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 #2 | Happy Holidays

Hi friends!  Today’s card will be my second installment in my 2026 Holiday Card Series where I am attempting to have my holiday cards mostly completed before mid-November.  I felt the Altenew Pegboard Panels would make a fun focal point for a homespun Christmas card… let’s get started!

The supplies used:

     Altenew – Pegboard Panels Die Set

     Spellbinders – Everlasting Squares Die Set

     Spellbinders – Postage Edge Squares Die Set

     Spellbinders – Scenic Poinsettias 3D Embossing Folder

     Altenew – Warm Blessings Stamp Set

     Scrapbook.com – Heavy Weight Mixed Media Paper Pad (White)

     Anna Griffin – Champagne Matte Foil Cardstock

     Spellbinders – Merlot Colorwheel Cardstock

     Simon Says Stamp – Cabernet Pawsitively Saturated Ink Pad

     Tsukineko – VersaMark Watermark Stamp Pad

     Taylored Expressions – Anti-Static Powder Tool

     Ranger Ink – Princess Gold Embossing Powder

     WOW! Dual Speed Heat Embossing Tool

     Altenew – Double Sided Adhesive Sheets

     Bearly Art Precision Craft Glue

     Scrapbook Adhesive – Black Thin 3D Foam Squares

     Embroidery Needle

     Red, Green, and White Embroidery Floss

     Scrapbook.com – Foam Ink Blending Tool

     Iuile Watercolors – Star Watercolor Paint

     Honey Bee Stamps – Warm Pearls Pearl Stickers

     Anna Griffin Empress Die Cutting Machine

Creating the Background Panel

For the background panel, I used my paper trimmer to cut a 4.5” x 7” panel of Spellbinders Merlot cardstock.  I placed this panel into the Spellbinders Scenic Poinsettias 3D Embossing Folder and taped it in place on the side of the embossing folder where the flowers feel raised.  I inked up the surface of the opposite side of the embossing folder using a Simon Says Stamp Cabernet ink pad and ran it through my Anna Griffin die cutting machine.  I repeated this process three or four times until I obtained the results satisfactory results.  Using my paper trimmer, I trimmed the embossed panel to measure 4-1/8” x 6” and inked the edges to darken them using a foam blending tool and more Cabernet ink.  While that dried, I cut a piece of the Anna Griffin Matte Champagne Foil Cardstock to measure 4.5” x 6.25” – this will serve as my matting layer behind the embossed one.  My final touch on the background was to add a few drops of water to my pan of Iuile Watercolor’s Star watercolor paint, frothed the mixture a bit, then used a small paint brush to add gold spatter across the embossed Merlot cardstock panel.

Creating the Focal Point

For the cross-stitched panel, I started by using the two square dies from Altenew’s Pegboard Panels die set and die cut them together using a piece of Scrapbook.com’s white Mixed Media Paper.  I used white dark red, and sage green embroidery flosses to cross stitch the entire panel and placed a piece of Altenew Double Sided Adhesive Sheet that was approximately 2.75” x 2.75” on the back side to not only allow me to adhere it to the card front, but also to ensure the loose ends of the threads stay in place.  Next, I created a frame for the stitched panel by die cutting a piece of Anna Griffin Matte Champagne Foil Cardstock using the third largest postage edge die from Spellbinders’ Postage Edge Squares die set and the 9^th largest die from Spellbinders’ Everlasting Squares die set.  I aligned the smaller square die inside the postage edge one, taped them together, then die cut one from the gold foil and two more from Spellbinders Merlot cardstock.  I glued the three framing layers together with Bearly Art Precision Craft Glue and set aside to dry.

Creating the Sentiment

For the sentiment, I used a scrap piece of the Spellbinders Merlot cardstock and placed it into my MISTI stamping tool and dusted it heavily with anti-static powder.  I used the “happy holidays” sentiment from Altenew’s Warm Blessings stamp set and VersaMark ink to stamp the image onto the cardstock.  Once stamped, I applied a layer of Ranger’s Princess Gold embossing powder onto the stamped cardstock, tapped off the excess, and used my heat tool to melt the embossing powder.  After it cooled, I buffed away the excess anti-static powder and fussy cut the sentiment with scissors.  Lastly, I placed Scrapbook Adhesives Thin 3D Foam Squares (black) behind the sentiment.

Assembling the Card

I glued the champagne foil cardstock panel to the front of an A2, side folding card base and glued the Merlot, embossed cardstock panel to the center of the foil panel.  Next, I added glue to the back side of the foil, postage edged frame, and adhered it on top of the cross-stitched panel.  Once the glue dried, I removed the backing paper from behind the cross-stitched panel and adhered the focal point to the card front.  After removing the backing paper from the black foam squares behind the sentiment, I adhere it to the lower portion of the card front.  My final touch was adding a five of the Honey Bee Stamps Warm Pearls pearl stickers to the center of the cross-stitched piece and that wraps up today’s card.

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