Altenew – More Anniversary Wishes…

October 26, 2016October 24, 2016 ~ karensteele0873 ~ 8 Comments

Hi there! I’m back from my week off with the kids feeling relaxed and rejuvenated – or do I mean shattered and in need of another holiday?!! Well, all I do know is that we all had a great time at Center Parcs like we always do 🙂

Today I’m sharing this anniversary card that I made for my sister to give to her brother-in-law and sister-in-law. Again I have used Altenew’s Painted Flowers and Painted Butterflies stamps and dies and also the Peony Bouquet stamp set.

Other supplies used: Black cardstock and Patterned papers by lawn Fawn – Let’s Polka in the Meadow. Lawn Fawn’s Every day Sentiments Banner Die and sentiment stamp by Waltzingmouse Stamps – Frame It. Mama Elephant Park Avenue frame die and the following Tuxedo inkpads – Tuxedo Black and New Sprout. Red Sunset and Summer Afternoon inks from Altenew.

That’s all from me for this week. Thanks for popping by today, take care – Karen 🙂

MISTI Magic…

September 5, 2016September 2, 2016 ~ karensteele0873 ~ 15 Comments

Hello 🙂 I am back today with 2 more cards using Altenew stamps. But, this is a little before and after exercise to show you what my new friend can do…it’s name is MISTI! When I first saw the Most Incredible Stamping Tool Invented I didn’t think that it was something that I really needed. But then, I started watching tutorials on You Tube, read reviews and after a lot of deliberation – bought one! The thing that swung it for me was the fact that you can stamp an image or sentiment again if it hadn’t turned out crisp enough the first time. So many times I have stamped something and it hasn’t been a great impression and so it’s put me off doing what I was intending to do with it. Also, the amount of times that I have stamped a sentiment on a card but then accidentally moved it and then it’s all ended up wonky! I have to say that I was a little apprehensive before I first used it. I was worried that it wouldn’t live up to my expectations of it – was it all hype how good they are? Let’s be honest, they’re not the cheapest crafting tool out there, I really didn’t want to feel that I had wasted my money. Thankfully though, I can honestly say that I love it! I’m much more confident in my stamping now and have been trying things that I know I wouldn’t have got the same results before having a MISTI. Look at these cards below. The one on the left was stamped with an acrylic block, the one on the right with the MISTI.

I hope you can see how much more solid and crisp the colours are on the right. Every time that I have stamped since purchasing the MISTI I have used it. Of course there are other ways to use this in your stamping but for me, it’s worth it just doing what it’s doing for me!

To make these cards I also used: Altenew – Peony Bouquet and Painted Flowers stamp sets, Altenew – Red Sunset inks, Memento Bamboo Leaves and New Sprout inkpads. Washi tape and sentiment stamps from Craftwork Cards.

Thanks for stopping by, have a great day! Take care – Karen 🙂

Altenew…Day 5 (It’s the last one… I promise!)

April 8, 2016April 8, 2016 ~ karensteele0873 ~ 5 Comments

Yay! It’s Friday – have you got the Friday feeling? I know I have! Today is the last day of the Altenew week here on my blog. This card has again been made using Painted Flowers and Painted Butterflies and I have used Neenah Desert Storm Card for a change. I really like how this turned out on this card, I don’t use it enough so will be rectifying that in the future! I thought it might be nice to make a little gift bag to go with this which I made using Reverse Confetti’s Tagged Tote Die which I love.

I used the following memento inks here : Tuxedo Black, Potter’s Clay, Cantaloupe and Tanjelo. Also, some ribbon and twine and a stamped sentiment from Craftwork Cards.

This week has just been about me wanting to share the first cards that I have made using my first two sets of Altenew stamps and the very nice freebie that I got with the latest edition of Simply Cards and papercraft! When I first saw these layering stamps I was a little intimidated by them and didn’t think they were for me. But, you know something…I love them and have got my eye on a few more sets!!! I think the stamps speak for themselves and so cards can be pretty simple in design but look fabulous! The thing is, because of the ‘loose’ style of these stamps it doesn’t matter really if you don’t get them lined up quite right, they are very forgiving.

Thank you for stopping by today and if you have been this way during the week – then thank you so much for sticking with me 🙂 I hope you have a great weekend whatever you are doing – I’m going for a rest in a dark room!!!

Take care – Karen 🙂

Altenew…Day 4

April 7, 2016April 7, 2016 ~ karensteele0873 ~ 8 Comments

Hello and welcome to day 4 of my Altenew Week here on my blog. Today’s card is one that I have made for my brother and sister-in-law for their anniversary in May using Painted Flowers and also Painted Butterflies stamps and dies. I love the butterflies but just die-cut 2 and popped some foam tape on the back for some dimension. I also used Memento ink pads: Tuxedo Black, New Sprout, Bamboo Leaf, Lulu Lavender and Sweet Plum. The strip of lilac cardstock is American Crafts and the stripe paper is from my stash but can’t remember who by! The sentiment is from Waltzingmouse Stamps.

I am really pleased how this turned out. I think the secret to using Altenew stamps is to keep the cards quite simple and let the stamps do the talking! I hope you can join me tomorrow for the last card in this Altenew week – I promise! I appreciate you stopping by and for your lovely comments – thank you! Take care – Karen 🙂

Altenew…Day 3

April 6, 2016April 2, 2016 ~ karensteele0873 ~ 5 Comments

Hi and a happy Wednesday to you! I hope your week is progressing nicely 🙂 Today I’m sharing my third and fourth Altenew cards, this time using the free stamp and die set that I received with my latest copy of Simply Cards and Papercraft. Please note, that some – and not all subscribers got this gift this month, it should have been next months gift but I was glad that I got it early!

For the card above I also used Avery Elle’s Banner and Wreath stamps and dies, ribbon, Papermania Dew Drops, Coredinations cardstock and Memento ink pads (Summer Sky, Nautical Blue, Bahama Blue, Tuxedo Black, New Sprout, Bamboo Leaf and Cottage Ivy). The flowers on the banner were coloured with Spectrum Noirs.

My second card was again made using the freebies along with papers and cardstock from Craftwork Cards ‘Seaside Summer Collection’. The inks used here were Memento – Tuxedo Black, Angel Pink, Rose Bud, New Sprout and Bamboo Leaf. The sentiment is also a Craftwork Cards stamp.

I am really pleased with this stamp and die – even better when you think that it was free! I have a feeling that I will be using this a lot!

Thanks so much for stopping by today. Tomorrow I will be sharing a card using the Painted Flowers and Painted Butterflies sets. These are obviously in the same style and so work beautifully together. I hope you’ll be back to see that. Take care – Karen 🙂

Altenew… Day 2

April 5, 2016April 2, 2016 ~ karensteele0873 ~ 6 Comments

Altenew Painted Flowers

Hi there! Today I’m sharing my second card in this Altenew inspiration week! This was the second card that I made using Painted Flowers and I went a little bit off-piste here. I only used the outline stamp and then added the colour using Spectrum Aqua Markers. I was pleased with the results so simply teamed it with some black card for the frames. The sentiment was made on the computer. I also used Spellbinders Circle Dies, Memory Box Stitched Rectangle Dies, watercolour card, Spectrum Aqua Markers, twine and an Archival Jet Black ink pad.

Painted Flowers 2.jpg

That’s all from me for today. I hope you can stop by tomorrow to see what I have made using my free Altenew rose die that I received with the latest copy of Simply Cards and Papercraft. Take care – Karen 🙂

Altenew Week……

April 4, 2016April 2, 2016 ~ karensteele0873 ~ 2 Comments

thank you so much

Hi there! I hope you enjoyed a great weekend and have had a good start to the new week! This week on my blog I’m going to be sharing the first cards that I have made using the Painted Flowers stamp set from Altenew, and also Painted Butterflies and dies to match. I have also made 2 cards that were made with my free gift from Simply Cards and Papercraft this month which was a rose and leaf stamp and dies to match – yes, and they were Altenew! Apparently the wrong gift had been sent out to lots of subscribers this month and we should have got the Altenew set next month – but I’m not complaining!

When I first saw these layering stamps I thought they were beautiful but probably a bit complicated for me! However, I really wanted to give them a try so bought the Painted Flowers set. I watched You Tube video’s about how to use them, and I downloaded the cheat sheet from the Altenew website which shows how to match up each stamp layer – this helped a lot!

So, this was my first attempt and I was pleased enough with it to make it into a card! This one is for my daughter’s teaching assistant to say thank you for the extra maths lessons she’s been holding before school each day to help the kids prepare for their SATS in May (I for one will be glad when they are over!) I used the Four Scoops Altenew inks on this card and the sentiment is from Avery Elle’s Wreath and Banner stamp set. The thin strip of lemon card at the top is American Crafts and the banner die is from Spellbinders.

thank you so much