Friday, August 7, 2026

Canvas Impressions Press Plate Card

Yesterday Altenew launched their August release, and I'm thrilled to be a Guest Designer for this release! It was so fun to play with all the great new products! 

I often forget the beauty of simplicity as CAS is definitely not my usual cardmaking style, but this simple card turned out to be one of my favorite cards for the August release. I wanted to showcase the beauty of the new Vintage Study ink collection, so I ink blended all four shades in the collection over a panel I had embossed using the new Essential Textures: Canvas Impressions press plate. I love the depth of the impressions I get when I emboss with press plates. 

After creating my embossed ombre background panel, I die cut a frame using Altenew's new Nesting A2 Panels die set and black cardstock. Then I die cut some foliage from Altenew's EZ Arrangement: Garden Mix die set and ink blended the foliage with the same 4 inks I used to create my background panel. 

For the sentiment, I used Altenew's new One Go: Solid Circular Sentiments with Altenew's Obsidian Pigment Ink and die cut all the sentiments at once with the coordinating die. I chose the "just a little reminder that you are awesome" sentiment since I'm sending this card to my daughter who is currently deployed and can use a bit of encouragement as she's been at sea since last November and has had her deployment extended 4 times already. Plus, I may be slightly biased, but she really is awesome! 😄

I wanted my sentiment and foliage to stand out a bit from the background, so I die cut another rectangle using the same Nesting A2 Panels die set and some vellum and decided where I wanted to place it. I chose the bottom left of the panel and added the sentiment and foliage to the vellum with Altenew's Instant Dimension Foam Tape behind the sentiment. Then I adhered the vellum panel to the background panel using more foam tape behind the part covered by the sentiment. I added the black frame using more foam tape and adhered the darkest die cut foliage piece to the top right side of the frame to finish the card. 

I hope you will check out Altenew's new release on their website as it's full of great new products including 3 new ink collections. And if you're interested in doing some crafty shopping at Altenew, I'd be so grateful if you used my affiliate link here: Carrie's Altenew Link.  I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Here's a list of the products I used for this card: Essential Textures Canvas Impressions Press Plate-Vintage Study Fresh Dye Ink collection-EZ Arrangement: Garden Mix Layering Die Set-One Go: Solid Circular Sentiments Press Plate and Die-Nesting A2 Panels Die Set-Obsidian Black Pigment Ink.






Challenges I'm entering: 
A Cut Above: ATG with dies with option of fall flowers (1/3; ends at the end of the month)

simonsaysstampblog.com/wednesdaychallenge/: monochrome (1/5; ends 8/12/26)

TIME OUT Challenges: Monochrome and CAS (1/5; ends 8/18/26) C5 

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


No more challenges. 

 I'd like to leave a blessing for all the lovely visitors to my blog: 

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you;

The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.

--Numbers 6: 22-26

 

Blue Roses Triple Fold Reveal Card for Creative Creases #118

It's time for a new challenge on the Creative Creases Challenge blog, and I have a card where the pattern paper is the star! I have so much pattern paper that I will never be able to use it all in my lifetime! Can anyone relate?! For this card, I used a paper pad from Stamperia called Timeless. I paired it with a fun fold card design by Connie Stewart of Simply Simple Stamping and will share a link to her video here: 🔴 Triple Fold Reveal Card Tutorial | Easy Card Within a Card Idea. Connie always shares a pdf of the measurements on her website, and you can find this one here: Triple Fold Reveal Card Tutorial: Easy Card Within a Card Idea - Simply Simple Stamping.

I chose a few different papers from the Stamperia paper pad and paired them with a solid blue cardstock from my stash. I trimmed and scored the blue cardstock to form the base of the card and the base of the mini card adhered to the right side of the card base. Then I decorated them with the pattern papers following Connie's instructions. Once I had all the pattern papers adhered, I chose a few sentiment stamps and a floral die set.

For the front flap, I stamped "you have a beautiful smile" from Altenew's Billowing Peonies stamp set. I die cut it with Altenew's Nesting Circles Die Set and die cut the next bigger circle out of the same blue cardstock I had used for the card base. I adhered the sentiment circle to the solid blue circle and added them to the front flap. Then I added a few enamel dots from Altenew's Cherry Blossom Enamel Dot set. The lightest color in the set is more ivory than pink, so I liked how they matched the pattern papers. 

For the inside flaps, I chose sentiments from Altenew's Bouquet of Poppies stamp set: "keep on shining," "miss you," and "hugs." These are perfect for my youngest daughter who is still deployed on an aircraft carrier in the Middle East. I have been sending her weekly care packages with homemade meals I've freeze dried for her and a handmade card in each box for the past 6 months. Sometimes I make cards for her shipmates, too. It feels good to do something while we eagerly wait for her return.

To decorate the inside panel of the card where I will write my message, I die cut Altenew's Cute Open Rose die set and assembled the flower and leaves on the bottom right portion of the inner panel. I used the same ivory lace pattern paper I used on the mini card attached to the right side of the card base for the rose's center and leaves. 

I hope you'll play along on the Creative Creases Challenge blog where it's always anything goes with a fun fold project: Creative Creases Challenge

If you're interested in doing some crafty shopping at Altenew, I'd be so grateful if you used my affiliate link here: Carrie's Altenew Link.  I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Altenew carries many wonderful embossing folders, stencils, project kits, inks, and die sets and has weekly sales. 










Challenges I'm entering: 

Ellibelle's Corner: Ellibelle's Garden Party: Anything in or from a garden (ends 8/10/26)

Word Art Wednesday: ATG (2/5 for the week; 2/10 for the challenge; ends 8/19/26)

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

The Sisterhood of Crafters: Flowers (2/3; ends 8/8/26)

A Place To Start: ATG with option of no rectangles (2/8; ends at the end of the month)

613 Avenue Create: ATG (2/8; ends at the end of the month)

We Love Stamping: Summer Blooms (2/3; ends at the end of the month)

Beautiful Blossoms Challenge: ATG with flowers as the focus (4/6; ends 8/12/26)

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

Heart's Quest for Shaped Cards and Tags: ATG with shaped cards or tags (1/5; 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)

Triple B: ATG with birds, blooms, and/or butterflies (1/3; ends at the end of the month)

Double Trouble Paper Crafting: 3 layers, 2 colors, 1 sentiment (minimum requirements) (1/3; ends 8/16/26)

Love Those Pretty Papers Challenge: ATG with pattern paper with option of Coastal (1/3; ends at the end of the month)


I'd like to leave a blessing for all the lovely visitors to my blog: 

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you;

The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.

--Numbers 6: 22-26





 

Thursday, August 6, 2026

Softly Sketched Blooms Sending Hugs Card for Altenew's August Release

It's time for Altenew's August release, and I'm absolutely thrilled to be a Guest Designer for this release! Today I'm sharing a card I made with one of the new ink collections Altenew is releasing this month: Highland Flora. I love these new purples!

To create my card, I started by creating my card base using the partial die cutting technique and the die from Altenew's Build-A-Garden: Softly Sketched Blooms set (also part of the August release). I opened up the card base and added the die to the bottom of the top panel and then only put the top plate of my die cutting sandwich over the part I wanted to die cut. 

Next, I stamped the floral focal point from the Softly Sketched Blooms set in VersaMark ink and added Altenew's Rose Gold embossing powder over it and heat set it. Then I used Altenew's Highland Flora, Whispering Woodland, and Warm & Cozy ink collections to ink blend the stamped image using the coordinating stencils. I die cut the ink blended flowers and adhered them to the card front to line up with where I had done my partial die cutting. Then I added a strip of glitter cardstock from Altenew's  Gilded Glitter Cardstock Set to the bottom of the inside of the card to show through under the floral focal point. I adhered the glitter cardstock using Altenew's new 4.25 by 5.5-inch size of Double-Sided Adhesive Sheets. 

To finish the card, I stamped "sending hugs" using VersaMark ink and Altenew's Rose Gold embossing powder and heat set it and then added 3 gem sparkles around the sentiment. 

f you're interested in doing some crafty shopping at Altenew, I'd be so grateful if you used my affiliate link here: Carrie's Altenew Link.  I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Altenew carries many wonderful craft products and has a great weekly sales section if you are looking for bargain prices to grow your Altenew collection. 





It's hard to tell that this card has a shaped edge, so here's a process photo that shows it off a bit more:




Challenges I'm entering: 

Ellibelle's Corner: Ellibelle's Garden Party: Anything in or from a garden (ends 8/10/26)

Word Art Wednesday: ATG (1/5 for the week; 1/10 for the challenge; ends 8/19/26)

The Paper Funday Challenges: ATG with option of fun folds (1/6; ends at the end of the month)

The Sisterhood of Crafters: Flowers (1/3; ends 8/8/26)

Crazy is our fame - STENCILS are our game!: ATG with stencils (1/3; ends at the end of the month)

A Place To Start: ATG with option of no rectangles (1/8; ends at the end of the month)

****Pammie's Inky Pinkies**** **********Challenges**********: ATG (1/3; ends 8/10/26) C10

613 Avenue Create: ATG (1/8; ends at the end of the month)

We Love Stamping: Summer Blooms (1/3; ends at the end of the month)

Beautiful Blossoms Challenge: ATG with flowers as the focus (3/6; ends 8/12/26)

No more challenges. 

 I'd like to leave a blessing for all the lovely visitors to my blog: 

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you;

The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.

Numbers 6: 22-26

Friday, July 31, 2026

The Afternoon Spread Card

I had so much fun playing with the September Craft-Your-Life project kit from Altenew! Everything on the card except for the enamel dots came from the kit. It includes the beautiful floral stencil, the dies that create cookies and mugs, and even an arch die and stamps that fit it perfectly!

I had help from my 4-year-old grandson die cutting the cookies, and I discovered he absolutely LOVES cranking the die cutter! Whether I have the plates in it or not! He was fascinated by the way it worked!

I created a cream-colored A2 card base and then trimmed a cream panel to 4 by 5 1/2 inches. I stenciled the flowers onto the cream panel using Altenew's Bubblegum Dreams and Whispering Woodland ink collections. Then I used a bit of Altenew's Pearl Shimmer Relief Paste for the stenciled flower centers. I set the panel aside to dry and created the little mug of tea and the saucer. I chose my colors based on the color palette for Altenew's July Inspiration Challenge.

I arranged the die cut cookies and the mug of tea at the bottom of the stenciled panel and decided how I wanted to arrange the stamped sentiment. I stamped it on the arch die cut and trimmed the arch die cut so the sentiment fit where I wanted it. Then I decided to add the 3 little leaf cluster die cuts that came in the kit. I ink blended them using the same Whispering Woodland inks I used for the stenciled background. Then I adhered everything to the panel using liquid glue and Altenew's Instant Dimension Foam Tape for the tea cup. I adhered the panel to the card base and added a few of Altenew's Tea Party enamel dots to finish the card. 

If you're interested in doing some crafty shopping at Altenew, I'd be so grateful if you used my affiliate link here: Carrie's Altenew Link.  I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Altenew has many wonderful Craft-Your-Life project kits like the one I used here as well as a weekly sale section with great deals. 





 Challenges I'm entering:

https://beautifulblossomschallenge.blogspot.com/?m=1: ATG with flowers as the focus (2/6: ends 8/12/26) 

https://wordartwednesday.blogspot.com/?m=1: ATG (1/5 for the week; 5/10 for the challenge; ends 8/5/26)

simonsaysstampblog.com/wednesdaychallenge/: ATG (1/5; ends 8/5/26)

July 2026 Inspiration Challenge | Altenew


 I'd like to leave a blessing for all the lovely visitors to my blog: 

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you;

The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.

--Numbers 6: 22-26

Monday, July 27, 2026

Mini Delight: Sweet Popsicles You're The Sweetest Person I Know Card

I'm back with another fun card for Altenew's August release, and this time I made patriotic popsicles with the Mini Delight: Sweet Popsicles set. I paired the set with Altenew's Fireworks Stamp to create this A2 card. The Sweet Popsicles set will be available for purchase on Altenew's website starting on August 6th. 

I started by stamping a white A2 card panel with the fireworks stamp in blues and reds. Then I trimmed the panel to 4 1/8 by 5 3/8 and added it to a panel of blue cardstock I had trimmed to 4 1/4 by 5 1/2. I stamped the "you're the coolest person I know" sentiment onto the bottom of the panel and then die cut the elements for the popsicle using white cardstock for the stick and the following glitter cardstocks from Altenew for the rest of the popsicles: Moonstone from the Milky Way Glitter Cardstock, Red Spinel from the Brilliant Red Glitter Cardstock, and Tanzanite from the Blue Crystals Glitter Cardstock. I ink blended the popsicle stick with Altenew's Peachy Glow Fresh Dye Ink. I assembled the popsicle and popped it up using Altenew's Instant Dimension Foam Tape. Then I added the panel to a white A2 card base. 

If you're interested in doing some crafty shopping at Altenew, I'd be so grateful if you used my affiliate link here: Carrie's Altenew Link.  I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Altenew carries many wonderful craft products and has a great weekly sales section if you are looking for bargain prices to grow your Altenew collection. 



 Challenges I'm entering:

Word Art Wednesday: ATG (4/5 for the week; 4/10 for the challenge; ends 8/5/26)

A Cut Above: ATG with die cuts (2/3; ends 7/29/26)

simonsaysstampblog.com/wednesdaychallenge/: Make your own background (2/5; ends 7/29/26) $25 gift card winner 7/29/26

If You Give a Crafter a Cookie...: (2/3; ends at the end of the month)
Colorful Options: ends at the end of the month 

{PIN}spirational Challenges: (3/5; ends at the end of the month)

{Cupcake Inspirations}: (2/3; ends 8/7/26) 

We Love Stamping: Summertime or ATG with stamping (2/3; ends at the end of the month)

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


I'd like to leave a blessing for all the lovely visitors to my blog: 

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you;

The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.

--Numbers 6: 22-26

Mini Delight: Sweet Popsicles Life With You Is Sweet Card

I'm so excited to be a Guest Designer for Altenew's August 2026 release! I've been having so much fun playing with the new crafty goodies they sent me, including this fun Mini Delight: Sweet Popsicles set!  This set includes so many great elements from punny sentiment stamps to detailed dies to make and decorate the popsicles. The August release products will be available starting August 6 if you are interested in checking out this set. 

For this card, I created a 5 1/2 by 5 1/2-inch square card base using red cardstock and then stamped Altenew's Dotted Pinwheels stamp onto a white cardstock panel. I trimmed the stamped panel to 5 3/8 by 5 3/8 and adhered it to the red card base. 

Then I die cut the popsicle sticks out of white cardstock and ink blended Altenew's Peachy Glow Fresh Dye Ink onto them. For the popsicles, I die cut the following Altenew glitter cardstocks: Moonstone from the Milky Way Glitter Cardstock, Red Spinel from the Brilliant Red Glitter Cardstock, and Tanzanite from the Blue Crystals Glitter Cardstock. I added Altenew's Instant Dimension Foam Tape to the back of the popsicles and adhered them to vellum arches I had die cut using Altenew's Nested Arches Die Set and then I adhered the popsicles and vellum to the card front. 

To finish the card, I stamped "life is sweet with you in it" from the stamp set included in the Mini Delight: Sweet Popsicles set using clear embossing ink and white embossing powder and used my heat tool to emboss the sentiment onto red cardstock. I popped up the sentiment using Altenew's Instant Dimension Foam Tape. 

If you're interested in doing some crafty shopping at Altenew, I'd be so grateful if you used my affiliate link here: Carrie's Altenew Link.  I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Altenew carries many wonderful craft products and has a great weekly sales section if you are looking for bargain prices to grow your Altenew collection. 







Challenges I'm entering:
Word Art Wednesday: ATG (3/5 for the week; 3/10 for the challenge; ends 8/5/26)

A Cut Above: ATG with die cuts (1/3; ends 7/29/26)

simonsaysstampblog.com/wednesdaychallenge/: Make your own background (1/5; ends 7/29/26)

If You Give a Crafter a Cookie...: (3/3; ends at the end of the month)

{PIN}spirational Challenges: (2/5; ends at the end of the month)

Colorful Options: ends at the end of the month 


{Cupcake Inspirations}: (1/3; ends 8/7/26) 

We Love Stamping: Summertime or ATG with stamping (1/3; ends at the end of the month)


I'd like to leave a blessing for all the lovely visitors to my blog: 

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you;

The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.

--Numbers 6: 22-26



Sunday, July 26, 2026

Sending Sweet Thoughts Card

I recently attended an Altenew Educator workshop led by my friend Ishani S, and we created 3 cards using Altenew's Craft-Your-Life: Fruits & Flowers project kit for all three of them. Ishani is a wonderfully creative cardmaker, and I love how all 3 cards turned out.

For this card, I started by embossing a panel of white cardstock with the 3D embossing folder included in the Fruits & Flowers kit. Then I trimmed the panel to 4 1/8 by 5 3/8 and adhered it to a white A2 card base. I then trimmed a piece of purple pattern paper with a woodgrain pattern on it to 1 3/4 inch by 4 1/8 inches and adhered it over the bottom of the embossed white panel. Then I began die cutting and ink blending several of the fruits and the mesh bag from the Fruits & Flowers kit. I adhered all the little pieces together and then and then arranged a banana, a plum, and an orange in the mesh bag and added the bag where I wanted it on the woodgrain "counter." I used liquid glue to adhere the fruits where I wanted them and then to adhere the edges of the mesh bag to the card so the bag is slightly rounded where the fruits are adhered. 

I added an orange from the same kit and some leaves on the counter in front of the mesh bag using Altenew's Instant Dimension Foam Tape. Then to finish the card, I stamped and die cut the "sending sweet thoughts" sentiment (also from the Fruits & Flowers kit) and stacked several layers of die cuts to give the sentiment some dimension before adhering the stacked sentiment to the card. 

If you're interested in doing some crafty shopping at Altenew, I'd be so grateful if you used my affiliate link here: Carrie's Altenew Link.  I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Altenew has many wonderful project kits like the one I used here as well as a weekly sale section with great deals. 





 
 Challenges I'm entering: 
A Place To Start: ATG with option of black and white (8/8; ends at the end of the month)

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

The Paper Funday Challenges: ATG with option of Summer Splash (6/6; ends 8/2/26)

Can You Handle The Pressure?: ATG with an embossing folder and the optional twist of stars and/or stripes (1/3; ends 8/5/26)

Double D Challenges: Favorite Fruit (3/3; ends 8/2/26)

Classic Design Challenge Blog: ATG with option of any holiday (unlimited; ends 8/12/26)

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


Crafty Catz: ATG (5/5; ends 7/31/26)

Cut It Up: Emboss it (I used an embossing folder to create the white background panel on my card) (1/3; ends 8/3/26)

Word Art Wednesday: ATG (2/5 for the week; 2/10 for the challenge; ends 8/5/26)    

I'd like to leave a blessing for all the lovely visitors to my blog: 

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you;

The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.

--Numbers 6: 22-26