Monday, February 26, 2024

Love the New Colors from Altenew Alcohol Markers Release!


Hi Friends! Wanted to share a card I made with the newest set of Alcohol Markers released by Altenew called Firewood Garden.


I ended up turning this "Splendid Bouquet" into a bouquet of stargazer lilies lol! The petals looked a little plain (in retrospect, I think this is because I didn't put enough color on the main flower, but I was trying to differentiate it from the darker, smaller flowers in the background) so I added dots in the style of stargazer lilies. 


All three sets of colors in this Firewood Garden set are well matched - the dusty mauve, mustard yellow, and citron green are such a great combination to use. Sometimes when buying sets you end up with a few colors or shades you don't think you're going to use often, but not this case with this one!

Don't forget to stop by the Instagram Hop for more inspiration and prizes!

Thanks for stopping by!
-Kelly

Firewood Garden


Friday, February 16, 2024

Using Acrylic Markers on Dark Backgrounds - Fun to Play With!



Hello Friends! How long has it been since you've played with acrylic markers? It's been a hot minute for me, and I have to say I've forgotten how fun they are! 


I thought they would be perfect for a charcoal sympathy card, and I love the intensity they have on the very dark cardstock. 


It's a bit freeing from working with alcohol markers where you're spending a lot of time blending the colors and shading together. This is just pure coloring! You can still add details with these markers by layering a different color on top of your first color. Like the leaves for example, where I've added a few lines and dots to break up the solid color. 

If you're in the mood to try something new, I'd recommend picking up a set of the Altenew Acrylic Markers - they're quite inexpensive and come out to around a dollar per marker! There's a whole Instagram hop going on if you're looking for additional inspiration and/or prizes.

Thanks for stopping by!
-Kelly

Wednesday, February 7, 2024

Altenew February 2024 Release Blog Hop + Prizes!

 

Hello Friends! These cards were sneak-peeked in the January hop, and now that the Graceful Gardenias set is released, with the rest of the February goodies, I'd like to share a bit more about them. You may have come from the amazing Jaycee, but if not feel free to start at the beginning with Altenew.

Project Kit - Graceful Gardenias


This large gardenia (my favorite flower, I carried them down the aisle at my wedding and the smell was heavenly!) is detailed enough to be well-illustrated, yet open enough to add your own spin on coloring (see the light polka dots on the orange petals).

The sentiment really says it all, and I love that it's quite substantial. You could absolutely save these three lines for the inside of the card. But on the front, it's a nice secondary sentiment. The Fancy For You die is a staple in my craft room from an old release (but it's still in stock!)

Splitting the giant gardenia in two was a good way to get something for the top and bottom of my card (vs just the middle).

For a second card I inked up the other gardenia in the Graceful Gardenias set and wanted to make a quick card out of it.

I stamped the gardenia first on the base of the card, and then used the coordinating die to place over the stamped image and sponge ink around it. 


Then I added a bit more pizzaz to the gardenia by inking the polka dots a little darker on the orange petals. I rotated the gardenia die 180 degrees from the card base so you'd be able to see the leaves poking through.


Giveaway Prizes

$300 in total prizes! To celebrate this release, Altenew is giving away a $100 gift certificate to 1 lucky winner who comments on the Altenew blog, and a $50 gift certificate to 4 winners from all the comments on the designers' posts! Please leave comments by 02/13/2024 for a chance to win. Winners will be announced on the Altenew Winners Page on 02/15/2024.

You've reached the end of the blog hop (congrats!) but if you'd like to revisit any of the stops, here is the complete list:

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Thanks for stopping by!
- Kelly

Thursday, February 1, 2024

Altenew Inspiration Challenge - Street Art Can Be a Great Resource for Cardmaking!


Hello Friends! I'm so excited to be hosting the Altenew Inspiration Challenge for the whole month of February!


It's a color challenge that's based on one of the most beautiful pieces of street art I saw this summer. Head over to their blog to read all about it and hopefully play along!

Here are some photos of how I was inspired by the street art:


Sure hope to see your creations in the gallery!

Thanks for playing!
-Kelly 

Friday, January 26, 2024

Using Mini Stamp Sets - Altenew January 2024 Monthly Mini Himilayan Mayapple


Hello Friends! Wanted to share a card that was made without much investment - one tiny flower stamp and die set (with leaves) and the sentiment that comes along with it from the Altenew Mini Monthly Himilayan Mayapple set that was just released today. 


Coloring the flowers in different tones of watercolors makes them look a bit different, and then rotating them slightly also helps mix things up. You can really create a nice bouquet this way. 


Finally, stamping the flower (and leaf) outline on the card base gives a coordinating feel to the card, and fills up that empty space. 

Big sets are of course fun to play with, but the small sets can give really good results as well.


Great news, you don't even have to buy this stamp set! Just make any purchase at Altenew and it will be added to your order for free! Whoo-hoo! But hurry, only thru 1/28.

Thanks for stopping by!
-Kelly

Pinkfresh Studio January 2024 Stamp, Die, Stencil, and Hot Foil Release

Hello Friends! How, just how, can Pinkfresh keep coming out with amazing products month after month? IDK, but I'm happy they do, especially the delightful new alpha die set!

You may have come from the lovely Karin, but if not feel free to start at the beginning with Pinkfresh Studio.


This beauty features the Heart of Gold Stamp, Die, Stencil. In addition to the lovely bird in the lemon tree, it comes with several useful sentiments, with dies that cut closely around all the letters. I love this look, since usually I forget about the sentiment until the end and by then I don't want to cover up the design I worked so hard on lol. The small die allows you to sneak the sentiment on. 


Here's a look at the new Julieta Alpha Die Set in gold glitter paper. It was a great chance to add an XOXO to the sentiment of "sending love," and nicely filled an empty space I had in the corner.


To make the main bird/branch image stand out, I die cut another piece in vellum and added that to the background. I think it registers as something extra, without being overwhelming. An OG Shaker Heart Die is in the background to help the bird stand out. 


I've recently been enamored with the four-panel cards that Yana Smakula has been making, there's something so visually pleasing, balanced, full, and flexible about them that really speaks to me. 


I embossed the sentiments from the Heart of Gold Stamp set in gold, cut the LOVE letters from Julieta Alpha Die Set, and arranged them on 2 1/8" x 2 3/4" rectangles of cardstock.


Then I just adhered them on the card base. Love, love (no pun intended) this look, and think it's great for a less-feminine card since there are no hearts, flowers, etc. 


Gah! Those letters cut in gold foil!!! 


Now I'm on a roll and want to use some of my leftover rectangles. A simple gold embossing of the Heart of Gold Stamp, another Shaker Heart Die (from Target glitter wrapping paper 50% off after Christmas a couple weeks ago!!), and those amazing Julieta Alpha Dies and you've got a great card!  


The empty O was begging to be filled with some gems : ) 


Really loved how these turned out!


Ok, so ONE MORE lol! 


For this one I extended the designs beyond the rectangle and trimmed them off, including the larger Shaker Heart Die and the Sending Love Stamp, Die


I agree with Yana and think this is a great way to break down the design of a card, and an idea you can use for any type of stamp or die set, any theme, any occasion, etc. 


OK, one final card from me. This one uses two cuttings of the Sending Love Stamp, Die, Stencil, Hot Foil set on the top and bottom, a stenciled stripe in between, and the Julieta Alpha Die Set.


I backed the SWEET alpha dies with gold foil dies, slightly offset. 


The sentiment originally had the word "SWEET" in it, so I just removed that and spelled out SWEET with the alphas instead. An easy way to customize your sentiment.


Thanks for taking a look today - I really enjoyed working with all of these products!

Prizes

We will be giving away the full release on the Pinkfresh blog & YouTube channel, as well as a total of TEN $25  gift cards along the hop. Comment along the hop for chances to win. All winners will be posted on February 5, 2024 on the GIVEAWAY PAGE, make sure to check within 2 weeks!



We've got a fantastic FREEBIE up for grabs this week in celebration of our January release! All orders $30+ before shipping will receive a FREE Folk Art Slimline stencil set, valued at $19! It's a great week to pick up some of our brand new products or shop from your wish list. ðŸ˜‰ This freebie is only available WHILE SUPPLIES LAST!

PLEASE NOTE: You do not need to add the stencil set to your cart, nor is there a discount code. Our warehouse team will manually add the free stencil set to all eligible orders when shipping. 


Your next stop is the one and only Lea who has amazing things to share!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Thanks so much for stopping by!

-Kelly


Supplies Used (thanks so much for supporting my blog with free-to-you affiliate links):

Julieta Alpha Die Set

Sending Love Stamp, Die, Stencil, Hot Foil

Heart of Gold Stamp, Die, Stencil

Shaker Heart Dies