink petals.

The sentiments for this card are from Altenew's Bold Bouquet set, and I used the coordinating die to die cut the word "happy." I used the same die to die cut craft foam and then glued the stamped piece to the foam to give it some dimension. 

For the inside of the card, I added some pretty card stock to the back and the top of the pop-up piece and then did some more stamping using florals from Altenew's Dear Dahlia set. I used Rose Quartz ink from Altenew to stamp the florals on the diamond and the white panel at the bottom of the card where I'll include a birthday message for my mom. She turns 78 this month, and I hope she'll enjoy this card. 









 Challenges I'm entering: 

Beautiful Blossoms Challenge: ATG with florals as the focus (1/6; ends 4/12/24)

Double Trouble Paper Crafting (doubletroublechallenge.blogspot.com): Thing 1: florals Thing 3: entered Beautiful Blossoms Challenge: (1/4; ends 3/29/24)


 Word Art Wednesday: ATG (1/5 for the week; 1/10 for the challenge; ends 3/27/24)

The Paper Funday Challenges: ATG with twist of use dies (3/4; ends at the end of the month)

simonsaysstampblog.com/mondaychallenge/: A bit of green (1/5; ends 3/18/24)

simonsaysstampblog.com/wednesdaychallenge/: A bit of green (1/5; ends 3/20/24)

Crafty Calendar Challenge: More than one fold (1/3; ends at the end of the month)

The Diva's that cut ....paper! (die-cut-divas.blogspot.com): ATG (1/4; ends at the end of the month)

Inspiration Challenge March 2024 with Emily Midgett (altenew.com)




Thursday, March 14, 2024

Lily Sympathy Card

This sympathy card combines a few Altenew sets. The lilies and leaves on the front of the card are from Altenew's Craft-A-Flower Stargazer Lily die set. I water colored the lilies and leaves with Altenew's watercolor brush markers. I highly recommend them as they are highly pigmented and make water coloring a lot less intimidating for me! The "sending you love & hugs" sentiment is from Altenew's Craft-Your-Life Bewitching Rose set. The yellow die cuts behind the lilies are from Altenew's Linear Crossroads die set. I die cut two of them and arranged them behind the florals. The black background panel was embossed using a brick wall EF from my stash. 

For the inside of the card, I used my Silhouette Design Studio software to create a print and cut of the "It feels like Friday, but Sunday is coming" sentiment. I adhered that to my green A2 card base and then stenciled and die cut a design from Altenew's Build-A-Garden: Nature's Magic set and adhered it to the white panel to finish the card. 







Challenges I'm entering:

Snippets Playground (pixiessnippetsplayground.blogspot.com): ATG with snippets (I used snippets for my yellow linear die cuts, the embossed black background panel, and the white card stock for the stenciled floral on the inside of the card) (1/1; ends 3/15/24) C10


Allsorts challenge blog: Yellow or ATG (3/3; ends 3/16/24)

 Word Art Wednesday: ATG (2/5 for the week; 2/10 for the challenge; ends 3/27/24)

The Paper Funday Challenges: ATG with twist of use dies (4/6; ends at the end of the month)

simonsaysstampblog.com/mondaychallenge/: A bit of green (2/5; ends 3/18/24)

simonsaysstampblog.com/wednesdaychallenge/: A bit of green (2/5; ends 3/20/24)

Can You Handle The Pressure? (cyhtp.blogspot.com): ATG with an optional twist of add some bling

The Diva's that cut ....paper! (die-cut-divas.blogspot.com): ATG (2/4; ends at the end of the month)

Inspiration Challenge March 2024 with Emily Midgett (altenew.com)



 No more challenges. 

Monday, March 11, 2024

Mixed Media Wishing You A Beautiful Day Card

I have a lot of embossing pastes, stencil butter, Nuvo embellishment mousse, etc., but how often do I actually use them? Very rarely! So when the Altenew FB group had a prompt recently for creating a mixed media card using a palette knife, I decided to get a little messy! 

First I inked up a panel using Stormy Sky distress ink and then spritzing it with water and splattering it with a little watercolor paint. After that was dry, I put the panel on my Altenew sticky mat and added a stencil over it. I applied some white pearlescent stencil butter over the stencil and let it dry. I wish I hadn't covered quite so much of the panel as I was going for just a touch of texture, but I'll keep that in mind next time. It was fun to spread the stencil butter over the stencil though! It's such a creamy consistency. Much easier to work with than my Nuvo embellishment mousses. 

The floral focal point is from Altenew's Build A Garden: Nature's Delight, and the sentiment (Wishing you a beautiful day) is from the same set. I colored the flowers with my Ohuhu alcohol ink markers. I die cut them using the coordinating die from the Nature's Delight set. 



 Challenges I'm entering:

Allsorts challenge blog: Yellow or ATG (1/3; ends 3/16/24)

 Word Art Wednesday: ATG (2/5 for the week; 2/10 for the challenge; ends 3/13/24)

simonsaysstampblog.com/wednesdaychallenge/: Add a sentiment (2/5; ends 3/13/24)

The Paper Funday Challenges: ATG with twist of use dies (2/4; ends at the end of the month)

Crazy is our fame - STENCILS are our game! (stencilfun.blogspot.com): ATG with a twist of Easter/spring (1/3; ends at the end of the month)

We Love to Create mixed media Challenge Blog...sponsored by Polkadoodles (welove2create.blogspot.com): ATG mixed media (ends at the end of the month)

Polkadoodles Cardmaking, Craft & Scrapbooking Challenge: ATG (1/2; ends 3/15/24)

Stamping Sensations: Spring (2/3; ends at the end of the month)

As You Like It Challenge: Favorite: Monochrome or Colorful: I like both styles, but I really enjoy the drama of monochrome cards like this one. They are a little unusual and special. (1/3; ends 3/20/24)

No more challenges. 

Thursday, March 7, 2024

Sympathy Card With Altenew's Canterbury Bells and Nature's Magic

The card design I used for this sympathy card came from a free Altenew tutorial in their All About Layering series. I really liked the look of the acetate window over the card base making the flowers look like they are in a greenhouse. To create the card, cut a piece of acetate to 4 1/4 by 11 inches. Score at 5 1/2 inches. Then, on a piece of 4 ¼” x 5 ½” cardstock (I used black but you can use any color), score at ¾”, 1 ½”, 2 ¾”, 4”, 4 ¾”. Fold it in half first, then fold the next fold up, then the other ones back down to get mountain folds. Apply super sticky tape to the front and the back little flaps. This is where the acetate window will be attached.  Adhere one side of this flap onto the acetate and then start arranging the floral images and adhere them to the inside card. Then adhere the other acetate flap onto the acetate. Finally, cut two strips of 4 ¼” by ¾” card stock and cover both the front and back of the card to hide the sticky adhesive from showing. I heat embossed the sentiment with white embossing powder onto one of these pieces before adhering it to the front of the card. 

The floral stamps and dies I used for this card came from Altenew's Build-A-Flower: Canterbury Bells and Altenew's Craft Your Life: Nature's Magic. The canterbury bells flowers were colored using the multi-step stamps that came in the set while the other two floral groupings I colored with my Ohuhu alchohol ink markers. I heat embossed the sentiment "Sending you hope & comfort" using Altenew Rose Gold embossing powder. 






 Challenges I'm entering:

Word Art Wednesday: ATG (1/5 for the week; 1/10 for the challenge; ends 3/13/24)

The Paper Shelter: In the Garden

simonsaysstampblog.com/wednesdaychallenge/: Add a sentiment

The Paper Funday Challenges: ATG with twist of use dies (1/4; ends at the end of the month)

Digi Choosday Cardmaking & Crafting Challenge: ATG (1/2; ends 3/12/24)

A Place To Start (hereisaplacetostart.blogspot.com): ATG with option of square cards

Polkadoodles Cardmaking, Craft & Scrapbooking Challenge: ATG (2/2; ends 3/15/24)

Stamping Sensations: Spring (1/3; ends at the end of the month)

Crafty Calendar Challenge: More than 1 Fold (1/3; ends at the end of the month)

Allsorts challenge blog: Spring (ends 3/8/24)

Monday, February 19, 2024

Altenew Rose Flurries Birthday Card

My son turns 23 tomorrow, and I wanted to make him a special card to celebrate! To start, I chose a white A2 card base. Then I created a blue panel just slightly smaller than the card base. On a white panel just slightly smaller than the blue one, I used Altenew's Geo Steps 3D embossing folder to emboss the background. I stamped "Have a perfect birthday" and "Love you" using my Sizzix Stencil and Stamp Tool. 

Then I arranged the florals and foliage from Altenew's Rose Flurries 3D Die Set (some I cut from colored cardstock and some I used my Ohuhu alcohol ink markers to color) and used some Glad Press 'n Seal to keep them where I wanted them as I glued them down. I decided to add some blue pearls because I needed to cover a spot where my ink smudged by the "H" in "Have." 😁Embellishments have saved the day for me on more than one occasion!






Challenges I'm entering:
TIME OUT Challenges: Birthday. Happy 10th! (5/5; ends 2/28/24) C5

Beautiful Blossoms Challenge: Anything floral goes (5/6; ends 3/12/24)

Word Art Wednesday ATG  (ends 2/28/24)