I know I said it recently in my YouTube launch - but I really do love stencils! And after taking the Altenew Celebration: Stencil Techniques course, I love them even more! They are super versatile - really stretching the value of what you spend on them.
Today I really intended to share 3 cards using different techniques - but one of them generated a 2-for-1 set-up that I just couldn't resist... and even using a stash scrap of cardstock that I thought I'd never use. The 2-for-1 is created by creating a stencil from a die. I also have examples to share using embossing paste and a stencil overlay. There are quite a few other techniques shared in this course and I highly recommend it!
First up – the 2-for-1!!
To begin with, I pulled out a very yellow piece of cardstock from my stash and used the Altenew Striped Leaf Cover Die to create a stencil. I blended Catherine Pooler inks in Melon Ice, Garden Party, Grass Skirt, Mardi Gras, and Deck the Halls on a watercolor panel and spritzed the panel with water to give it more of a watercolor impression. To finish it off, I used the Altenew Mega Hello Die to cut out the sentiment, adhered the panel on some craft foam and glued it to a top folding A2 card base. Finally I adhered some Altenew Antique Gold Sequins to give it a bit of pop.
After completing this card, I realized that I actually liked the stencil I’d used. I never thought that yellow cardstock would be used! However, the varying greens really toned it down and I decided it could easily be used for more a masculine card. So I adhered it to another top folding A2 base. For the sentiment, I selected one from the Altenew/Hero Arts Bloom & Grow set. I embossed it with white embossing powder and used some craft foam on the back of it to add dimension. These were a couple of really quick cards to create!
Next I decided to use embossing paste with stencils. I love that you can add any color to embossing paste to add impact. For this card, I picked the Altenew Tiny Bubbles Stencil and added blue ink to the Altenew Embossing Paste. While the paste was drying, I stamped the focal point using the Altenew Layered Cupcake stamp set with Altenew Crisp Inks in Sea Breeze, Tide Blue, Starlight, Turquoise, Citrus Burst, Honey Drizzle, and Caramel Toffee. I fussy cut out the cupcakes, glued one right on top of the bubble background and the other glued with foam on the back. I glued the panel on another top folding A2 card base and used a piece of washi tape from my stash to break apart the bubble panel and the card base. I stamped Happy Birthday from the Layered Cupcake stamp set and embossed it with clear embossing powder.
I don’t usually seem to share many of my “in progress” photos but I did want to share a bit of how I added the color to the embossing paste. This was another quick card – the lengthy part was waiting for the embossing paste to dry.
For the final card from this course, I am using a technique called stencil overlay. The way you do this technique is ink blend the background and then place a stencil over the background. Using one of the colors just used, lightly ink blend over the stencil.
For this process I used a watercolor panel and, using a large paint brush, I applied a clean water wash over the entire panel. Then I dropped in color using Altenew Crisp Inks in Orange Cream, Honey Drizzle, and a small bit of Forest Glades. Once the panel dried, I placed the Altenew Geometric Landscape Stencil over the panel and lightly blended Orange Cream over the stencil. Next I decided to stamp a bird from the Altenew Ori Kami stamp set on vellum and emboss it with white embossing powder. I cut down the watercolor panel using the Hero Arts Nesting Rectangle Die set and then wrapped the vellum around that panel so I could hide the adhesive on the vellum. I chose the So Grateful For You sentiment from the Altenew Paint-A-Flower Poppy stamp set and used Altenew Crisp Ink in Dark Chocolate to stamp the sentiment on the panel. I splattered some gold ink using a Posca gold pen. To assemble the card, I placed the colored panel on craft foam, glued it to a brown scrap of cardstock and then on the card base.
I really enjoyed making these cards and I think that any of them could be used to send to anyone – none of them are too frilly.
The following is a list of the tools I used for these projects.
Please note that some contain affiliate links which means I may earn a small commission when you click and purchase - at no additional cost to you! This helps to support my blog. Thank you!!