Dies are amazingly versatile and this stand alone die release from Altenew is jam packed with some wonderful dies. If you are hopping along with us, you have just come from the uber talented, Zinia Redo and your next stop is my fellow New England Crafty Girl, Bridget Casey. Check out more details over at the Altenew Blog. Please keep reading for some inspiration using products from this release. Altenew kindly gifted me these products as part of my guest design work. Please leave me a comment letting me know if you have a favorite must have from this release!
Focal Points
All of my cards today use one of the release products as a focal point on a card. When using dies, I like to mix the types of paper that I cut out to give different textures and interest to a card.
Lovely Envelopes Die Set – Mixing Paper Types
This card uses three of the products from the release: Lovely Envelopes, Mighty Alphabet and Simple Shapes Cover Die. The Lovely Envelope die set has an Envelope liner and outside as well as flowers and hearts that can pop out of the envelope.
Using Metallic Papers – I used metallic papers for some of the hearts and the envelope outside. I also used gold foil cardstock and a background I made with alcohol inks. The LOVE is also cut out from metallic cardstock using the Mighty Alphabet dies. I spaced out the letters to cover the whole page and balance the weight of the envelope.
Using a die to emboss – The envelope sits upon an embossed background that uses the Simple Shapes cover die. I love the soft edges for the envelope to rest on.
This card uses three of the products from the release: Lovely Envelopes, Mighty Alphabet and Simple Shapes Cover Die. The Lovely Envelope die set has an Envelope liner and outside as well as flowers and hearts that can pop out of the envelope.
Using Metallic Papers – I used metallic papers for some of the hearts and the envelope outside. I also used gold foil cardstock and a background I made with alcohol inks. The LOVE is also cut out from metallic cardstock using the Mighty Alphabet dies. I spaced out the letters to cover the whole page and balance the weight of the envelope.
Using a die to emboss – The envelope sits upon an embossed background that uses the Simple Shapes cover die. I love the soft edges for the envelope to rest on.
Rose Queen Die – using a white stacked die cut
The Rose Queen die set is a large sprig of Iris flowers and leaves. I die cut this twice out of white paper and then added that to a 2.5″ tall alcohol inked background that was in my stash. I paired this with a sentiment from the Way to Go die set that was cut from gold foil cardstock. Using a white stacked die cut allows the background to shine through and tones down the alcohol panel’s busy-ness.
The Rose Queen die set is a large sprig of Iris flowers and leaves. I die cut this twice out of white paper and then added that to a 2.5″ tall alcohol inked background that was in my stash. I paired this with a sentiment from the Way to Go die set that was cut from gold foil cardstock. Using a white stacked die cut allows the background to shine through and tones down the alcohol panel’s busy-ness.
POP up Dahlia – A colored die cut focal point
The POP up Dahlia die is different in that it doesn’t cut out the image but instead cuts out sections of leaves that gives a 3-D appearance of the flower. I inked up the petals using inks from Martian Terrain and the leaves using Just Green and inks from Nature’s Wonders. The Detail Blending Brushes are the perfect size for applying the color to this image. I paired the Dahlia with die cut letters from the Mighty Alphabet die set. I mounted the card front to a brown top folding card so the sentiment and the stem would show through.
The POP up Dahlia die is different in that it doesn’t cut out the image but instead cuts out sections of leaves that gives a 3-D appearance of the flower. I inked up the petals using inks from Martian Terrain and the leaves using Just Green and inks from Nature’s Wonders. The Detail Blending Brushes are the perfect size for applying the color to this image. I paired the Dahlia with die cut letters from the Mighty Alphabet die set. I mounted the card front to a brown top folding card so the sentiment and the stem would show through.
Be Kind Die set – Using a sentiment as a focal point
This card example uses three dies from the release: Be Kind, Calming Reflections and Flowing Foliage. After I placed the Calming reflections white die cut onto the navy card base, the white and blue were too much of a contrast. I then inked up the die cut with light blue ink to tone down the contrast. For the sentiment, I die cut the shadow layer from vellum. The sentiment was originally cut out from navy cardstock but I wanted more contrast so I added embossing ink and then Antique Gold embossing powder. This left the sentiment with a distressed gold look and navy showing through. To continue focus onto the Be Kind sentiment, I added some leaves from the Flowing Foliage die set that I inked up with yellow and orange inks. I love the bold, graphic design of this card and the colors.
This card example uses three dies from the release: Be Kind, Calming Reflections and Flowing Foliage. After I placed the Calming reflections white die cut onto the navy card base, the white and blue were too much of a contrast. I then inked up the die cut with light blue ink to tone down the contrast. For the sentiment, I die cut the shadow layer from vellum. The sentiment was originally cut out from navy cardstock but I wanted more contrast so I added embossing ink and then Antique Gold embossing powder. This left the sentiment with a distressed gold look and navy showing through. To continue focus onto the Be Kind sentiment, I added some leaves from the Flowing Foliage die set that I inked up with yellow and orange inks. I love the bold, graphic design of this card and the colors.
Giveaway Prizes
$300 in total prizes! To celebrate this release, Altenew is giving away a $50 gift certificate to 2 lucky winners and a $25 gift certificate to 8 winners! Please leave a comment on the Altenew Card Blog and/or each designer’s blog post on the blog hop list below by 10/25/2021 for a chance to win.
Altenew will draw 10 random winners from the comments left on each stop of this blog hop and announce the winners on the Altenew Winners Page on 10/27/2021.
$300 in total prizes! To celebrate this release, Altenew is giving away a $50 gift certificate to 2 lucky winners and a $25 gift certificate to 8 winners! Please leave a comment on the Altenew Card Blog and/or each designer’s blog post on the blog hop list below by 10/25/2021 for a chance to win.
Altenew will draw 10 random winners from the comments left on each stop of this blog hop and announce the winners on the Altenew Winners Page on 10/27/2021.
Thank you for joining me on this blog hop. Your next stop is Bridget Casey. I would love to know in the comments how you like to use dies on your cards and if they end up as focal points on your cards. I hope these cards leave you feeling inspired. Please tag me on Social Media as I would love to see what you create with this release.
Supply list
For your convenience, supplies are listed below. Affiliate links are used at no cost to you. Thank you for your support.
 Altenew Mini Blossom Shop at: Altenew |  Green Valley Mini Crisp Ink Set Shop at: Altenew |  Antique Gold Embossing Powder Shop at: Altenew |
 Altenew Martian Terrain Ink Set Shop at: Altenew |  Altenew Nature’s Wonders Ink Set Shop at: Altenew |  Altenew Northern Shore Ink Set Shop at: Altenew |
 Altenew Detailed Blending Brushes Shop at: Altenew |  Altenew Be KInd Die Set Shop at: Altenew |  Altenew Calming Reflections Cover Die Shop at: Altenew |
 Altenew Flowing Foliage Die Set Shop at: Altenew |  Altenew Lovely Envelope Die Set Shop at: Altenew |  Altenew Mighty Alphabet DIe Set Shop at: Altenew |
 Altenew Pop-Up Dahlia Die Shop at: Altenew |  Altenew Rose Queen Die Set Shop at: Altenew |  Altenew Simple Shapes Cover Die Shop at: Altenew |
 Altnew Way to Go Die Set Shop at: Altenew |