Flourishing Garden Shaped Engagement Card

I needed a special engagement card for a friend and decided to pull out Altenew's Craft-Your-Life: Flourishing Garden set to make it. The floral stamp in the set is quite large (too big for an A2 card), so I thought I'd see if I could turn it into a shaped card using the coordinating die from the set. I scored a piece of white 8 1/2 by 11 cardstock in half and taped the die in place so that there was a "hinge" on the left side. I used a lightweight cardstock and didn't have any trouble cutting through the double layer of cardstock to create the card base.

Then I die cut 3 more panels using the same outline die. I stamped one with pink pigment ink and heat set with clear embossing powder, one I left plain, and one I stamped with VersaFine embossing ink and heat set with white embossing powder. The one with the pink ink I added to the right side of the inside of the card, and I added my "congratulations" sentiment (from the same Flourishing Garden stamp set) layered on some gold mirror cardstock. The plain one I turned backwards to match up to the back of the front panel so that it covered that side of the card base and the small area on one of the flowers that got cut off because an 8 1/2 by 11 inch piece of cardstock folded in half was just a little too short for this die even with cutting a bit off the side for the hinge. 

Now the white embossed panel was the most fun part of this card! I used the coordinating stencils and chose some soft and pretty ink colors I thought would be lovely for an engagement card. I used an old Silhouette Cameo mat to hold the panel and stencils in place while I worked. There are 6 stencils in this set, so it takes a little time to do all the layers, but it's definitely worth it! I love how it turned out, and more importantly, the bride-to-be loved it as well! 

To finish off the card, I stamped the "Forever is composed of nows" sentiment from Altenew's Craft-Your-Life: Bewitching Rose set onto clear sticker paper and trimmed it to fit on the card front. I adhered it to the stenciled panel and then adhered the panel to the card base. I love how well this card stands up, too! All in all, there are 5 layers of cardstock to this card, so it's nice and sturdy. 

Front view when the card is standing up:

View from the top:

A view of the "hinge" on the inside:

Folded flat:

Close up of the sentiment:

Another view of the card:

The inks I used and the stencil guide Altenew provides for their 

Craft-Your-Life project kits. I often use Altenew's grip mat for stenciling, but this time

I used an old Silhouette cutting mat that still has enough stick to it for

stenciling and keping my inks in place while I'm using them:

 Challenges I'm entering: 

Beautiful Blossoms Challenge: ATG with florals as the focal point (ends 8/12/24)

simonsaysstampblog.com/mondaychallenge/: Sparkle and Shine (I used white embossing powder on the front image and clear embossing powder on the inside image for some nice shine) (1/5; ends 8/19/24)

Classic Design Challenge Blog: ATG (ends 8/13/24)

Creatalicious Challenges: ATG (ends 8/14/24)

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

Double Trouble Paper Crafting (doubletroublechallenge.blogspot.com): Thing 1: be happy (this card features happy colors and a happy occasion) Thing 3: Enter If You Give A Crafter A Cookie Challenge

If You Give a Crafter a Cookie...: Be Happy (this is a card for a very happy occasion: an engagement!) (2/5; ends at the end of the month)

Triple B (dd-tripleb.blogspot.com): ATG with blooms, butterflies, and/or birds (1/3; ends at the end of the month)

Gem of A Craft Challenge (pinkgemchallengeblog.blogspot.com): ATG (1/3; ends 8/24/24)

Allsorts challenge blog: Summer Days or ATG (1/3; ends 8/16/24)

Polkadoodles Cardmaking, Craft & Scrapbooking Challenge: ATG (1/2; ends 8/16/24)

A Cut Above (craftingacutabove.blogspot.com): ATG with die cuts (1/3; ends at the end of the month)

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

Crazy is our fame - STENCILS are our game! (stencilfun.blogspot.com): Use stencils with optional theme of Summer (1/3; ends at the end of the month)

Digi Choosday Cardmaking & Crafting Challenge: ATG (1/3; ends 8/13/24)

The Paper Funday Challenges: ATG (1/4; ends at the month)

Word Art Wednesday: ATG (1/5 for the week; ends 8/14/24)

The Paper Shelter: ATG (2/2; ends at the end of the month)

Art Impressions Blog (artimpressionsstamps.blogspot.com): Never Have I Ever (new supplies) This is a set I just recently bought and hadn't used before (2/2; ends 8/15/24)

Tic Tac Toe Challenge - Inspiring creativity 8-ways each week: Flowers, Scoring (for the hinged base of the card), and Die Cuts (ends8/15/24)

613 Avenue Create (avenue613.blogspot.com): Easy living or ATG (ends at the end of the month) Top Rocker August 11-17, 2024

Stamping Sensations: Summer in the Garden (1/3; ends at the end of the month)

We Love Stamping: Focal sentiment or quote or ATG (1/3; ends at the end of the month)