Altenew Craft-A-Flower: Buttercup Layering Die Set Release Blog Hop + Giveaway

Hi! Hope you are enjoying the blog hop celebrating the release of the Craft-A-Flower: Buttercup. You must have arrived here from Tricia Schaden's blog.

My first instinct was to choose yellow for my buttercups. When I researched the flowers a bit more, I realized that buttercup flowers can also be white, red, orange, pink, etc. So I decided to be really adventurous and use other colors.

Instead of using plain colored cardstock, I opted to use pattern papers from the Wildflower Collection that released earlier this month. You can find the card I made for that release here. 

First I trimmed the sea-green paper from the 6 x 6-inch pack and die-cut one side with the Creative Edges: Lace die. I adhered some moss green paper to a top folding white card base and popped up my trimmed panel over it with some foam tape. I used the Moss ink and the Sunburst Stencil for a little texture over the panel. I die-cut the flower and bud parts out of different pattern papers from the pack and assembled them. I also inked the bottoms with some Velvet ink. The leaves and the sentiment were cut out of scraps of green paper. 

Once I was satisfied with the arrangement of my die-cuts, I used liquid glue to stick everything in place.  To finish, I added small pearls as flower centers. Here is a look at the completed card.

I really love the way this card turned out. The soft colors remind me of the beautiful Art Deco era.

Shopping:

You can shop for your Craft-A-Flower: Buttercup layering dies set here.

Altenew has also curated a special bundle of dies and papers, available at a discounted price.

If you are a big fan of the Craft-A-Flower series, like me, simply enroll in the monthly subscription plan. o This is a monthly subscription plan for the Craft-A-Flower die set. When signed up, you are guaranteed a spot in the monthly Craft-A-Flower releases and will receive a set each month - at a specially discounted price! ($35.99 →$29.99)

Giveaway Prizes

$200 in total prizes! To celebrate this release, Altenew is giving away a $50 gift certificate to 2 lucky winners and a $20 gift certificate to 5 winners! Please leave a comment on the Altenew Card Blog and/or each designer’s blog post on the blog hop list below by 05/13/2021 for a chance to win. Altenew will draw 7 random winners from the comments left on each stop of this blog hop and announce the winners on the Altenew Winners Page on 05/15/2021.

 

Blog Hop:

The next person in the hop is the talented Helen Kalb. I have included the full list as well for your reference. 

 

Altenew Card Blog

Jaycee Gaspar

Sandhya Iyer

Emily Midgett

LauraJane

Virginia Lu

Terri Koszler

Laurie Willison

Amanda Baldwin

Verity Biddlecombe

Therese Calvird

Linda Westfall

Nathalie DeSousa

Teresa Litchfield

Maryam Perez

Jenny Colacicco

Carol Hintermeier

Ardyth Percy-Robb

Joylita Dsouza

Keren Baker

Michelle Short

Seeka

Tina Smith

Tricia Schaden

Nandini Karmarkar - That's me!

Helen Kalb 

Yoonsun Hur

Love,

Nandini

Happy Little Stampers Anything Goes With Dies Challenge - April 2021...

Hi! I am so happy to be back with the inspiration for the month of April for the HLS challenges. 

This is a very special month for me as my mom, hubby and son all have birthdays in April. My card today is for my son, who turns 9. 

I used the Ice Cream Cone Parade die by Simon Says Stamp, which has been in my stash for a long time. I die-cut snippets of watercolored paper and arranged them in the rainbow order. The sentiment is from the Sweet Cakes stamp set, also by Simon Says Stamp.

Here is another look at the card.

I hope my card inspires you to create something beautiful. You can visit the Happy Little Stampers challenge blog for more inspiration and link your creations. I look forward to visiting you in our gallery.

Entering my card in the following challenges:

NBUS Challenge #25:
The Ice Cream Cone Parade die set has been in my stash for a long time. I used it for the first time.

AAA Cards - Game #187:

HLS April Watercolor Challenge:

Love,
Nandini

Tag #2 - 25 Days of Christmas Tags

Hi! My second tag inspired by the 25 Days of Christmas Tags event hosted by Tracey McNeely on her blog In My Creative Opinion. 

This tag is inspired by Kim Hamilton's beautiful tags on Day 2. Here is the link to her original post. I loved the snowflakes and layered circles.

I used the Doily Blooms stamp set by Fun Stampers Journey to stamp on small squares of pale blue paper with Candied Apple distress oxide ink. After drying the ink, I created a star with teabag folding. This module is called the Spiralling Star and needs 5 squares. Here is the video tutorial that I followed.

I die-cut different papers with circle dies and layered them to create the base for the tag. As a finishing touch, I added some half pearls to the center and around the sides. Here is another look at my tag.

Love, 
Nandini

Quilt Style Hexagon Background with Layered Stamping...

Hi! I am here with another card I made for some challenges. This is a new technique I tried, inspired by a card by Yana Smakula. You can find the original card with a video tutorial here.

I started by cutting a bunch of shapes with the Hexagon Quilt die by Spellbinders out of watercolor paper. I bought this die a few years ago and never got around to using it. I am so happy that I finally used it! I played around with the shapes until I was happy with the pattern. For coloring the pieces, I used distress inks in shades of rust, blue, and teal. I just smooshed some ink on my media mat, sprayed water, and dunked the pieces into it. Once the pieces were dry, I started putting the card together. 

The floral bouquet is from the Magnolia stamp set by Mudra Craft Stamps. The sentiment is from another stamp by Mudra called Critter Party.

I put both stamps in a stamp positioner and stamped on a light cream card base with VersaFine Black Onyx ink. While the base dried, I prepared the die-cut pieces for stamping. The Stamping Mask Sheet by Mudra Craft Stamps was an invaluable tool in doing this. I simply trimmed a sheet of the masking paper to A2 size and arranged the die-cut pieces over it. The masking sheet ensured that my pieces didn’t move while stamping. I stamped again with the black ink. I had to do this couple of times as the paper was textured.

The rest of the card was very easy. It was like putting together a jigsaw puzzle. I popped up the pieces with foam tape and aligned them with the stamping on the card base.

The whole process of putting the card together actually went much faster than I expected! Here is another look at the completed card.

I hope you liked this card. Please do let me know if you want a video of the process in the comments.

Entering this card in the following challenges.

Mudra Craft Challenge #35:

Yes...Virginia September Show and Share:

NBUS Challenge #18:

I used the Spellbinders Hexagon Quilt die for the first time.

Retro Rubber Challenge #144:

The Magnolia stamp set was released by Mudra Craft Stamps in April 2018. It was part of my DT kit. It is also one of my favorite stamps from Mudra.

Color Throwdown #612:

Love,

Nandini

DIY Background Stamp & CAS Card with Video...

Hi! I here today with my very first video tutorial! I will teach you how to make a background stamp with fun foam and sun board. And a quick, CAS card using the stamp. You can watch the video below or head here to watch it on YouTube.

This is a fun technique to stretch your supplies. And very easy to do with whatever you have at hand!

I used the dies from the Bold Blooms set by Ellen Hutson.

The sentiment is from the Hip Hip set by Kaisercraft. I used the Sky Blue Mai ink by Mudra Craft Stamps for the stamping.

This is another look at the card.

Entering this card in the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes:

Yes, Virginia... June Show & Share:

Love,
Nandini

Addicted To Stamps And More Challenge #392...

Hi! The new challenge is up at the Addicted To Stamps And More Challenge blog. The theme this week is fun.

Your entry MUST contain the use of anything that can make a mark - Copics, Promarkers, Paints, Chalks, Watercolours, Sponges, Stencils, Masks, etc. So break out your coloring supplies and get creating!

I created a clean and simple card as inspiration.

I stamped the flower from the Stitched Peonies stamp set by Waffle Flower on a piece of white cardstock. This is one of my favorite cross-stitch style stamps. It is very easy to line up. And always give fabulous results! 

I die-cut the panel with a circle die.

I popped up the panel with foam tape on a green card base. The white stitching detail around the stamped panel was added with a white gel pen.

The sentiment is from the Birthday stamp set by Mudra Craft Stamps. Here is the completed card.

I hope you liked my card and feel inspired to create something beautiful. Please do visit the Addicted To Stamps And More Challenge blog to link your creations. You can also get some more fabulous inspiration from the rest of the talented design team!

Love,
Nandini

Papercraft Challenge #30...

Hi! Welcome back to the June challenge at the Papercraft Challenge blog. I hope you are all doing well.

The theme for June is Father's Day / Masculine Cards. If you want some inspiration, do visit us at the Papercraft Challenge blog where the DT has a great array of fabulous creations for you. You can also visit the Papercraft Business site for some great tools that can help you take your papercraft business to the next level. Like the awesome Papercraft Business Planner that helps you keep track of your favorite challenges!

Don't forget the great prizes we have for the winner every month. June Challenge Prize is the cute Duh Nuh Stamp by Lawn Fawn.

Here is my inspiration card.

I started with a white card base and stamped the border from the Fanfare stamp set by Avery Elle in three shades of blue. A background like this is easy yo create with a stamp positioner. 

I die cut the circle with two circle dies. The anchor was cut using the Life Anchor die set by Waffle Flower. 

The sentiment is from the Life Anchor stamp set by Waffle Flower.

To finish, I added some half pearls from my stash.

I hope you liked my card and are inspired to create something beautiful. I look forward to your entries in our gallery.

You can get more information about Papercraft Challenge Planner here. It is an invaluable tool for all crafters who love taking part in challenges. The Papercraft Business site also has tools that can help you take your business to the next level.

Entering this card in the following challenges:

Cut It Up Challenge #201 - Boys Will Be Boys:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge:

CAS(E) This Sketch Challenge #374:

Use Your Stuff #398 - Patterns:

Sisterhood of Crafters - Favorite Technique:
I love creating backgrounds. And I love using my border stamps to create unique backgrounds!

Love,
Nandini

Review of the Itsy Bitsy Stamp & Die Set...

Hi! I am here today to review the new Clear Stamp and Coordinating Die Set by Itsy Bitsy. You can find my previous reviews here, here and here. 

Itsy Bitsy recently launched 3 stamp sets along with their coordinating die sets under their brand Little Birdie. I selected the set called Florence which has beautiful roses along with buds and leaves. 

This set has 9 stamps and 9 dies. The price is only 999/- which makes this set very reasonable. The images are perfect for different coloring mediums. I loke that these are plenty of leaves. So building a floral cluster is very easy. I was also lucky to try the other two sets during my demo at the Itsy Bitsy store in Panaji. I will share those cards at the end of this post.

For my first card, I created a window card with some simple coloring.

I started with a white card base and a white mat. The stamping was identical on both. I stamped the large flower first. Then masked it with masking paper and stamped rest of the cluster. I used alcohol markers to color the image. I die-cut the images from the mat with the coordinating dies. This created a window that fits perfectly over my flower cluster. 

To add more interest, I inked the mat with a blue die ink. To finish, I stamped the sentiment and popped up the panel on some foam tape. Here is another look at the card.

For my second card, I decided to use some of the beautiful papers that Itsy Bitsy has. I used the Pretty Pastels paper pack. I also pulled out some handmade papers out of the Assorted Textures Value Pack. I love these packs and have several of them.

Each pack has an assortment of papers, jute, fabric etc. These packs come in really handy while card making. Here is my card.

I started with three sheets from the Pretty Pastels paper pack. I used a pink polka dot paper for the flowers and two shades green plaid papers for the leaves. I stamped the images and then cut them out with the coordinating dies. I inked the die-cuts with dye inks to add some depth and interest.

The card base is a dark grey. I stamped the smaller flower randomly with grey ink to create a nice tone-on-tone background. I cut pink, teal and white papers using the Itsy Bitsy oval dies. I stamped the sentiment on the white oval with pink ink.

To finish, I arranged the flowers and leaves in a pleasing pattern and adhered them to the card. Here is the completed card.

For my final card, I decided to do some water coloring and inlay die-cutting.

I took a panel of Little Birdie Watercolor Paper. This is a professional-grade, cold-pressed 100% cotton paper. It is thick and I love that it is bright white. I stamped only the leaves with black ink and then colored them with shades of yellow and green. Once the paint was dry, I splattered the background with the diluted paints. I also added some splatters of black and white.

I trimmed the panel and a green handmade paper with Little Birdie Rectangular Dies. These nested dies are a great addition to your stash as they are made to fit a standard A2 size card. I die-cut the leaves from the watercolored panel with the coordinating dies. I took a black card base and adhered the green handmade paper and the water-colored panel to it. I popped up the leaves and added them to the panel. This creates a lovely 3-dimensional background. Here is a look at the angled panel.

This card is now ready. I can either use it without a sentiment. Or just add a suitable one whenever I want to send the card. Here is another look at the card.

I hope you found my review helpful. I would definitely recommend these sets to crafters who like coloring and, like me, don’t like fussy cutting. At 999/- per set they are priced very well and each set has loads of options to create beautiful designs. Here are my three cards together.

I got the opportunity to use the other two sets as well during one of the demos that I do at the Itsy Bitsy store in Panjim. These demos are held every Saturday, with different techniques covered every week. You can contact your nearest store for more details. Here are the cards I made during the demo.

With the Florence set, using Song of the Sea pattern paper pack and some stenciling.

Masking and sentiment stamping. I colored the flower with the Little Birdie alcohol markers.

With the Bloom Vista set, some simple water-coloring and inking.

With the Florenza set, using the Song of the Sea pattern paper pack and partial die-cutting.

Stamp and die sets are great for creating twofer cards. The first card with an inked background.

Second card with a splattered background.

Both cards together.

I hope you will give these great sets a try.  You can buy them at any of the Itsy Bitsy stores. Or order online from the website here.

Love,

Nandini