Notable Nest

Monday, February 17, 2020

Pinkfresh Studio February 2020 Background Stamp Release Blog Hop

Hi Friends! I am super excited and honored to be hopping along with the Pinkfresh team to celebrate the February Background stamp release! You may have come from the blog of TaeEun Yoo but if not feel free to start at the beginning with Pinkfresh Studio.

Because these stamps are on a rubber base, they are amazingly detailed and stamp so crisply. You'll certainly see how much I love these stamps, as there are LOTS OF CARDS to share! Let's get started!!

1) Diamond Tiles Stamp

This diamond background stamp will absolutely be a workhorse in your craft room stash. Wait until you see what it can do!

This background was created by stamping twice, off-set randomly. I love how it introduces just the right amount of color, but also lets the vase and flowers be the focal point.

The vase and flowers are from the Floral Vase set, the mat is cut with my absolute favorite panel die of all time, from the Diagonal Stitched Rectangles die set.

The next several backgrounds have all been stamped with specific measurements, which I'll share so you'll be able to recreate these patterns yourself.

I was so excited with how this pattern turned out, I actually brought it upstairs to show my husband! This gorgeous rainbow pattern is created with four different impressions of the stamp in pink, orange, citron, and aqua. After stamping the first color (using my misti stamp positioner) I moved my card base 3/16" to the left, stamped the second color, moved the card base 3/16" to the left, and so on for all four colors.

The 3/16" spacing in between each color is just enough to slightly overlap each stripe by the same amount. I love that the overlapped sections are slightly darker to really accentuate each individual diamond. The sentiment die is from the Essentials: Classic Words die set.

Here are two cute little birthday cards, both cut with the Diagonal Stitched Squares die. The feminine background on the left is made by stamping the first color, then shifting the card base 6/16" and stamping the second color. This gives you a perfectly bisected grid pattern.

The masculine card on the right is made by stamping two colors 3/16" apart, and then also vertically shifting the card 3/16" for the third color. Totally different look.

And wouldn't you know this stamp coordinates perfectly with the new Pinkfresh 6x6 patterned paper pack?!

Hahaha, just kidding, no need to buy a paper pack when you can MAKE YOUR OWN! I'm particularly happy with how this turned out! This is where I went a little off the rails and challenged myself to make themed backgrounds. Can you see the holidays?! We've got Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Easter, 4th of July, Halloween and Christmas.

These are all 4-color patterns, stamped by shifting the cardstock 3/16" to the left each time. Except for the 4th of July pattern on the lower left which is only 3 colors (and the last 3/16" section left white).

This is the St. Patrick's Day background, which happens to make a perfect masculine birthday card!

Another set! These are all Christmas plaid patterns. The top pattern is another 4-color 3/16" pattern. The left pattern is a 3-color 3/16" pattern. The right pattern is new ... it's a 3-color 4/16" pattern. This allows three stripes to perfectly co-exist without overlapping at all, while also covering the entire card base. So awesome! The bottom pattern is a 2-color 6/16" pattern.

All different. All festive.

You could easily create an army of different Christmas plaids by gathering all your green and red inks and stamping away while watching a movie.

The card uses the Ornate Oval Frame die with a sentiment from the Classic Words die set. The floral swag around the sentiment is from the newer Wildflower Sketches stamp set and is just what I needed to fill that empty space.

This background is yet ANOTHER different way to use this stamp! Two colors, but for the second color I turned the stamp 45 degrees before stamping. You can see that the pattern doesn't reach all the way to the ends, but I think that gives it a modern, quirky feel. The gold embossed florals are again from the Wildflower Sketches stamp set, and the sentiment is from the Classic Words die set.

With the piles of patterned paper you now have, what do you do with it? Here's an idea .. use it as a background for a cover plate die like the newer Folk Dance die.

Love seeing all those different colors peeking through the patterned holes! The love die is from the Phrase Builder: Sending die set.

Whew! That was a lot to digest, I know, but I really had fun experimenting with the different looks for the Diamond Tiles stamp. I know you will too!

2) Enchanted Blooms

This background stamp is multi-useful as well ... It can be a floral focal point like on the left card, or a subtle background like on the right card.

I watercolored a portion of the floral background and cut it with the Ornate Oval Frame die.

It's mounted on a Radiating Background 1 die and the sentiment is from the Phrase Builder: Sending die set.

This card uses the exact same supplies (Radiating Background 1 die, the Ornate Oval Frame die, and the Phrase Builder: Sending die set) but has a different look. The soft floral background pattern is perfect to give this card a modern-Victorian-romantic feel.

I cut the panel with the Diagonal Stitched Rectangles die set so that the ends are free to act like fringe on the card. I curled up several of the ends to exaggerate this look, knowing that its dimension that can easily be flattened to mail in an envelope.

3) Lemon Lush

Finally, how cute is this background? With all the coloring enthusiasts out there, this stamp is sure to be a popular one to pull out and try different techniques.

I trimmed the top off so I could add the sentiment over a white background

Finally, don't throw your hand-colored strip away, adhere it on the inside for a custom interior for your card.

PRIZES:

- One lucky person will win the entire release on the Pinkfresh blog, and on the Pinkfresh IG feed!

- I am also happy to give away a $25 gift card! Please leave a comment on this post to enter.

The winners will be posted on Monday, February 24th on the GIVEAWAY PAGE. You must check that page & claim your prize within 2 weeks.

If you'd like to take advantage of the free shipping with $35 purchase, please use code FEBSHIPUSA, or FEBSHIPINTL for discounted international shipping. Offer expires on Feb 21st.

Your next stop along the hop is my uber talented friend Channin Pelletier's blog!

Thank you so much for letting me share all my projects with you!
Kelly

Supplies Used (affiliate links used, thanks so very much for your support of my projects!)

Radiating Background 1 Die

Ornate Oval Frame Die

Diagonal Stitched Squares

Wildflower Sketches Dies

Wildflower Sketches

Phrase Builder Dies

Folk Dance Die

Thursday, February 13, 2020

Altenew February 2020 Stamp/Die/Stencil/Watercolors Release Blog Hop + Giveaway

Hello! I'm thrilled to help showcase the new Altenew stamp and die release, as well as a new set of watercolors and a reversible craft mat! First things first, you may have come from the blog of Lilith Eeckels, but if not please feel free to start at the beginning with the Altenew Card Blog.

1) Ornamental Bliss Stamp and Die Set

This is one of those sets where I would recommend clearing your calendar the first time you sit down to use it. There are just so many different possibilities on how to use this wonderfully detailed semi circular pattern! I'm going to share three different ways to use this set when you stamp the two halves together to form a circle. But, you can use it so many other ways (on top, on bottom, or on either side of a sentiment, as a background pattern all over a card base, on a die, etc.)

There are a few different components to this set. There's an outline stamp, which I've stamped in black here. Then you start coloring in the open spaces with stamps. Each different color you see here is a stamp. It's really neat how quickly you end up with a fully colored image! Inking up a stamp and having all the hot pink spaces colored at once is extremely gratifying.

The sentiment is from last month's Hello and Hugs set (I've used this one so much already!) I adhered the Hello die right over the design, and the black sentiment strip right over the hello die. The dots were stenciled through the Feeling Dotty stencil.

Here's where the new craft mat comes into play! The middle of the mat has an outline of a vertical and horizontal A2-sized card, including a clearly marked center line. So useful!! Now it's easy to see where you need to be stamping, instead of just eyeballing it. Especially for very symmetrical designs like this one.

Here's a second way to use this stamp ... just the outline of the design. Wow, take a look at all that detail on display! This card really couldn't be more simple, as it's just the two outline halves stamped together and a sentiment strip on top. But even though it's simple to make, it still packs a punch with all that detail.

I think this would be a great stationary-style card. It would also be a great candidate to make multiples of and give to someone as a set with different sentiments. Each card base is a different color, and you stamp the black outline design in the middle.

Finally, here's the third way to use this set ... skip the outline stamp and just stamp the fill-in pieces. I am really surprised at how much I love this look. It's not often I make a card without black on it.

There are a few layers on the "hugs" die to give it some separation from the busy background design. It's actually pretty easy to line up these two halves perfectly to form the circle. The key is to pay attention to the little flower image that extends to each side. It should completely overlap itself when you flip the semi-circle around to stamp the rest of the circle.

Three different looks for the Ornamental Bliss Stamp set, and still so many other possibilities and colors to experiment with!

2) Alpaca Stamp and Die Set

OK, now how cute is this guy? This alpaca will give your cards an instant sense of cool quirkiness. He's also got a bandana layering stamp that will allow you to customize the color of his bandana.

He's popped up over a background of the Layered Stars Die, with some gold glitter peeking out.

3) Watercolor Roses Stamp and Die Set, with 4) the Dotted Diamonds Background Stamp

Super loving this background! It's the perfect combination of reaching across the entire card, without dominating the design. And all that texture from the dots!! Just perfect. I stamped this a second time in a light blush slightly offset from the first, and there's even a little more depth added.

You can certainly add more depth to the watercolor roses with colored pencils, but not everything has to be mini works of art. I enjoy these blooms in their solid color for a more modern vibe.

I wanted to see how many different colors I could stamp the background in. It appears the answer is four! Or at least that's where I stopped. What a different look with the multiple stamping!

5) Warm Hugs Stamp Set

This set is really interesting. It's similar to the Ornamental Bliss set in that there is a stamp for each color in the design, including the mint background. How fun!

The other neat thing is that it's meant to go with the outline stamp from the Rose Blossom Stamp Set! Don't have that set? No worries, you can just use a felt tip pen like I have here and draw your own outlines.

This card is very similar, only I've included two of the panels horizontally. I think this one is my favorite of the batch.

The sentiment strip is cut to the same width to make one larger panel. Although I'm probably going to buy the Rose Blossom stamp set so I can have the outline stamp, it was pretty fun trying my hand at outlining the shapes on my own with a felt pen.

Once again, I've probably gotten carried away with this release, but when you really love a set it's hard not to keep trying different things out. Thanks for making it all the way through!

Prizes:

To celebrate this release, Altenew is giving away a $50 gift certificate to 6 lucky winners! Please leave a comment on the Altenew Card Blog and/or Altenew Scrapbook Blog by 2/18/2020 for a chance to win.

We’ll also draw a winner to receive a $20 gift certificate from the comments left on each designer’s blog on the blog hop list below. All winners will be announced on the Altenew blogs on 2/21/2020.

Your next stop along this hop is the very talented Therese Calvird, who has some fun projects to share with you.

Thanks so much for stopping by!
-Kelly

Supplies Used (clickable affiliate links below, I appreciate your support!)