Pinkfresh Studio “Essentials” Release Blog Hop
Hi and welcome back to a stop on a fabulous blog hop!
Today we are celebrating the Pinkfresh Studio November Essentials release, and like the name indicates, it’s pretty essential stuff in this release. Lots of diecuts to add those delicious details and texture, the staples of card making.
If you came here from the talented Emily Midgett you are on the right track, and the next stop on the hop is the amazing Heather Hoffman! The full hop list can be found in the InLinkz link down below.
There is a generous giveaway too, as it’s a celebration. You can win the ENTIRE release by commenting on the Pinkfresh Release blog post, and you have another chance to win the entire release by commenting on the release YouTube video too. There are also TEN $25 give cards to the Pinkfresh Studio shop up for grabs, and the winners of these will be drawn from the comments on the stops along the hop.
Winners will be announced on the Pinkfresh GIVEAWAY PAGE on November 13th. Make sure to check the announcement, and claim your prize within 2 weeks if you are one of the lucky ones!
For my card I have used the Nested Rectangles Diagonal Stitch along with the Fancy Edgers dies. There was one of the patterns that grabbed me right away!
I had the idea to make a flower box sort of, and I have a slight obsession with the Garden Party dies from a few releases ago… I love them!
I had so much fun putting this together, and I made a video too! You can find that over on my YouTube channel, if you want to check it out.
I finished the card off with some Metallic Pearls Matte Gold and some fabulous sentiments from the Here For you suite. I hot foiled the sentiments with the Press Plates, and then used the coordinating diecut to cut them out.
That’s it from me for today, short and sweet! Thank you so much for stopping by and enjoy the rest of the hop!
With love and light, creativity and sparkle,
Erica
Pinkfresh Studio “Kindness in Bloom” Release Blog Hop + GIVEAWAY!!
Hello October and welcome to my blog!
Today I’m hopping along with Pinkfresh Studio and friends to celebrate the beautiful Kindness In Bloom collection being released! There is a blog hop today, and Instagram hop tomorrow Wednesday 9th of October. Both of these hops offer chances to win some FANTASTIC prizes so make sure to check them out.
I have a few cards to show you today, and I also made A YOUTUBE VIDEO! You can check that out over on YouTube, and don’t forget to subscribe to my channel if you are not already a subscriber.
One of the cards is only shown in the video, the actual making of it is not shown in the video itself but you can see it in the photo above and below.
For my cards I have focused on the beautiful Always Smiling product suite. It comes with a stamp set, a Press Plate, coordinating layering stencils and of course, a coordinating diecut set.
For my first card I have used the Always Smiling Press Plate and the BetterPress system. I don’t actually have a black ink pad from Pinkfresh Studio, so I used Licorice, which worked great!
To add colour I used the coordinating layering stencils and inks in Cherry Blossom, Peony, Hydrangea, Sage and Eucalyptus. I went quite light with the ink blending for a soft look, and love how it turned out.
To add some interest and texture to the card, I have used the coordinating diecut on the panel, as well as cut out another two pieces that I stacked up with some liquid glue.
I have also cut out the Dotted Fancy Frame, the biggest one, out of black and white card stock. These are also stacked to add some dimension. The sentiment is also stacked… of course!
I have also used the Press Plate as hot foil plates, with Matte Gold and Champagne foil. For both of these panels I have used the same ink colours, but with different results. One the panel with Matte Gold foil, I have gone very soft and dreamy, almost gone for a pastel look.
The ink colours used with the coordinating layering stencils can be seen in the photo.
On this card I have also used the coordinating diecut to cut out the image, as well as the sentiment. I thought I was going to use a gold Fancy Rectangle Frames diecut on this, but I ended up using the ‘leftover’ rectangle instead.
I finished this one off with some gorgeous Clear Drops Iridescent. The gold block behind the floral image really makes it pop, don’t you think?
The Champagne panel was trimmed down with the Blanket Stitch Octagon diecut, just to add some interest, before adding this to a card base.
Embellishment wise I have gone simple with the Glitter Drops in Gold, and they were the perfect little finishing touch.
My final card has all my favourite techniques and bits on it: Heat embossing, rainbow ink blending, layers and texture, and of course BLING!
If you want to learn how to do this sort of rainbow ombrè ink blending, make sure to check out the YouTube video. I show you how to do it, and talk tips and tricks.
I would love to hear which one of these is your favourite, and seeing as a comment counts as an entry for one of those $25 gift cards, why not let me know?
Now it’s time to hop along the rest of the hop and the next stop is the amazing Heather Hoffman!! If you find any broken links along the hop, check out the full list via the inLinkz list here, below or the post on the Pinkfresh blog.
Thank you again for stopping by, and for hanging in there. I know this was a bit of a long one, so yay for still being here. A big cookie for you!!
Lots of love and light, sparkle and creativity,
Erica
Pinkfresh Studio “Here for You” Release Blog Hop
Today I am blog hopping with Pinkfresh Studio to celebrate the August release, which was a bit delayed, hence why it's now in September.
Hi, hello, hola!
I’m so excited to be part of the Pinkfresh August release hop, and yes, we know it’s September but let’s just roll with it.
A celebration isn't complete without a fabulous giveaway, and there is one here! We will be giving away the full release on the Pinkfresh blog & YouTube channel. You will have to comment on the release video and the blog post in order to be in with a chance, though.
We will also be giving away a total of TEN $25 gift cards along the hop. As per usual with blog hops - the winners will be picked from the comments, so the more you hop and comment, the bigger your chance to win.
Pinkfresh will pull the winners & post them on September 18, 2024 on the GIVEAWAY PAGE. Please make sure to check that page & claim your prize within 2 weeks, if you are a winner.
For my first card I have used the lovely Art Deco Floral Arch suite. It comes with a Press Plate, a rubber stamp, a coordinating diecut and layering stencils.
I heat embossed the stamp set with Gold embossing powder from WOW! Embossing, and then ink blended with the coordinating layering stencils.
The colours I used are Cherry Blossom and Mulberry Blush for the florals, and Limoncello plus a touch of Citron for the leaves and stems. I used one of the brand new bigger ink blending tools too! Oooooh, let me tell you, I’m a fan!
I used a little bit of Espresso and Gathered Twigs on the arches too. With the ink blending done, I used the coordinating diecut to cut out the image.
Sentiment wise it made so much sense to use the GORGEOUS set called Here For You, also in this release. It has a stamp set, press plates and diecuts. I decided to heat emboss the stamps in Gold again, to keep things cohesive.
The fact that even the sentiments have coordinating diecuts is something that I absolutely LOVE. It looks so clean and elegant cut out with clean lines.
On the back of the floral image I added lots of foam tape strips to elevate it from the background, that I used the Charming Stitched Florals cover plate on.
I had to add a few little sparkles too. Duh. Of course I did! These are the Champagne Glitter Drops and they were perfect.
My second card is using the same Art Deco Floral Arch suite, only this time I hot foiled the Press Plate with Matte Gold hot foil!
I also kept the colour scheme super simple with just THREE colours! Sunshine for the arches, Grassy Knoll for the leaves and stems, and finally Bubble Gum for the florals.
This image I also cut out using the coordinating diecut, but I skipped the foam tape for this one, rather opting to glue it down directly onto a card base.
I added a hot foiled sentiment from the set to the card, and a generous sprinkling of Glacier gems later, this one was done! With that, I’m done for today but don’t forget to hop along and leave comments for your chance to win either a $25 gift card or the entire release bundle!! Look at all of these goodies!
The next stop on the hop is my in-real-life friend, the amazing Heather Hoffman and if you came here from Emily, you are already on your way!
With love and light, sparkle and creativity,
Erica
Pinkfresh Studio Magical Holiday Release Blog Hop + GIVEAWAY
Hi and welcome to a, to me, very exciting post!
Today I am blog hopping with the Pinkfresh Design Team and friends to celebrate the July release! It’s my first blog hop with the team since joining back up after a hiatus!
There is a fantastic lineup of amazing projects in the hop so make sure to stop by all the designers to see what magic they have created. If you leave comments on the stops along the hop you will also be in with a chance to win one of TEN $25 gift cards to the Pinkfresh Studio shop! If you leave a comment on the blog post on the Pinkfresh Studio blog, you will be entered into a draw where the winner will win THE ENTRIE SHEBANG of the release!!
Winners will be announced on the Pinkfresh Winner page on August 13th, so make sure to mark the date and check the page to see if you are the winner!
For my two cards I have used the lovely Magical Holiday Press Plate suite. It has a Press Plate, which is also hot foil compatible! There is a stamp set, a layering stencil set and also coordinating diecuts available.
I hot foiled a couple of panels with the Press Plate, including a sentiment from the set, using Aura Hot Foil on one and Matte Gold on a second, which turned out gorgeous! I adore the fact you get two for one techniques with the Press Plates, absolute genius.
To add color, I used the layering stencils and some of the newest ink colours. Sage and Eucalyptus for the greenery, and Berrylicious for the berries on one panel. Sage, Eucalyptus, Lush Forest and Mulberry Blush for the second.
I used the 1/2” blending brushes from Pinkfresh Studio too, they are brand new to me, but they are so easy to work with. The smaller brush heads are brilliant for the small spaces and to add details easily.
Both panels have been trimmed down a little bit and added to red card stock (the one with the Mulberry Blush inked berries) and the paler panel was adhered to Inca Gold mirror card stock from Tonic Studio.
The one with the red background panel also was decorated with some red gems for an extra red pop! These are from Pinkfresh Studio but are now discontinued but I’m sure many of us have them in our craft stash still.
I know this was short and sweet, but hopefully you have enjoyed it anyway and will be rearing to go to the next stop on the blog hop! Which is the one and only Heather Hoffman. The full lineup can be found via this inLinkz link and you can always start hopping from the Pinkfresh Studio blog post.
I have used some compensated affiliate links to the Pinkfresh Studio Shop in this post, at no extra cost to you whatsoever. If you click on these links and end up putting a little something-something in your shopping cart, and then press that ‘place order now’ button… I get a little commission directly from Pinkfresh as a thank you for sending you their way. This is one of the ways I make a little bit of money, and I appreciate the support and encouragement so much so THANK YOU if you shop using my links.
When this blog post goes live I will be frantically packing my things to fly home to Spain this evening. I’ve spent the last three weeks in the US, working the expo scene and teaching classes with Craft Meraki. I’m hoping I will be back at some point next year, so if you missed me this time, don’t worry, I will return.
Thank you for stopping by today, with love and light, sparkles and creativity,
Erica
INked Poppies + Dramatic colouring = Easy one layer card
Today we are going to have a look at the gorgeous Inked Poppies Press'n'Foil Plate. You might be wondering how we are going to create texture with water colouring, I am here to show you it can be done. It takes a little bit of bravery with your colouring, but the results speak for themselves.
The Inked Poppies press plate was released just this month and I'm sure I am not the only big fan of it. I do so happen to be a total floral-obsessed person so in my mind you can never have enough floral images. This one is a stunner though, the poppies cover an entire card front so you don't need much more than a sentiment and boom, you are done. That's the great upside of a floral image that really packs a punch, it takes so much guesswork out of the design elements.
I started out by getting all my BetterPress supplies ready: you will need the actual BetterPress platform (or a hot foil machine if you go the hot foil route) your choice of press plate and we are obvi going to use the Inked Poppies one, some ink, water colour paper, watercolours of your choice and a refillable watercolour brush. If you only get one of the three sizes available, I'd recommend going for medium.
I have gone for Karin Markers for this one, I love them, they are so vibrant and lovely to use. I don't have any of the Altenew Dual Tip Pens, but you had better believe I will add them to my stash as I'm currently in the US for the rest of this month. There are four fab sets to chose from and I like that each pack comes with a great colour combo! For the look I went with, the Islands of Fiji Brush & Fine Tip Pens would be the closest from the Altenew packs.
Once the whole thing has been inked up and run through the die cutting machine, we have a fabulous image to colour and colour we are going to do! Yes! We are going to go for a POP of colour too, and not one that can be found on poppies in nature. At least not that I have seen. I have a soft lavender/old pink large poppies in my garden, and they are lovely but colour wise we are aiming for yowza.
In the video you will see that I use a little acetate sheet over my BetterPress platform before adding the Poppies press plate and adding ink. The reason for this is because I am a total lunatic and don't like my platform to get stained. Yep, it's true and I am fully aware that it's bonkers to think that way, but I can't help it. Anyway... *glances away with a sheepish look on my face*
I actually ended up using a BetterPress ink for this, but I have tried a range of Altenew Crisp Dye Inks on various projects (see THIS POST for two examples) and they work great, so don't feel scared to experiment a little with the inks you have.
I explain why in the video, and I will quickly mention it here too. I wanted to try rubbing the ink pad over the poppies plate, rather than dabbing, because it just takes forever to get good coverage that way. Maybe because it's metal, as opposed to a photopolymer stamp? I didn't want to mess up any of my Altenew Crisp Dye inks so the BetterPress ink pad became the sacrificial lamb so to say. It works great and hasn't damaged the ink pad, and I have also seen Lydia do the same technique so we are good to go!
You will need a lot of patience (or a heat tool of some kind to speed up drying) but I promise the end result will be worth it. With the help of that watercolour brush and your choice of watercolours, we are going to start by adding a light colour wash all over the flowers and leaves. Different colours, mind you. This first layer does not have to be perfect, if anything, leaving some white space here and there on the poppies will help a lot with creating highlights and contrasts.
Each layer you do after this add more colour than the last one, and for one final dramatic touch, go direct to poppies with your marker. This part requires a bit of crafting bravery and a steady hand, but you can do it, I believe in you!
Like I said, the key is patience and a bit of bravery. Remember it's only paper, and if for whatever reason it doesn't turn out how you pictured it, you will learn something from it for next time. I'm sure you will reach for these gorgeous poppies over and over again!
PLEASE NOTE THE VIDEO IS NOT AVAILABLE YET DUE TO BEING OUTSMARTED BY TECHNOLOGY
In the video you will see a lot of the colouring, albeit a little bit sped up or we would be here all day. Sadly some of the footage, and of course it was the last part where I went direct to poppies with the markers for those delicious details, didn't film properly so that bit isn't shown in the video. If that's something you would like to see, please do drop me a comment here or on the video and let me know, and I will bear that in mind for future videos.
Poppies coloured and dried, it was time to move on to the next step: adding a sentiment and a touch of sparkle. Oh, ok, a generous sprinkling of sparkle! I didn't want to cover up the poppies too much so I stamped 'thank you for being so amazing' from the Sulfur Cosmos stamp set (another stunning floral set just released this month) with Permanent Black Ink on white card stock.
It made so much sense to use the Black Onyx Gem Sparkles for this card. It adds just the right amount of card drama! Plus they perfectly accessorise the poppies too, at least I think so. I contemplated using the Pink Turmaline Gem Sparklesas it comes with three beautiful shades of pink sparkles but after comparing them over the poppies, thanks to the clear acetate sheet they come on, I settled on the black ones.
For now I think that's enough jibber-jabbering for one day, but I really hope you have enjoyed this post, and get a chance to watch the video! If you watch it, I'd be delighted if you would leave me a comment over there on YouTube, or at least a thumbs up!
With love and light, creativity and sparkle!
Erica
Altenew & the minted Gardener collaboration!
Today I am so excited to be taking part in a fun Instagram hop celebrating a fabulous collaboration between Altenew and The Minted Gardener!
I have four cards to show, so I’m going to get right to it.
I adored the Warm & Fuzzy stamp set right away, and had a fun idea for it. I wanted to show that these images are not just great for water colouring, but also other techniques. The Artist Markers were my choice to add some colour, and I really love how it turned out.
Instead of using the markers to blend and create a smooth look with the Cherry Blossom Artist Markers set, I went for a dotty look. This technique helps create a bit of a 3 dimensional look.
The leaves and stems were blended a little bit, and these greens are from the A Set of the Artist Markers.
I left a huge amount of white space on this card, which I’m not normally very good with but this image is so lovely that it wasn’t as hard as it usually is. The panel was trimmed down a little and then I also cut off one of the corners at an angle.
The sentiment is from the Warm & Fuzzy stamp set and I stamped this on the actual card base, in black ink, and then popped up the coloured panel with some foam tape.
My second card is also using this stamp set, and with the same dotting technique, only in a rainbow and monochrome fashion.
The fluffy flowers are done with so many Artist Markers, from so many sets, to create that rainbow look. The leaves are done with grays to really let the colourful flowers pop and take centre stage!
I used the coordinating diecut for this to cut it out and then I layered it up with another two pieces to make it stand out.
This background I have made a bit graphic by stamping the image in black ink onto the card base directly. I used the StampWheel from Altenew, which made it a breeze to cover it.
The final thing to do was to stamp up HUGS on white card stock and cut that out with the coordinating diecut. This was then glued down, along with the flower, and with that the second card was done.
My third card is using the beautiful Peony & Lilac Swag set. It has a stamp set, a coordinating diecut and layering stencils. For this first card with this set I have used the layering stencils only for the florals, for a soft water colouring look.
This one I cut in half and added to a white background using my trusted and well-loved Layering Plaid Set B cover plate. I kept this one with lots of white space as well, which is so unusual for me. I don’t know what’s happening.
The sentiment is from the Peony & Lilac Swag stamp set, and I stamped it up with black ink on white card stock before trimming it down to a banner.
My fourth and final card is another CAS card! So much white space!! If I didn’t know I’m me, I would be worried I had been kidnapped and was trying to send a covert message for help, lol.
Here I have stamped the big floral image in black ink right in the middle of a card base. On a small piece of scrap paper I stamped the Spread Kindness sentiment in black ink and then heat embossed it in clear on top for a nice shiny look.
On top of this I ink blended a soft pastel rainbow for the ONLY pop of colour on this card. This is cut out using the coordinating diecut, and layered up with another two pieces to make it sturdy.
I added a few matte black sequins I got from a haberdashery, for a bit of interest but that was it. I’m so confused who this cardmaker is, it doesn’t feel like me but I wanted to really stretch myself outside of what I first thought I had to use with these products. I felt like I had to use water colours as The Minted Gardener uses water colours so well, but what kind of box was that to put myself in?
That’s all my cards done, so let’s get to the goodie bits!
Altenew Diecutting fun
Hi and welcome back to my blog!
Today’s cards are made with some yummy Altenew products and they are made with diecutting alone. NO stamping whatsoever! This technique is great for those times when you want something that catches the recipients eye AND fingers. The tactile feeling you get from adding die cuts to a panel is fab and really adds a little something to your card.
The star of the show is the fabulous Streamlined Sprig Die Set. It has an outline die, and three shadow pieces, and the ways to use this small but mighty set are many. Today we will look at some inlay die cutting, pattern making and, as always with me, a slight twist to the original idea I had. Make sure to watch the YouTube video if you want to find out what I was thinking the first card was going to end up looking like!
As it's early June and summer is on the way, I picked out quite a summery colour scheme for these cards. I picked five colours as the Streamlined Sprig main flower has five petals, and I went ahead and did a small mountain worth of die cutting. I figured it was better to have options when I finally sat down to puzzle the pieces together. I ended up die cutting every single piece in the set at least once, so I had a full outline, all three shadow pieces plus the pieces from the outline part.
I also decided to cut out some extra white sprigs, and one in black. Here is where one of my first ideas came to life. The die cutting diva in me wants to get as much as I can out of every single piece of card stock and I managed to get two Streamlined Sprigs out of one A2 sized panel, and immediately I decided to keep this one and use if for one of the cards!
On a card base I added 2 inch wide double sided tape and then I adhered the panel I had done the die cutting out of directly to it. The two Streamlined Sprigs die cut pieces I puzzled into the spaces, and with those in place I started playing with the coloured pieces. I did end up having to do even more die cutting as I was short a few pieces for the 'puzzle' but that's ok and was worth it for the finished look.
Speaking of the finished look, I decided that when all the pieces were inlaid and glued down that it was a bit bland looking with the white outline. This is where the twist comes in. I thought I was going to use the black outline diecut on another card but I tried placing it over the white on the card, and lo and behold, the colours popped so much more! Naturally I had to do more die cutting... as you do, so I had a second black outline piece. These two I glued down on top of the white ones and with a pre-made sentiment, also entirely made up from die cutting, the first card was done.
The sentiments I have used on both cards are mirror images of each other colour wise, one has a black shadow piece and white letters, and the other one white shadow piece and black letters. They both say the same thing 'Have a good day' and are made with the absolutely brilliant Timeless Sentiments 2 Die Set. I must add the first one, Timeless Sentiments Die Set to my stash as well, for sure. A good die cutting sentiment set, or two, are absolute must-haves for me.
On the second card I have used the coloured outlines to create a textured background. The way to do this is to glue them down onto a card base. Here I have used a white one, but I think it would look fabulous on a black one too. Both with coloured card stock and the outline cut out of Brushed Gold Metallic Cardstock, that would look absolutely gorgeous and elegant. When the glue is dry you simply trim off anything that sticks over the card base and you are ready to move on to the next step. It's a great way to make a truly unique background.
The sentiments are adhered to the cards with some Instant Dimension Foam Tape, another absolute must-have in my craft stash. This one is just thick enough to give some nice dimension, but not so high that it makes a card difficult to mail. If you don't have foam tape you can add some height by die cutting more of the shadow piece and stack them up. You only need two or three to really make a difference.
I must admit that the first card, with the black diecut outlines, pops more for me. Adding black to a card can seem a bit daunting but the right amount can really make your design/colours stand out or help them highlight a design element. Another thing that could be a fun thing to try is to add Glossy Accents on top of the coloured card stock pieces. I think that might make it look like stained glass when it's all dry. I am definitely adding that to my ideas-to-try list.
Over on my own YouTube channel, as well as the Altenew Youtube Channel, there are videos for these cards as well, I hope you get a chance to check it out and let me know which one is your favourite. If you try this technique, I'd love to hear it! Especially if you try the black and gold idea I mentioned, I'm very sure that will look spectacular and that will work for so many occasions too.
Well, that's it from me for today, thank you for spending some time with me. I hope this post was inspiring for you and has got your creativity itching to go make something now.
Crafty hugs from Erica
Altenew May 2024 Release Blog Hop + Giveaway ($300 in Total Prizes!)
Altenew May Release blog hop! Lots of inspiration, giveaways and prizes to be won!
Today I am very excited to be taking part in the Altenew May Release Blog hop!!
The blog hop is going to blow your mind with all the amazing inspiration so make sure to check that out.
Click here to see the blog hop stops.
Giveaway Prizes
$300 in total prizes! To celebrate this release, Altenew is giving away a $100 gift certificate to 1 lucky winner and a $50 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 05/14/2024 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 05/16/2024.
*The winner of the $100 gift certificate will be chosen from comments left on the Altenew blog.
Ok, so with all the fun stuff out of the way I’m going to talk a little bit about some of the cards I made for this release. I only have two to share today, and they are both black and gold, totally inspired by the Art Deco vibe.
This card is so much nicer in real life, it was difficult to photograph it properly with all that black and still have the shimmer show up.
I have used the Deco Cover Die Set with both Brushed Gold Metallic Cardstock and a Matte Black one, and oooooh, the D-R-A-M-A these two create together? It’s cardmaking excitement on a whole new level. Perfect for Art Deco.
For the first card I have used the Matte Black cardstock as a background. On top of this I added the gold middle frame and to avoid craft waste I used the negative bit from the inside of that frame to add my sentiment to. This is heat embossed in gold, because anything else would be crazy, right?
The sentiment is from the small but mighty Deco Greetings set. There is a few stray gold embossing specks around the sentiment but you know what? I think it actually makes it look even better because it says dazzling, and there is a sparkling dazzle around it!
This inside piece was layered up using Instant Dimension Foam Tape and I love that little detail. Of course I had to add some bling because… I don’t need a reason, ha!
These are from the Smoky Quartz Gem Sparkles and they are the darkest of the three colours. They have just enough gold in them to stand out against that black cardstock.
On my second card I have used the black Deco Cover Die Set frame and that luscious background is done with the Deco Fan Hot Foil Plate. I hot foiled black opaque foil on the Brushed Gold Metallic Cardstock and the results did not disappoint.
I heat embossed another sentiment from the Deco Greetings stamp set, again in gold, but this time on white cardstock.
I wanted a little something else for this card and I think the Streamlined Sprig Die Set has quite the Art Deco vibe too, so I cut it out of the Matte Black cardstock and added that as well.
This card is shiny enough that it didn’t need any more bling (insert shocked gasps here)
Well, that’s it from me for today, thank you so much for stopping by. I hope you like my cards as much as I do. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the hop and see you soon again!
With love and light, sparkle and creativity
Erica
Total Texture Tulip card with Altenew
Today I’m sharing a card you might already have seen on the Altenew Blog and Youtube channel, but I am sharing it here as well because I love how it came out!
I used the Pink Star Tulip diecut with some luscious inks from the Rose Petal ink family, Puffy Heart and Purple Wine. I have ink blended them onto the diecut pieces directly with the help of the Sticky Mats you can get for the StampWheel.
For the leaves I used some greens from the Green Fields ink family, and I also used the new Micro Blending Brushes to really control where the colour went.
On top of the assembled flower I also splattered a bit of gold water colours because why not?
I have finished it with a fun layered background using the Layered Plaid Cover Die B, which I layered up three times, before adding to a dark grey linen textured card base. The sentiment is from the Timeless Sentiments 2 set, and it’s done simple with black and white card stock.
I added a few gems from the Smoky Quartz sparkly gems collection and I was surprisingly restrained! That’s it though, I hope you like how it turned out and will get a chance to check out the YouTube VIDEO over on my YouTube channel.
I have used affiliate links in this post, as always, and as always if you click on any of these and shop using them, it will not cost you anything extra at all. Thank you for supporting me by shopping with these links, it really does mean the world to me!
With love and light, creativity and sparkles,
Erica
Altenew 10th Anniversary Blog Hop Day 1 + Giveaway (over $3,500 in Total Prizes)
Oh my goodness, I’m so excited to be part of this hop celebrating Altenew’s 10th anniversary! It’s extra special for me as I am brand new to the Design Team but I have been a fan of Altenew since Day 1. Huge congratulations to Jennifer, Tasnim and the whole Altenew team on this major milestone!
This giveaway is INSANE!! There is over $3,500 in total prizes! We are giving away a $50 Altenew gift certificate to 10 winners, a $20 ArtistrybyAltenew gift certificate to 5 winners, and an online papercrafting class($39.99 value) from Altenew Academy Online Class to 14 winners. There are also 28 awesome companies/crafty friends who are celebrating with us, and they are offering the following prizes:
Altenew: 10 x $50 Altenew Gift Certificates
ArtistrybyAltenew: 5 x $20 ArtistrybyAltenew Gift Certificates
Altenew Academy: 14 x Online Papercrafting Classes($39.99 value each)
Crafter's Companion: 1 x Gemini II Die Cutting and Embossing Machine ($329 value)
LDRS Creative: 4 x $50 LDRS Creative Gift Certificates
Online Card Classes: 5 x Online Card Classes ($25 value each)
Jennifer McGuire Ink: 1 Share Handmade Kindness goodies bag ($100 value)
Honey Bee Stamps: $100 Gift Certificate
Hero Arts: $100 Gift Certificate
Lawn Fawn: $100 Gift Certificate
Pink and Main: $100 Gift Certificate
Scrapbook & Cards Today: $100 Gift Certificate
Taylored Expressions: $100 Gift Certificate
Gina K. Designs: $100 Gift Certificate
CraftStash: $100 Gift Certificate
Brutus Monroe: $100 Gift Certificate
Picket Fence Studios: $50 Gift Certificate
Pelletier Craft Studio: 3 x $25 Gift Certificates
Michelle's Cards and Stamps: AUD $100 Gift Certificate
Spellbinders Paper Arts: 2 x $25 Gift Certificates
Scrapbook.com: $50 Gift Certificate
My Craft Room: $50 Gift Certificate
Krafters Cart: $50 Gift Certificate
A Cherry on Top: $50 Gift Certificate
Simon Says Stamp: $50 Gift Certificate
My Favorite Things: $50 Gift Certificate
Pinkfresh Studio: $50 Gift Certificate
Bumbleberry Papercrafts: £25 Gift Certificate
Seize the Stamp: CHF 25 Gift Certificate
MarkerPop: $25 Gift Certificate
Auzz Trinklets N Krafts: AUD $25 Gift Certificate
Be sure to leave comments by 04/16/2024 for a chance to win one of 68 prizes! To make the hop more exciting, start your comment with "Hi from (city or country where you're from)!" 68 winners will be chosen at random from the comments left on any of the blogs listed below and will be announced on the Altenew Card Blog on 04/19/2024.
This hop is full of amazing crafters and the inspiration is going to absolutely blow you away! You can find the full hop list via the InLinkz thingy below. The more you hop and comment, the more chances you have of winning some of these amazing prizes.
Right, with all the exciting stuff out of the way, let’s talk card making! I have made a few projects for this occasion and they are featuring some of my favourite Altenew products and I have on purpose gone back to some of the older ones, rather than focus on newer stuff. It is a 10 year anniversary after all.
I adore big word and sentiment diecuts, and if you know me, you also know I love florals and coffee, so I have incorporated all of these in my cards. Let’s get to it! My first card is super simple but the message is to the point.
I stamped up some of the images from the Coffee Talk stamp set, with Espresso and Mocha ink (what the latte else, right??) with the help of the StampWheel. Easy peasy. On top of this I added a sentiment with Pure Graphite ink, and then I sprinkled some bling on it that look like drops of spilled coffee. These are Metallic Pearls Sparkling Champagne from Pinkfresh Studio.
My second card is anything but a flat card! I had a bunch of these BAF Chrystantemum images stamped up (This particular set is discontinued sadly, but how gorgeous is it?) so I decided to use them. I made a big bouquet of them and then added the You Are Loved word die, that I had cut out of Brushed Gold Metallic Cardstock right on top.
I did layer up that You Are Loved diecut so that it wouldn’t sag, and I love doing this with diecuts. Both words, sentiments and images. It really does add a little something without taking anything away from the design itself.
My third card is an ode to my love of blue. I started out by ink blending Dusk ink onto a card base, in an ombrè fashion. I do love doing an ombrè, it is a gorgeous way to add a bit of interest using only one colour. Or use many if you want, here I used just Dusk and a lot of patience.
On top of the ink blended panel I used the Classy Stripes stencil and Nuvo Glimmer Paste in Moonstone, to add some sparkle! I have used another discontinued set to finish this card off. This one is called You Are and it has some lovely sentiments and a beautiful cloud image in it.
I have stamped it up with the Dusk ink again, slightly overlapping so that it went all over the card panel, then fussy cut this out. I also heat embossed the same cloud on vellum, in Platinum embossing powder. These two pieces I layered up so that the vellum cloud would peek out from under the blue ones.
The last thing I did was to stamp up ‘you are amazing’ on a slim banner with the same Dusk ink, and once that was adhered to the card I decided to not add anything else. Shocker, I know!
Even though I have used some older and discontinued sets on these, I hope you have enjoyed this post and my projects. Thank you for hanging in there until the end, I know I rambled on a little bit.
I thought I’d also mention that Altenew are offering some fantastic deals to celebrate, including 20% off the StampWheel! This offer is only available today, April 1st (NO APRIL FOOLS!) 12:01 am EDT until 11:59 pm EDT, so if you have your eyes on it, now is the time to treat yourself.
If you spend more than $69 you will also receive a FREE Zip 'n' Stash - Teal (1/pack) ($6.99 value) on 04/01/2024 from 12:01 am EDT until 11:59 pm EDT. While supplies last, the free gift will be added to your cart automatically.
Plus, get FREE U.S. shipping on orders over $29 (no code needed) or $10 OFF international shipping on orders over $129 with code HAPPY10TH at checkout. Valid from 04/01/2024 at 12:01 am EDT until 04/05/2024 at 11:59 pm EDT.
Well, that’s it from me for today. I hope you have enjoyed this little glimpse into my creative corner. Don’t forget to leave a comment and to hop along the rest of the blog hop for more chances to win some of those fantastic giveaway prizes!
With love and light, creativity and sparkle,
Erica