Hello and thank you for visiting my blog. For this card I played around with Nuvo Embellishment Mousse, Hero Arts sand embossing powder and layering die cuts to create some texture on this scene card. This card was relatively easy to put together once each of the components was built. For the colored die cuts, I actually colored those over a year ago and pulled them out of my stash for this card. Please read on for how I built each of the card components and put them together for a fun summer thank you card. Some items used to make this card are listed at the end of the post. If you would like to build this card and purchase items through these links, I may receive a small commission. Thank you for your support.

Hello friends. I am participating in my first ever hop! On Instagram! I regularly post on Instagram and I’d love it if you join me there @sevenscrafts. The hop today has a $50 gift certificate to Scrapbook.com where I do regularly shop for my card making supplies because I like their prices, selection and fast shipping. If you are hopping along, you came from Anna Komenda @moriony and your next stop is Nicole Watt @pixelmavensretreat. For today I am sharing an adorable love you card made with the Monster Love stamp set from Concord & 9th along with other supplies that are all available at Scrapbook.com. Please read on for how I put together this cute card.

Here it is....the final challenge of level 2. So far I have taken 20 Altenew Academy classes and made 37 cards. This has been a really great experience to improve my card presentation and to learn different techniques. For this challenge I had to make a home decor project using inspiration from some of the 20 classes I have taken. I decided to make some prints in the spirit of John Audubon’s nature prints. I had been planning on purchasing some Audubon original book plates but these are really expensive. The book plates have really simple images and have just a flower or birds with the species name in typeface. Altenew stamp sets have beautiful detailed images that I thought would work great for this project. Read on for how I put together these home decor pieces. If you have questions on the Altenew Educator Program, please let me know as I would be happy to talk about my experiences so far. I’ve included affiliate links in this post for the items I used to make these pieces. If you use these links to purchase the items, I may get a small commission at no cost to you. Thank you for your support.

Today on the blog, I am using Altenew Layered Stencils to create unique looks to cards. I am using different blends of ink, texture paste and DecoFoil Transfer Gel. I love how the layered stencils give such a realistic impression. Please read on for how I accomplished each of these looks and tricks and tips I learned along the way.

I like to make cards. Masculine cards are typically defined by being more geometric, patterned and less flowery. In the Altenew class, For The Boys, the instructor gave a lot of different ways to interpret masculine cards. Most of my stamps from Altenew are floral so this course made me move out of my comfort zone and made me think outside the box. I recently purchased the Warp Speed stencil from Altenew and figured this would a good time to use it. Read on for two cards I made using this stencil.

I love birthdays ... from cake to presents to celebrating with friends and family; birthdays are just a lot of fun. Having two kids means lots of birthday parties which means lots of buying birthday gifts. For birthday gifts, I prefer to give something that is personal and can be used over and over. This cycle of birthdays, I’m making personalized tote bags. I already posted on this, here but I have another example including what I put into the whole gift. For this project, I used my Cricut Explore Air, Cricut Iron On Lite, Cricut Vinyl to make: a personalized tote bag, pencil box and bookmark. I also made two birthday cards to go with these presents. Lots of ideas here so I will break them down as I hope this post will leave you inspired to make some birthday gifts.

Holidays are all about the sparkle and magic of the season. The temperatures get colder, hearts fill with cheer and there's something happy and magical about the time. The Tonic Nuvo Glimmer Paste and Newton's Nook Snowfall Stencil I had used on a previous card needed to make another appearance. The shine and dimension from the Glimmer Paste really makes the stencil design stand out. Before putting away my holiday stamps and dies, I wanted to make just another design for the season. The holidays is a time when shimmer and sparkle are expected and are not over the top for a card.

What I have been discovering in card making is a sense of freedom to try new things. I am more willing as a card maker to attempt a new technique or practice with a product with the understanding that I will mess up but each mistake is a step in the overall journey. To that end, I recently went to Jenn Shurkus' Creative Journey: An Art Retreat on Cape Cod. At that retreat, I was able to play with some stamps and techniques I do not normally try and get some ideas. My friend also won a Tim Holtz Plaid Layering Stencil which I am highlighting in today's card. I am also highlighting some techniques that may seem a bit daunting but I encourage you to try them and take a step forward on your creative journey.