Notable Nest

Tuesday, March 17, 2020

Altenew March 2020 Stamp/Die/Stencil Release Blog Hop + Giveaway

Oh boy, I can't wait to share lots of different cards I made with this release, including two quick and easy cards with just patterned paper and sentiments, and four traditional, stamped cards.

You may have come from the one and only Laura Bassen's blog, but if not feel free to start at the beginning with the Altenew Card Blog.

These first two cards feature the patterned paper in a major way!

1) Fuchsia Soiree 6x6 Paper Pack

These aren't your typical patterned papers ... these packs are full of fine multi-colored artist papers! Each one worthy of being a card front. Case-in-point, these two cards feature as much of the patterned paper as possible on an A2 sized format.

Goodness, this paper with the watercolored flower is swoon-worthy! A few different shades in the petals, and then also in the center of the card for a lot of dimension.

The edge of the card is bordered with one of the new Washi tapes, the Sweat Pea Palette Washi Tape. I love how it ties in all the purples, and that it allows part of the image to show through. The large die cut "hugs" is from the Hello & Hugs set that I seem to use all the time now.

Here's another amazing paper ... so many different colors happily co-exist in this bountiful bouquet! With something as special as this, I really didn't need to add much more to transform it. I love having a shaped space for a simple sentiment in the middle.

The golden diagonal stripes on the bottom of the card is simply the other side of the page! It's beautiful AND it's already all thought out for you!

2) Happy Birthday to You Stamp Set

Birthday cards are the cards I need the most of, and it seems I'm always looking for something new. This Happy Birthday to You set is the perfect mix of adding a little something different, yet it's not so specific that you're going to be limited in how you use it.

This card uses the set in a very straightforward manner, with the bold, san-serif "Happy Birthday" sentiment front and center.

What I really love is the "Happy Birthday to you" in the song verses. It's literally impossible to make this card without singing the song in your head at least once!

And you can make your own sheet music by stamping the song verse repeatedly in the background. While you're at it, why not stamp and blend a rainbow of inks?

Putting the "Happy Birthday" sentiment on an angle is helpful in breaking up all those horizontal lines. Also, did you notice this sentiment is different than the sentiment on the previous card? This one has a giant shadow that I stamped in navy, which totally makes it stand out more, and lets you introduce an additional color to tie it in with the card.

Here's one more version. I like that this card doesn't scream "happy birthday," but it's still there in the fine print on the background.

This way you can layer another sentiment on top.

I always love using the fox from Hug Me as a focal point on a card. After putting him on, I added the leaves on either side, but I still needed something to stamp in the backgroud to take up a little more space. Luckily, there are several different sizes of circles in Spheres & Spirals to pick from. Love all those dense and interesting lines, especially embossed in gold.

This is such a great set that I'm sure will be a staple in your collection!

3) Sweet Nothings Stamp Set

I have one final card to share, and this one makes use of the Sweet Nothings Mask Stencil. I use the stencil portion to blend ink onto the flower and color it, and then use the mask portion to stamp additional flowers behind it.

The stencil, mask, stencil, mask, stencil, mask process makes creating this card really quick and easy.

Then a few spatters and a sentiment is all you need to complete your card.

In addition to the patterned paper pack I shared here, there are several other packs available in this release.

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 3/22/2020 for a chance to win.

We'll also draw a winner to recieve a $20 gift certificate from the comments left on each designer's blog in this blog hop. All winners will be announced on the Altenew blogs on 3/24/2020.

I now happily send you to the blog of Maryam Perez, who I'm sure has something utterly delightful to share with you!!

Thanks for stopping by!
-Kelly

Supplies Used (click on the photos for affiliate links to the products; thanks for your support of my blog and projects!)

Happy Birthday To You

Spheres & Spirals

Sweet Nothings Stencil and Mask

Sweet Nothings Stamp Set

Tuesday, March 10, 2020

Altenew March 2020 Washi Tapes Release Blog Hop + Giveaway

Hi Friends! Welcome to the Altenew March Washi Tape release! These washi tapes were unveiled at Creativation in January, and it was fun to see everyone's reaction to them, especially the gold foil tapes. I've got a lot to share with you, so let's get started!

First off, you may have come from the blog of Svitlana Shayevich, but if not feel free to start at the beginning with the Altenew Card Blog.

1) Floral Field Washi

This is one of the gold foil washis that people were caressing in the Altenew booth at Creativation! Not only do you get a gorgeously watercolored field of flowers, but they're on a dramatic black background, AND it's bordered on each side by gold foil trim.

What?!?

I know. Awesome. Below the Floral Field Washi you may notice there's a thin strip of gold foil tape ... that's the Gold Foil .2" Washi Tape.

There's one additional tape included on this card, and that's the modern set of three plus signs after the Hugs die. This thin Positivity Washi Tape is something I'm really looking forward to using in conjunction with sentiments (as a way to add focus to them).

2) Marbled Dream Washi Tape

When I saw the preview of this washi tape I knew instantly I HAD to have it! Let's just jump right to the unabashed, full-on use of this washi tape as a card base ...

It's like tiny rivers of gold are flowing thru an ombre sea.

Can you even handle this deliciousness?! There really no need for anything but a sentiment from the Bold Greetings dies. If you need other reasons why this washi is a must-have, I have a few more cards to share:

After putting the tape on cardstock I cut floral petals from the Simply the Best Die Set. I like the gold rivers peeking through from the bottom floral layer.

In addition to the marbled tape, I got to use a second tape on this card ... the Golden Strokes Washi Tape. I can see turning to this tape OFTEN when I want to add something to the bottom of a card. Or when I want to add a touch of gold (since the rest of the tape blends in with a white card base).

As bold as that flower is, you can alternatively limit this tape to being used on just the leaves. I honestly just grabbed some left over florals from the Floral Drape Stamp set that were on my desk, and paired them with these awesomely styled leaves.

There are two other tapes here, the bottom is again lined with the Golden Strokes washi tape, and the sentiment is underlined with the awesome pluses from the Positivity Washi Tape. Unlike a stamp, washi tape can easily go over multiple layers and look flawless.

Finally, here's the tape used as a background, although instead of being the entire card base, it's just on the Fine Frames Diamonds Dies.

That gold shine behind the florals is just delightful!

So many different looks with the Marbled Dream Washi Tape!

2) Colored Sets of Solid Washi Tapes

This final group of cards showcases the sets of 4 gradiently-colored solid washi tapes

For these cards I simply overlapped each different color by 1/4". Love all the new bands of color this creates! It's kind of like a 2-for-1 deal! This is the Rose Petal Washi Tape set.

I had an extra Canterbury Bell laying on my desk from this month's new Build-a-Flower post ... yep, that's about all this card probably needs!

The Tea Party Washi Tape Set is just as beautiful! I found it interesting how the intersecting bands of color change based on which tape is on top. On the lower half of the card the darker values of tape are on top. On the upper half of the card, the lighter values of tape are on top, creating a much lighter and dreamier intersection.

The focal point is one of the Forever In Love bouquets that I fussy cut. With the background really being the star of the show, I left the bouquet uncolored.

And here's the Sea Shore Washi Tape Set. This time I went from light washi strips on each end to the darkest washi strip in the center.

The Positivity Washi Tape really comes in handy when you want to add something but don't know what!

Finally, here's a mix of a few different washi colors. I'd really like to have a pair of socks in this pattern!

The washi that's going across the card in the middle and is holding the floral stems is the Painted Grid washi. Like the Positivity Washi Tape, this one is only $2.50 ... so easy to just slip this in your cart : )

I've only scratched the surface of these wonderful sets of washi tape! These are all horizontal line designs, but you can do diagonals, line patterns, just a color + white, checks, anything!

You made it! Here's a summary of the cards (minus the one with the flowers on the diamond).

Prizes:
To celebrate this release, Altenew is giving away a $30 gift certificate to 6 lucky winners! Please leave a comment on the Altenew Card Blog and/or Altenew Scrapbook Blog by 3/18/2020 for a chance to win.

We'll also draw a winner to recieve a $15 gift certificate from the comments left on each designer's blog in this blog hop. All winners will be announced on the Altenew blogs on 3/21/2020.

It's now my pleasure to send you to Laurie Wilson, the queen of clean!!

Thanks for stopping by!
-Kelly

Supplies Used (click on the photos for affiliate links to the products; thanks for your support of my blog and projects!)