Altenew | December 2024 Release Blog Hop + Giveaway

Hello there, I am delighted to be joining Altenew today to celebrate the December 2024 release with a fun blog hop. The release this month is a bit smaller than usual, but there are still lots of beautiful products being released and I am using a few on my cards today. 

PLEASE NOTE: This post contains affiliate links. Please see below for my full disclosure.

BUILD-A-GARDEN: DREAMY DAHLIAS

My first card today uses Altenew Build-A-Garden: Dreamy Dahlias. I started off by stamping the large image from the set onto white cardstock using Altenew Obsidian Pigment Ink and the Altenew Stampwheel 2.0. I then took the coordinating coloring stencils and placed them over the image, one by one, to add ink blending to colour the image with Altenew Mini Blending Brushes. 

I used Altenew Cherry Blossom Fresh Dye Inks for the flowers and Altenew Green Valley Fresh Dye Inks for the stems and leaves. The image was cut out using the coordinating die and adhered to a US A2 sized white card base with Altenew Instant Dimension Foam Tape. The excess was cut off the sides using scissors. 

I stamped a sentiment from the Altenew Build-A-Garden: Dreamy Dahlias Stamp Set onto white cardstock using Altenew Obsidian Pigment Ink. It was die cut out using the coordinating die. I cut the die two more times from white cardstock and adhered them behind the stamped one, before adhering to the card. To finish, I embellished with the new Altenew Milky Way Gem Sparkles. 

CRAFT-A-GARDEN: CROCUS

I started off by die cutting the Craft-A-Flower: Crocus Layering Die Set from white cardstock. I placed the pieces on my Sticky Mat and added ink blending to them with Altenew Enchanted Garden Fresh Dye Inks for the flower petals, Altenew Golden Sunset Fresh Dye Inks for the flower centres, and Altenew Green Valley Fresh Dye Inks for the leaves. 

I assembled and adhered the flowers using liquid glue. The leaves were adhered first to a US A2 sized white card base with liquid glue. The flowers were then adhered using foam tape. I stamped a sentiment from Altenew Build-A-Garden: Dreamy Dahlias onto Altenew Crafty Necessities Jet Black Cardstock using Altenew Embossing Ink. 

I applied Altenew Pure White Crisp Embossing Powder and heat set. It was cut into a strip and adhered to the card with foam tape. To finish, I embellished with the new Altenew Amethyst Gem Sparkles. 

NEAT & NIFTY STORAGE POCKETS

Also releasing this month are new Altenew Neat & Nifty 9" x 11.5" Storage Pockets. Like the smaller version, they are very sturdy, robust pockets with a flap closure at the front. You can store so many things in these. I know a lot of people are using them for cardstock, but I am storing my extra large stamp sets (and coordinating products) in them, as well as my swatch sheets. 

I print off swatch sheets from the Altenew website to use as a guide when crafting. It is nice to now have them all contained in a couple of pockets and I can just grab them when I need to. 

BLOG HOP:

As mentioned, this post is part of  a fun, inspirational blog hop. Please click on the other participants below to visit their blogs. 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

GIVEAWAY:

$300 in total prizes! To celebrate this release, Altenew is giving away a $100 gift certificate to 1 lucky winner and a $50 gift certificate to 4 winners! Please leave a comment on the Altenew Card Blog and/or each designer’s blog post on the blog hop list below by December 17th 2024 for a chance to win. Altenew will draw 5 random winners from the comments left on each stop of this blog hop and announce the winners on the Altenew Winners Page on December 19th 2024. The winner of the $100 gift certificate will be chosen from comments left on the Altenew blog. 

SUPPLIES:

 

Here are the links to what I have used on the projects. Affiliate links are used on some products. This means that if you make a purchase after clicking on my link, I receive a small commission with no extra cost to you. I truly appreciate your support when using these links. Please click on the logo below the product to shop at your favourite store. All products were personally purchased except those from Clearly Besotted, Hero Arts or those marked with an asterisk (*) which were kindly sent to me to use. You can read my full disclosure here.

Thank you so much for stopping by today, I really do appreciate it. I hope you have a wonderful time on the hop and have a great rest of the day too! Take care! 

Hero Arts | Varying Butterfly Wings

Hello there, I am over on the Hero Arts Blog today, sharing a card using the new Varying Butterfly Wings Fancy Dies. These dies are so beautiful and the great thing is, there are three wings, so you can mix and match the different ones depending on what design you are going for. 

PLEASE NOTE: This post contains affiliate links. Please see below for my full disclosure.

I started off my card by placing the Hero Arts Varying Butterfly Wings Fancy Dies onto a panel of Hero Arts Deluxe Smooth White Cardstock. Each of the wings are separate, as is the body. They were held down with low-tack tape and ran through my Platinum Six. 

These dies are really cool as they do not cut like a traditional die but cut more like perforation lines, so that some pieces lift up and others do not. I coloured the body and wings using Copic Markers (the colours that I used are listed for reference below the supplies area). 

The panel was adhered to a US A2 sized card base made from Hero Arts Pitch Black Cardstock with foam tape. The sentiment, from the Hero Arts Floral Rainbow & Clouds Stamp Set, was stamped and heat embossed on Pitch Black Cardstock, cut into a strip and adhered to the card with foam tape. To finish, I embellished with Spellbinders Silver Mix Color Essentials Gems. 

SUPPLIES:

 

Here are the links to what I have used on the project. Affiliate links are used on some products. This means that if you make a purchase after clicking on my link, I receive a small commission with no extra cost to you. I truly appreciate your support when using these links. Please click on the logo below the product to shop at your favourite store. All products were personally purchased except those from Clearly Besotted, Hero Arts or those marked with an asterisk (*) which were kindly sent to me to use. You can read my full disclosure here.

COPIC MARKERS: Body - 100, C8, C6. Wings - BG49, BG15, BG13, BG11, BG10/V09, V17, V15, V12, V01. 

For more details on how I made the card, please head over to the Hero Arts Blog. Thank you so much for stopping by today, I really do appreciate it. I hope you have a lovely day! 

Spellbinders | Cheers

Hello there, today I have a card to share using the Cheers stamp set from the new Sweet Moments Collection by House Mouse for Spellbinders. These stamps are so cute and perfect if you want to practice your colouring skills! 

PLEASE NOTE: This post contains affiliate links. Please see below for my full disclosure.

I started off by stamping the Spellbinders House Mouse Cheers Cling Rubber Stamp onto a panel of white cardstock using Memento Tuxedo Black Ink. I then coloured the image using Copic Markers (the colours that I used are listed below the supplies area for reference). 

I adhered the panel to an A2 sized card base, made from Hero Arts Plum Cardstock, using thin foam tape. I then stamped a sentiment from the Spellbinders Snowflake Wishes Stamp Set onto white cardstock using Versafine Clair Nocturne Ink. 

It was cut into a strip using one of the Spellbinders sentiment strip dies from a retired set (I keep a magnetic bowl full of sentiment strip dies on my desk!) and adhered to the card using thin foam tape. To finish, I added white gel pen highlights to the grapes. 

SUPPLIES:

Here are the links to what I have used on the project. Affiliate links are used on some products. This means that if you make a purchase after clicking on my link, I receive a small commission with no extra cost to you. I truly appreciate your support when using these links. Please click on the logo below the product to shop at your favourite store. All products were personally purchased except those from Clearly Besotted, Hero Arts or those marked with an asterisk (*) which were kindly sent to me to use. You can read my full disclosure here.

COPIC MARKERS: Mouse - E59, E57, E55, E53/RV34, RV32,R000. Grapes - V09, V06, V05, V04, V01. Glass - C1, V09, V06, V01. Leaves/vines - G29, YG17, YG23, YG01/E35, E23, E21. 

Whilst I am quite rusty these days, it was nice to just sit and colour this image. Thank you so much for stopping by today, I really do appreciate it. I hope you have a wonderful day! 

Spellbinders | Felt Fox

Hello there, today I have another plushie to share with you, If you haven't seen the others that I made, you can see the reindeer here and the pumpkin here. Today I am using the Forest Fox, however, I decided to make him into more of an arctic fox and use greys instead of red/browns. 

PLEASE NOTE: This post contains affiliate links. Please see below for my full disclosure.

I started off by die cutting the main body of the Spellbinders Forest Fox Etched Dies from light grey felt from my stash. I then cut the white pieces using the white felt in the Spellbinders Merino Wool Felt Holiday Collection. The black I used for his eyes is also from the same felt collection. The grey for his nose, as well as the pink for his cheeks, are both from the Spellbinders Merino Wool Felt Neutrals Collection. 

I followed the video tutorial by Nichol Spohr to stitch the fox using DMC Floss (3 strands). Instead of stitching the nose and cheeks, I decided to glue them using hot glue. I did this for the eyes too, being careful to only add glue to the bottom part, so that I could add the white highlight stitch to the top. 

I used polyester filling to add some plumpness to the fox (in his head, tail and body only) but you can use a variety of filling materials. The stitching is fairly easy to do, although a little time consuming. The hardest parts are attaching the tail into he body and then the head onto the body. I usually use a blunt needle when stitching, but for these parts, I did use a sharp one so that I could get through all the layers. 

SUPPLIES:

 

Here are the links to what I have used on the project. Affiliate links are used on some products. This means that if you make a purchase after clicking on my link, I receive a small commission with no extra cost to you. I truly appreciate your support when using these links. Please click on the logo below the product to shop at your favourite store. All products were personally purchased except those from Clearly Besotted, Hero Arts or those marked with an asterisk (*) which were kindly sent to me to use. You can read my full disclosure here.

Isn't he just absolutely adorable? I think he may be my favourite so far! I do still have one that I want to make though and will hopefully share that here soon! Thank you so much for stopping by today, I hope you have a wonderful day! 

Spellbinders | Monster Love

Hello there, today I have two mini cards to share with you using the Spellbinders December 2024 Large Die of the Month Club Kit. The kit is called Monster Love Pop, as alongside the monsters, you can create a pop up stadium for them to stand on. I didn't go down that route but there are examples on the Spellbinders website if you want to take a look. 

PLEASE NOTE: This post contains affiliate links. Please see below for my full disclosure.

I started off my mini cards by die cutting the monsters from the Spellbinders December 2024 Large Die of the Month Club Kit from Spellbinders cardstock. I cut the purple monster from Spellbinders Purple Mist Cardstock, as well as Snowdrift for the eyes and teeth and Onyx for the pupils. 

For the pink monster, I cut him from Spellbinders Pink Sand Cardstock, as well as Snowdrift for the eyes and teeth, Onyx for the mouth and pupils and Dahlia for the tongue. I added ink blending to both using Altenew Inks and a mini blending brush. The monsters were then assembled and adhered together using Bearly Art Glue. 

For the card bases, I cut the flat bottomed heart die in the kit two times from Spellbinders Onyx Cardstock and created a score line across the top of one to create a hinge. I added adhesive above the score line and then adhered it to the other heart. This made the mini cards. I adhered the monsters to the front of the cards using foam tape. 

For the sentiment, I die cut the 'be mine' in the kit from white cardstock and simply adhered them inside the cards. I thought these would be nice attached to little sweet bags or something like that. They are tiny but oh so cute! 

SUPPLIES:

 

Here are the links to what I have used on the projects. Affiliate links are used on some products. This means that if you make a purchase after clicking on my link, I receive a small commission with no extra cost to you. I truly appreciate your support when using these links. Please click on the logo below the product to shop at your favourite store. All products were personally purchased except those from Clearly Besotted, Hero Arts or those marked with an asterisk (*) which were kindly sent to me to use. You can read my full disclosure here.

Thank you so much for stopping by today, I really do appreciate your visit. I hope you have a wonderful day and a great weekend! 

Spellbinders | Felt Reindeer

Hello there, I am back with another felt plushie, this time a reindeer! If you haven't seen my first plushie using the new Spellbinders Felt Stitch & Create Collection, you can see that HERE. I love that this reindeer can be customised too - you can add the hat or not, you can have him holding a candy cane/present etc. You can make him into a hanging ornament to add to the tree ... there are so many possibilities! 

PLEASE NOTE: This post contains affiliate links. Please see below for my full disclosure.

I started off by die cutting the Spellbinders Felt Reindeer Etched Dies from Spellbinders Merino Wool Felt Sheets Neutrals Collection, adding a little black felt from my stash for his eyes, as well as the red felt for his hat and nose. The white felt is sparkly (sorry it can't bee seen in the photos) and I will talk a little about that later. 

I stitched the reindeer using DMC Floss following Nichol Spohr's video tutorial. I added Polyester Craft Filling to his head and body. Attaching the ears and antlers to the head is a little tricky and you have to sandwich them between the front and back pieces of his head, so I hot glued them to the back panel of the head to keep them in place before I stitched. His head did go on a little wonky but I am hoping that adds to his charm! 

For the hat, I stitched it on to his head as the last step. You stitch the red piece in place first and then stitch the brim on top. The sparkly white felt that I used is lovely but it is a little thinner than the Merino Wool felt so you could see the red behind it. I decided to use the die as a template and cut a layer of the felt with scissors and then adhered it on top of the stitched one using hot glue. This covered the messyness behind and I still think it looks nice, even without the stitching on it. I did plan on adding some holly and berries to his hat but it didn't quite look right, so left them off. 

SUPPLIES:

 

Here are the links to what I have used on the project. Affiliate links are used on some products. This means that if you make a purchase after clicking on my link, I receive a small commission with no extra cost to you. I truly appreciate your support when using these links. Please click on the logo below the product to shop at your favourite store. All products were personally purchased except those from Clearly Besotted, Hero Arts or those marked with an asterisk (*) which were kindly sent to me to use. You can read my full disclosure here.

I think he is so cute and will be great to have him on display at Christmas! Perfect for sending a handmade gift too. Thank you so much for stopping by today, I really do appreciate it. I hope you have a wonderful day! 

Spellbinders | Felt Pumpkin

Hello there, today I have something a little different to share with you - a felt plushie. I have made some of these in the past (and shared them here on my blog) but haven't made any for years. Nichol Spohr has a new collection out with Spellbinders called Felt Stitch & Create and there are lots of different designs available - pumpkins, acorns, snowmen, reindeer, candy canes etc. so I had to give them a try again!

PLEASE NOTE: This post contains affiliate links. Please see below for my full disclosure.

These dies are designed to be cut from felt and stitched like I have done, but you can cut them from cardstock and stitch too, or not stitch at all! You can use the elements all together or some separately. I love when there are different options! I thought I would start off with the Spellbinders Felt Pumpkin Lane House Etched Dies. 

There a are lots of dies in this set - the pumpkin itself, as well as windows that you can add on to make it a house (as you can see I didn't add them) plus flowers, leaves and mushrooms. I started off by die cutting the pumpkin using one of the shades of purple in the Spellbinders Merino Wool Felt Sheets Trend Collection. I cut it twice (cuts beautifully with the Platinum Six) and then added stitching to the lines in the middle of the pumpkin first (on both sides) with DMC Floss and a blunt needle. 

I die cut the stalk for the pumpkin using one of the brown shades from the Spellbinders Merino Wool Sheets Neutrals Collection, popped it between the two pieces of the pumpkin and stitched around the outside to secure in place. Before stitching it shut, I added some Polyester Craft Filling. 

The flowers and leaves were die cut using the same collections of Spellbinders felt, as well as extra white felt from my stash for the flower centres. They were stitched using DMC Floss and then adhered to the pumpkin using hot glue. Hot glue works really well for adhering felt but you can try tape and liquid glues too. I think it would be nice to have added some real buttons to the centres of the flowers but I didn't think of that until afterwards! 

SUPPLIES:

 

Here are the links to what I have used on the project. Affiliate links are used on some products. This means that if you make a purchase after clicking on my link, I receive a small commission with no extra cost to you. I truly appreciate your support when using these links. Please click on the logo below the product to shop at your favourite store. All products were personally purchased except those from Clearly Besotted, Hero Arts or those marked with an asterisk (*) which were kindly sent to me to use. You can read my full disclosure here.

If you are new to felt plushies, Nichol Spohr has made video tutorials on how to assemble them over on her YouTube channel, as well as the Spellbinders channel. I am probably going to use this pumpkin as an ornament in my craft room, since I really love the colours and they will go nicely in there! Thank you so much for stopping by today, I really do appreciate it. I hope you have a great day! 

Hero Arts | Hero Studio December 2024 Release Blog Hop + Giveaway

Hello there, I am delighted to be joining Hero Arts for the Hero Studio December 2024 release, which is out now! There are lots of kits to choose from, as well as Extraordinary Extras. Today I am focussing on the Card Kit of the Month, as well as the Fancy Dies of the Month. 

PLEASE NOTE: This post contains affiliate links. Please see below for my full disclosure.

HERO STUDIO CARD KIT OF THE MONTH

I started off my card by taking the Floral Circle Fancy Die from the Hero Studio December 2024 Card Kit of the Month and die cutting it three times from Hero Arts Deluxe Smooth White Cardstock. I popped the pieces out of the die cut and then adhered the first outline layer to a cardstock circle die cut using the Hero Arts Nesting Circle Infinity Dies. 

I then added ink blending to the inside pieces of the die cut. I used Hero Arts Dandelion and Butter Bar Core Inks for the sun, Hero Arts Ultra Pink Core Ink for the sky, Hero Arts Paradise Core Ink for the clouds, Hero Arts Orchid and Amethyst Core Inks for the flower petals and Hero Arts Dandelion Core Ink for the flower centres. The pieces were adhered inside the outline using liquid glue. I then took the other two frame pieces and adhered them on top (so that it was three layers high). 

I took another circle piece and scored a line towards the top to create a hinge. At the other end, I cut a little off to help the card stand up easier. I added adhesive to the hinge and adhered it to the back of the die cut one. I stamped a sentiment from the stamp set in the kit onto Hero Arts Pitch Black Cardstock using Hero Arts Clear Embossing & Watermark Ink. I applied Hero Arts White Detail Embossing Powder and heat set. It was die cut out using the coordinating die and adhered to the card. To finish, I embellished with Hero Arts Clear Enamel Dots. 

KIT INCLUDES:

Clear Stamp Set, 6” x 8”

15 Coordinating Dies

Floral Circle Fancy Die

5 Reinkers, 1/2 oz. (Purple Galaxy, Blue Hawaii, Green Apple, Lemon Drop, Fruit Punch)

Plastic Watercolor Palette

HERO STUDIO FANCY DIES OF THE MONTH

I started off my card by die cutting the rainbow die in the Hero Studio December Fancy Dies of the Month kit multiple times from Hero Arts Deluxe Smooth White Cardstock. I added ink blending to four of them using Hero Arts Core Inks -

1st (top) layer - Dandelion and Butter Bar

2nd layer - Ultra Pink and Raspberry Jam

3rd layer - Orchid and Amethyst

4th layer - Paradise and Bermuda

I cut the layers apart using scissors (very easy to do as they are only connected by small pieces of cardstock in certain areas) and adhered them to a base layer (from white cardstock) using liquid glue. I then adhered another behind (for more dimension) plus added lots of layers of clouds (5 high). The rainbow piece was then adhered to a US A2 size white card base with liquid glue.

I stamped the sentiment from the Hero Arts Floral Rainbow & Clouds Stamp Set onto Hero Arts Pitch Black Cardstock using Hero Arts Clear Embossing & Watermark Ink. I applied Hero Arts White Detail Embossing Powder and heat set. It was cut into a strip and adhered to the card using foam tape. To finish, I cut the little stars from the kit from more white cardstock and adhered them to the card as an embellishment.

HERO STUDIO SUBSCRIPTIONS

If you want to sign up for any of the kits, you can do so from 1st - 27th of the month. You will receive the kit/s that you subscribe to for that month. The subscription will then roll over until the next month (as well as the following months) unless you cancel it. If there are any kits leftover, they will be available to purchase a la carte (without a subscription) the following month. You can find out more about subscribing HERE.

BLOG HOP:

As mentioned, this post is part of a fun, inspirational blog hop with prizes. For the hop, you should have arrived here from Lydia. Next on the hop is Natasha. If you get lost along the way, or want to start the hop from the beginning, please head over to the Hero Arts Blog.

GIVEAWAY:

Hero Arts are giving away a $50 gift card, drawn from the comments left across the hop. Enter by 8th December 2024 11.59pm PST. The winner will be announced on the Hero Arts Blog the following week.

SUPPLIES:

 

Here are the links to what I have used on the projects. Affiliate links are used on some products. This means that if you make a purchase after clicking on my link, I receive a small commission with no extra cost to you. I truly appreciate your support when using these links. Please click on the logo below the product to shop at your favourite store. All products were personally purchased except those from Clearly Besotted, Hero Arts or those marked with an asterisk (*) which were kindly sent to me to use. You can read my full disclosure here.

Thank you so much for stopping by today, I really do appreciate it. I hope you have a wonderful time on the rest of the hop and make sure to check out the other kits this month, they are fab! Take care!

Simon Says Stamp | DieCember 2024

Hello there, I am delighted to be joining Simon Says Stamp for their DieCember 2024 release! If you haven't heard of DieCember before, it is a celebration of all things die cutting for the month of December. 

Today we are kicking things off with a fun party to celebrate the release. A bunch of designers have got together to share lots of inspiration with you. You can find links to all the designers sharing today here. Simon Says Stamp kindly sent me the fabulous Leafy Branch Die to play with and this is what I made: 

PLEASE NOTE: This post contains affiliate links. Please see below for my full disclosure.

I thought it would be fun to do one of my favourite techniques on these cards - die cut inlay. This technique also produces a 2-for-1 as you can use both the outline and the inside pieces/inlay. 

I started off by creating the alcohol ink backgrounds. I took a panel of Yupo Paper and added Isopropyl Alcohol to it (to create a base for the alcohol inks to move), I then dropped Tim Holtz Alcohol Inks on top - Purple Twilight, Amethyst, Stonewashed, Sailboat Blue and Silver Mixative (which you need to use Ranger Alcohol Ink Blending Solution with).

I moved the inks around the paper using the Tim Holtz Alcohol Ink Air Blower Tool and then set it aside to dry. Once dry, I die cut it using the Simon Says Stamp Leafy Branch Die. I then cut the die multiple times from white cardstock. 

I die cut two hearts using the Simon Says Stamp Nested Round Hearts Dies for the fronts of my card bases. For the die cut inlay card, I adhered one of the outlines of the die cuts on to the heart first using Bearly Art Glue. I cut the excess from the sides using scissors. 

I popped in the inside pieces of the leaves (cut from the alcohol inked background) and adhered them with liquid glue. I then adhered two more layers of the outline on top for added dimension. For the outline card, I adhered the white cardstock outlines first (two layers) and then adhered the alcohol inked one on top of that. The excess was cut off the sides at each layer. 

For the sentiment on the inlay card, I stamped a sentiment from the Simon Says Stamp Silhouette Sentiments Stamp Set onto black cardstock using Versamark Ink. I applied white embossing powder and heat set. It was cut into a strip using the Simon Says Stamp Sentiment Labels Dies and adhered to the card using foam tape. 

For the sentiment on the outline card, I die cut the 'hugs' sentiment from the Simon Says Stamp Basic Trio Dies three times from white cardstock. They were adhered one on top of another and then onto the card using liquid glue. 

I then die cut two more hearts from white cardstock and made a score line towards the top to create a hinge. I also cut the point off the bottom of the heart to help the card stand up better. I added adhesive to the hinge part and then adhered them to the back of the card fronts. To finish, I embellished with Spellbinders Opal Color Essentials Gems. 

DIECEMBER PROMOTION

If you order $100 or more of DieCember release products, you will receive the Fancy Ornaments Embossing Folder as a free gift! This will be automictically added to eligible carts. Offer valid until 11.59pm ET. 

SUPPLIES:

Here are the links to what I have used on the projects. Affiliate links are used on some products. This means that if you make a purchase after clicking on my link, I receive a small commission with no extra cost to you. I truly appreciate your support when using these links. Please click on the logo below the product to shop at your favourite store. All products were personally purchased except those from Clearly Besotted, Hero Arts or those marked with an asterisk (*) which were kindly sent to me to use. You can read my full disclosure here.

Thank you so much for stopping by today, I really do appreciate it. I hope you enjoy seeing all the inspiration today! Take care!