Wishing You A Great Day! | Altenew Challenge Live! Creative Challenge #56

Hi friends!  Today’s card is my take on Jen’s weekly Altenew Challenge Live for 16 June 2026 (Creative Challenge #56).  The challenge is to “create a project that embraces repetition as a design element”.  I have the products in mind that I want to use for this challenge, now let me see if I can pull it off successfully!

The supplies used:

     Altenew – Bubbly Bumble Bee Layering Die Set

     Altenew – Making Moments Press Plate

     Altenew – One-Go: Solid Sentiment Banners Press Plate & Die

     Spellbinders – Precision Layering A2 A Die Set

     Spellbinders – Merlot Colorwheel Cardstock

     Gina K. Designs –Black Onyx Cardstock

     My Favorite Things – Butterscotch Cardstock

     Tsukineko – VersaFine Clair Nocturne Ink Pad

     Tonic Studios – Vintage White Vellum Paper

     Altenew – Ultra Stick Double Sided Tape, 1”

     Altenew – ¼” x 1/16” Black Instant Dimension Foam Tape

     Bearly Art Precision Craft Glue

     Spellbinders – BetterPress System

     Anna Griffin Empress Die Cutting Machine

Creating the Background Panel

For the background panel, I used the largest die from the Spellbinders Precision Layering A2 A die set to die cut a piece of Gina K. Designs Black Onyx cardstock and the second largest die to die cut a piece of Spellbinders’ Merlot cardstock.  This gave me a black matting layer with a dark red background for the bees I'll be using for my repetition element.  Using the Altenew Making Moments Press Plate and my Spellbinders BetterPress system, I added VersaFine Clair Nocturne ink to the press plate and applied the impression to the Merlot cardstock panel.

Creating the Decorative Elements

For the bumble bees, I used Altenew’s “Bubbly Bumble Bee” layering die set.  I die cut the layers for the bee from Gina K. Designs Black Onyx cardstock, Tonic Studios’ Vintage White Vellum Paper, and My Favorite Things’ Butterscotch cardstock.  Once the die cutting was completed, I used Bearly Art glue to adhere the layers together (the design required 11 completed bees).  After the glue dried, I positioned the bees onto the A2 size card front and tried to mix up their positioning, so all the bees weren’t facing the same direction or in the identical orientation.  Once happy with their layout, I adhered them to the Merlot cardstock panel with liquid glue.

Creating the Sentiment

For the sentiment, I chose the “Wishing You a Great Day!” sentiment banner from Altenew’s One-Go: Solid Sentiment Banners Press Plate set.  I used the Spellbinders BetterPress system and the VersaFine Clair Nocturne ink pad and pressed the sentiment banner onto a piece of white cardstock.  After allowing the ink to dry approximately 30 seconds, I used the coordinating Altenew die to die cut all the sentiment banners.

Assembling the Card

To assemble the card, I added strips of Altenew’s 1” Ultra Sticky Double-Sided Tape to the back side of the card front with the bees on it and adhered the panel to the black matting layer.  I also added the double-sided tape to the back side of the matting layer and adhered it to an A2, side folding, Butterscotch colored card base.  Next, I added pieces of Altenew’s 1/4” wide, black Instant Dimension Foam Tape to the back side of the sentiment banner that required support and adhered it to the card front.

Thank you for stopping by and checking out today’s blog post, I really appreciate it.  Until next time, happy crafting!

2026 Holiday Card Series #4 | Have a Merry Christmas

Hi friends!  Today’s card will be the fourth installment in my 2026 Holiday Card Series where I am attempting to have my holiday cards mostly completed before mid-November.  I’ve created with elements from this Tim Holtz/Sizzix die set before, but this time I wanted to try using it in more of the traditional sense.

The supplies used:

     Sizzix/Tim Holtz – Vault Christmas Magic

     Simon Says Stamp – Cozy Christmas Stamp Set

     Concord & 9^th – Festive Phrases Stamp Set

     American Crafts Cardstock – Christmas Textured Cardstock

     Simon Says Stamp – So Very Black Cardstock

     Simon Says Stamp – Black Glossy Cardstock

     Copic – Sketch Alcohol Markers Y08, R39, R29, R24, B97, B95, B91,

          G28, G24, G21, E74, C7, W9

     Tsukineko - Memento Black Dual Marker

     Lawn Fawn – Jet Black Ink Pad

     Simon Says Stamp – Pawsitively Saturated Ink Pads – Sky, Dusk & Night

     Tsukineko – VersaFine Claire Nocture Ink Pad

     Iuile Watercolors – Silver Watercolor Paint Pan

     Ranger Ink – Glossy Accents

     Posca Silver Pen PC-1MR

     Altenew – Masking Paper

     Bearly Art Precision Craft Glue

     Scrapbook Adhesives – Thin 3D Foam Squares

     Picket Fence Studios – Candy Cane Gem Embellishment Mix

     My Sweet Petunia – Original MISTI Stamping Tool

     Anna Griffin Empress Die Cutting Machine

Creating the Background

For the background, I took a piece Altenew’s Masking Paper and die cut it using the cityscape die from the Sizzix Vault Christmas Magic.  Next, I trimmed a piece of white cardstock to measure 4.5” x 6.25” and used a pencil and a t-square ruler to draw a line across the bottom of the panel (portrait orientation) 2.25” from the bottom edge of the cardstock.  I removed the adhesive backing from the cityscape mask and adhered the bottom edge of the mask along the top of the pencil line.  Using Simon Says Stamp ink pads, I began ink blending with Sky ink starting at the top of the buildings and continued blending the night sky with Dusk and Night inks until the entire sky area was ink blended.  Before removing the cityscape mask, I added a light spattering of Iuile Watercolors’ Silver watercolor paint across the sky for my stars.  I carefully removed the mask and set the panel aside to completely dry.

Creating the Focal Points

Using the Sizzix/Tim Holtz Vault Christmas Magic die set, I die cut the dies from the following cardstocks:

     City Scape:  American Crafts Cardstock – Christmas Textured Collection – Dark Grey

     Santa & Reindeer:  Simon Says Stamp – So Very Black Cardstock

     Lamp Post:  Simon Says Stamp – Black Glossy Cardstock

     Wreath & Bow:  Green and Red Scraps from my Scrap Bin

I used liquid glue to adhere the cityscape die cut along the top of the pencil line drawn onto the lower portion of the background panel and added the Santa/reindeer die cut above the buildings in the sky.  I used a pair of scissors to the trim off the excess reindeer that extended outside the card panel.  Next, I used the Y08 Copic Sketch alcohol marker to fill in the window openings on the buildings.

Then, using the Simon Says Stamp Cozy Christmas stamp set, I stamped the two vehicles, Christmas tree, and evergreen tree (twice) with Lawn Fawn’s Jet Black ink onto X-Press It blending cardstock.  I colored the images using Copic Sketch alcohol markers in these colors:

     Red Car:  R39, R29, R24, W9 (tires), C7 (windows), Posca Silver Pen

          on wheels and bumper trim – R29, B97, B95, B91 (gift)

     Blue Car:  B97, B95, B91, W9 (tires), C7 (windows), Posca Silver Pen

          on wheels and bumper trim – G28, G24, G21, E74 (tree)

     Trees:  G28, G24, G21 and the lights were dotted using the same Sketch markers

          I used on other elements listed above

Once the images were colored, I fussy cut them and used a black Memento marker to cover the white edges of the trimmed images.  I added Ranger’s Glossy Accents to the windows of both vehicles and to the Christmas tree lights just for fun.

Creating the Sentiment

For the sentiment, I used the Concord & 9^th Festive Phrases stamp set’s “have a merry Christmas” greeting and stamped it on the lower center portion of the card front using VersaFine Clair Nocturne Black ink.

Assembling the Card

I used liquid glue to adhere the two regular trees and the red card to the card front, then used Thin 3D Foam Squares to adhere the blue card and the decorated Christmas tree.   Using my paper trimmer, I cut a scrap piece of green and red cardstocks to measure 5” x 1/8” and glued those below the cityscape die cut on the card front and trimmed off the excess with scissors.  Lastly, I added a sprinkling of Picket Fence Studios’ Candy Cane gem embellishments around the sentiment and adhered the card front to a white, side folding, A6 card base.

Thank you for stopping by and checking out today’s blog post, I really appreciate it.  Until next time, happy crafting!

Thinking of You | Altenew Challenge Live! Creative Challenge #55

Hi friends!  Today’s card is my take on Jen’s weekly Altenew Challenge Live for 9 June 2026 (Creative Challenge #55).  The challenge is to “create a project using techniques like soft blending, vellum, or layering to achieve a dreamy look”.  We’ll see how this goes… wish me luck!

The supplies used:

     Altenew – Captivating Blooms Stamp Set

     Altenew – Stylish Greetings 2 Die Set

     Brutus Monroe – Alabaster White Embossing Powder

     Fabriano – Artistico Extra White Acquarello Watercolor Cardstock

     Lawn Fawn – Vellum Paper

     Copic – Sketch Alcohol Marker BG93

     Tsukineko - Versa Mark Watermark Stamp Pad

     Taylored Expressions – Anti-Static Powder Tool

     Fuumuui - Semi-Moist, Opaque Watercolor Palette, Grays

     Altenew – Ultra Stick Double Sided Tape, 1”

     Altenew – Instant Dimension Foam Tape, 1/16” x 1”

Honey Bee Stamps - Warm Pearl Stickers

     Altenew – StampWheel 2.0 Stamp Positioner

     WOW! – Dual Speed Heat Tool

     My Sweet Petunia – Original MISTI Stamping Tool

     Anna Griffin Empress Die Cutting Machine

Creating the Main Panel

For the decorative/main panel, I trimmed a piece of Fabriano Artistico Extra White Watercolor card to measure 7” x 8”.  I placed the watercolor card into my StampWheel 2.0 and coated it with anti-static powder and used Versamark watermark ink to stamp Altenew’s large Captivating Blooms stamp onto the watercolor card.  After I removed the watercolor card from the StampWheel, I applied a coating of Brutus Monroe’s Alabaster White embossing powder over the stamped image, tapped off the excess, and melted the powder with my heat tool.

I chose to use my Fuumuui’s semi-moist, opaque watercolor paints for my coloring medium.  I felt they would present the soft, dreamy look I was going for in this challenge.  Using a wet-on-wet watercoloring method, I painted all the petals using Red Gray-1 and Red-Gray-2, the flower centers were a mixture of several of the colors from the palette to attempt to get a brownish-grey tone.  For the leaves and stems, I painted using Yellow Gray-1 and Yellow Gray-2. 

Creating the Matting Layer

I used a paper trimmer and cut a piece of the same watercolor cardstock to measure 4.5” x 6.25”.  I placed the trimmed watercolor paper onto my glass mat and applied a layer of the Fuumuui Yellow Gray-2 watercolor paint around the outer ½” of the watercolor paper panel – this will serve as my matting layer and will match the leaves from my painted, floral panel.  I set the panel aside to dry while I moved on to the sentiment.

Creating the Sentiment

For the sentiment, I decided to use Altenew’s Stylish Greetings 2 die set and selected the “Thinking of You” sentiment.  Since I don’t have cardstock that matches my greens exactly, I decided to repeat the process I performed for the matting layer.  I took a scrap piece of the watercolor cardstock and added the Fuumuui Yellow Gray-2 watercolor paint across the cardstock until I had painted enough to die cut the sentiment.  I die cut the sentiment three times from the watercolored cardstock – once from the Yellow Gray-2 painted cardstock and two additional times from the plain watercolor cardstock – then I die cut the coordinating shadow layer from a piece of vellum.  I used liquid glue to adhere the painted sentiment to one of the plain white sentiments then used my Copic Sketch alcohol marker BG93 to add a layer of color around the outer edges of the sentiment to tone down the edges of the white and make them more cohesive.  After that, I adhered them to the front of the piece of vellum and added the third white die cut sentiment to the back side of the vellum to add a diffusing/softening effect so that the sentiment wouldn’t compete with the floral background.

Assembling the Card

I started by trimming the watercolored, floral panel to measure 4.25" x 6". To assemble the card, I added strips of Altenew’s 1” Ultra Sticky Double-Sided Tape to the back side of the matting layer and adhered it to an A6, white card base.  Next, I added strips of Altenew’s 1” x 16” Instant Dimension Foam Tape to the back side of the floral painted panel and adhered it to the top of the matting layer.  Lastly, I added liquid glue to the back of the sentiment and adhered it to the lower bottom third of the card front and added five little white pearls around the sentiment.

Thank you for stopping by and checking out today’s blog post, I really appreciate it.  Until next time, happy crafting!