Altenew Educators "Style it with Stencils" Blog Hop and Linky Party + Giveaway

Hi! Hope you are enjoying the latest blog hop by Altenew Educators. You must have reached here after visiting Amy Hill. She is such an amazing crafter and I am always inspired by her beautiful work!

I am a huge fan of Altenew and I love working with stencils! My first introduction to stencils was in college while studying Textile Design. Back in those days, there were no stencils available in the market. So we used to design and then hand-cut the stencils. I am so happy now with the amazing range of stencils that are available now!

Stencils are one of the most versatile and inexpensive craft tools you can have. There are many, many different techniques you can do with them. And as long as you use them with care, they will last you forever. I still have many of the hand-cut stencils from my college days.

I am going to show you three different ways in which you can use stencils today. I am using the Sunburst stencil by Altenew for all my projects. I used large pieces of white cardstock measuring around 6" x 6" for the inking. This allowed me to make two cards out of each background. 

I also have a neat trick that I used to make sure my stencil stayed in place. I simply applied some repositionable adhesive to the back of the stencil. This allowed me to just press my stencil into place and work on it without stressing about it moving or putting tons of washi tape. After my inking was done, I used an erasure and gently rubbed away any adhesive that was on the paper.

So let's start with our projects for today.

First up are two cards that I created out of one background.

I first used Fresh Lemon ink from the Pocketful of Sunshine mini ink cubes set to ink the Sunburst stencil. After the inking was done, I rotated the stencil slightly and applied Coral Berry ink from the Red Cosmos mini ink cubes set. Here is a close up of the finished panel.

Since the background was so bold, I kept my cards very simple. For the first card, I cut the panel slightly smaller than an A2 sized card base and mounted it with some foam on an orange card base.

I die-cut a small heart and stamped the sentiment from the Persian Motifs stamp set with Firebrick ink from the Warm & Cozy mini ink cubes set on a strip of white paper.

Here is another look at the completed card.

I created the second card with a narrow strip of the background leftover from the first card.

I started with a cream card base and added splatters with Fresh Lemon and Firebrick inks. Once the inks were dry, I stamped the sentiment from the Sweetest Pea stamp set on a piece of orange cardstock.

I adhered the sentiment panel on the card base and added the stenciled strip with some foam tape over it. Here is another look at the finished card.

Here are both the cards together.

You can create really bold and graphic backgrounds using stencils. I have a video tutorial showing you the next background I created. You can check it out here by clicking on the pic below or head to my YouTube channel.

Here is the first card.

I trimmed the background to fit an A2 size card base and rounded the corners. I also die-cut a rectangle with rounded corners. The sentiment is from the Signature Words die set which I die-cut out of some white paper.

I just popped everything up with foam tape to complete the card. Here is another look at the card.

Some more pics of the card.

The second card was made out of the scraps leftover from the two stenciled backgrounds.

I took a cream card base and added some black splatters. While the ink was drying, I took a long piece of black cardstock and glued the leftover strips of paper and black paper. I trimmed the rectangle and then inked the edges with black dye ink. The floral sprig is from the Fresh Freesia stamp set. I stamped the image and then die-cut it with the coordinating die. I also stamped the sentiment from the Birthday Greetings stamp set on the card base and rounded the corner.

The striped panel and the die-cut sprig were both popped up with foam tape and added to the card.

This is my favorite card today. And I am happy that I used up every bit of the two backgrounds that I created!

And both the cards together.

I always like to find ways to use my card making supplies for other projects. And stencils can be used for home decor, fabrics, apparel; the list is really endless! For my last project, I used it on a small wooden box.

First I painted the box with black chalk paint. I used two layers to ensure a good solid color.

Once the paint was completely dry, I attached the Sunburst stencil to the top of the lid. I mixed acrylic paints in golden yellow, green, and teal with some texture paste. The trick is getting the proportion of paint and texture paste right. If you add too much paint the mix becomes runny and seeps under the stencil. If there is too much texture paste, it looks chalky. It is a good idea to test the mix before you start with your project.

Once I was happy with the consistency, I applied the paste through the stencil with a palette knife. I started with yellow, then green and finally teal. Once the paste was applied, I carefully removed the stencil and left the piece to dry overnight.

Here is a close-up of the stenciling.

I gently removed the extra bits of texture paste that were sticking out and then touched it up with black chalk paint. Here is the completed box.

This box is great for holding small knickknacks.

 

It will also work for gifting chocolates or pedhas.

I hope you like my projects and find them inspiring. I would love to know which is your favorite project today. 

The next person on the hop is Maryam Sharara. She is such an amazing crafter! I am a big fan of her work! Here is the complete list in case you want to go back to the beginning or missed someone.

Altenew Card Blog

Amber Rain Davis

Neha Aggarwal

Nicole Watt

Erin Thompson

Teri Wilson

Helen Kalb

Rachael Shedeed

Terri Marie Koszler

Rosie Neustaedter

Amy Hill

Nandini Karmarkar - You are here!

Maryam Sharara 

Nenette S. Madero

Irina Fonina

Vicki Finger

Virginia Lu

And finally, no hop is complete without some prizes. 

Prizes:

Altenew is giving away a $20 gift certificate to 5 lucky winners! Please leave a comment here on the Altenew Card Blog by 9/19/2020 for a chance to win. 

We’ll also draw a winner to receive a $15 Altenew 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 Winners Page on 9/22/2020.

There’s MORE! We will pick 2 of our favorite handmade creations from those who joined the linky party and they will each receive a $15 Altenew gift certificate!

Love,

Nandini

MFT Summer School Day 1 - Visual Triangle...

Hi! I recently completed 5 projects for the MFT Summer School. This is a fun, educational series by My Favorite Things. It teaches you the basics of good design and how to apply those designs in your cards.

Day 1 covered the concept of creating a visual triangle to add interest to your card. You can read more about it here.

Here is the card I created.

You can check out my video on how I created the card here or you can head over to my YouTube channel.

I used the Buildable Bouquet stamp and die set by MFT for the flowers and Zig real brush pens for all the coloring. 

I used the Smile word die by Lil' Inker for the sentiment.

I have also started keeping track of my NBUS products. NBUS stands for Never Before Used Stuff. These are products that we crafters buy on impulse and never get around to using! I am trying to use as many of these as possible. I have created a Pinterest board for this and plan on updating it. For today's card I used the MFT Buildable Bouquet set from my NBUS stash.

Here is another look at the card.

 

Hope you liked my card and enjoyed the video. I look forward to hearing from you. 

Entering this card in the following challenges:

Creations in Pink #25:

Yes...Virginia August Show & Share:

Love,

Nandini

Rainbow Card Challenge - Radiant Ruby...

Hi! Welcome back to the Rainbow Card Challenge. I am here with my inspiration for the August challenge.

The mood board this month is so rich and vibrant that I was very inspired! I love the color red and I had lots of fun creating this card.

I used Yana Smakula's tutorial for Blending Free Coloring with Copic for reference. This is a great technique if you are intimidated by blending colors or just prefer a more graphic look. I used the Spring Flowers stamp set and coordinating dies by Simon Says Stamp for the flowers. I did the coloring with the Artist Markers by Altenew.

For the background, I decided on a tone-on-tone look. I used two shades of red and die-cut the darker paper with the Basket cover die by Pink & Main twice. I removed only the square pieces, leaving the rest in as I did not want a very busy background. And then I adhered the pieces together to get some depth. Here is a close-up.

The sentiment is from the Party Time stamp set by STAMPlorations. To create the striped bit under the sentiment panel, I used one of the borders from the Interlocking Backdrops set by Lawn Fawn sentiment and stamped it in red on a scrap of white paper.

To finish, I arranged all the elements on the card base and used glue and foam tape to adhere them down. Here is another look at the finished card.

I hope you are inspired by my card and create something beautiful. You can visit the Rainbow Card Challenge blog for more inspiration from the DT and link your creations. I look forward to seeing you in our gallery!

Love,

Nandini

Step-by-step Tutorial for CrafTreat with Video | Layered Hydrangea Stencil

Hi! Nandini Karmarkar here, with my very first DT post for CrafTreat! 

I am a big fan of stencils and I really love the CrafTreat layered stencils. With the multiple layers for each flower, it is very easy to get a beautiful, realistic-looking image. Today I will show you a card I created using the Layered Hydrangea stencil.

I have also included a detailed video showing the process. You can also watch it here.

I created two flowers, one with light pink, dark pink and purple, and the second with yellow, orange, and purple. Using multiple shades gives added depth to your image. For the flower centers, I used distress oxide ink and then added some glitter paste. This gives some shine as well as texture to the flowers.

I kept the leaves simple. There are two leaves in this stencil and I just inked each in two shades of green.

Once the ink was dry, I fussy-cut everything, leaving a tiny border around the image. If you find it difficult to maintain an even border while fussy-cutting, first lightly draw a line with a pencil. You can simply erase it after your cutting is done.

I like cards that have a bit of drama. And colorful flowers against a dark background always look dramatic. So I decided to use a black card base. To add some subtle texture to the background, I used one of the stencils from the 2-Step Plaid and added some inking with black ink.

To assemble the card, I arranged the flowers and leaves over the card base in a pleasing arrangement and adhered them with liquid glue. I used foam tape to pop up some of the elements.

I stamped the sentiment with dark pink ink and adhered it to the card with some foam tape.

Here is another look at the completed card.

CrafTreat Supplies:

CTS439 Layered Hydrangea Stencil

CTS442 2-Step Plaid Stencil

Other Supplies:

• Dye inks
• Distress Oxide inks
• Black card base
• Cream cardstock
• Finger Daubers
• Glitter paste

Entering this card in the following challenges:

Make My Monday Challenge #125 - Use Stencils:

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Bright & Cheerful:

The Flower Challenge #46 - Anything Goes:

Love,
Nandini

Rainbow Card Challenge - Tantalizing Tangerine...

Hi! Welcome back to the Rainbow Card Challenge. I am here with my inspiration for the July challenge.

I absolutely love the bright orange color for this month! Luckily I found a matching card base in my stash and a stamped and colored image to match.

The flower is from the Beautiful Day stamp set by Altenew. It was one of my experiments with coloring and I honestly don't remember which medium I used! 

I splattered some cream chalk paint on the base. Once the paint was dry, I cut strips of cream handmade paper and popped them on the card base with foam. The sentiment is from the Signature Words die set by Altenew. 

I adhered it to the paper and added the die-cut flower and leaves.

Here is another look at the finished card.

I hope you are inspired by my card and create something beautiful. You can visit the Rainbow Card Challenge blog for more inspiration from the DT and link your creations. I look forward to seeing you in our gallery!

Love,

Nandini