Style it with Stencils

Hello and thank you for joining me today on this Altenew Educators Blog Hop. The focus of this hop is celebrating the versatility of stencils. If you’re hopping along, you’ve come from the very talented, Rosie Neustaedter. The next stop is the multifacetedNandini Karmarkar. Scroll to the end of this post for the full blog hop list or head over to the Altenew card blog for more information and to win prizes.

Stencils are so versatile given the number of techniques you can do with them and Altenew has some beautiful stencils. When I receive new goodies, I immediately play with them to test them out and see how they work. This method leaves me with a lot of backgrounds that don’t end up as cards. In this post, I take those backgrounds I have made previously and add elements to make cards. Please continue reading to see how I store and use odds and ends from other projects to make the cards today. Affiliate links are used in this blog. If you choose to shop through them, I may receive a small commission which is used to support this blog. Thank you for your support. 

Sometimes it is just fun to come in to my craft room and create with no expectation of a product. I also stamp a lot of images (flowers and critters usually) to take with me and color as I run errands, wait for kids at practices and sit in meetings. This means I end up with a lot of leftover pieces. I store these pieces so that when inspiration strikes or I am in need of some quick elements, I can grab them and use them on a project. Well today is that day where I was determined to use what I had to make these cards. All the stencils from today come from Altenew’s July 2019 Patterns and More Stencil release.

I store leftover pieces in these containers from the Container Store. I added some vinyl flair and they look really pretty on my desk while the contents are waiting to be used on a project. Create holds flowers and critters that have been die cut. Inspire holds backgrounds.

One of the first things I do with stencils is ink blend. It is a great way to see how your stencil works and decide on colors which may go with it. Altenew has some really cool builder stencils like the Diamond Builder stencil. I used this with a blue on blue and then blue on orange scheme. The stenciled panels were then cut down to 2 3/4″ x 5 1/2″. I stamped flowers from the Wonderland stamp set in Altenew Antique Gold pigment ink and added a vellum circle (1/2″) and a hello die cut from Altenew Envelope Liner die set cut from gold mirror card stock. 

The Doily frame stencil is a beautiful intricate stencil which I inked up with Silverstone and Pure Graphite ink. This stencil was fussy cut out and then cut in half. To help the background really stand out, I brushed Dusk watercolor marker onto a piece of watercolor paper. The flowers are from Altenew Book Club and colored with colored pencils. The tea cup and sentiment is from Vintage Tea Cup stamp set and both have been heat embossed with Altenew Platinum powder. The doily stencil really sets the scene for the texture and layers of the die cut flowers and tea cup/saucer. 

Using foils, pastes or embossing can really set off your ink blended backgrounds. Here are some examples of using your backgrounds with different media.

The Bubble Wrap Stencil is great with so much space in those circles to hold ink. I first blended over the stencil in rainbow order. Then I shifted the stencil and added VersaMark ink and then embossing in Hero Arts Sparkle Embossing powder. The hello sentiment from Altenew Envelope Liner die is set off with a 1/2″ vellum circle. The shimmer is subtle but this card really shines in the light.

The Starry Night stencil is really neat and can be used with a lot of different media. For one of these cards, I used DecoFoil transfer paste to adhere the foil. The other example uses Altenew Embossing Paste mixed with Perfect Pearls to give a bright look. The sentiments are from the Holiday Script words bundle. To get the rainbow effect on the words, I took a piece of scrap paper, colored a rainbow using Altenew Artist markers and then die cut Wishes from that. The sub sentiment is typed out on my antique Smith Corona typewriter. 

Ink blending with multiple colors really can set apart your image. These cards use the Leaves & Berries stencil and the Pine Cone A & B stencils to make some cute holiday cards. I stenciled the image on a card front and then on a card base. I cut the card base down to be smaller than the card front The windows in the card base are cut using the Rounded Rectangle Set. The sentiment is from the Holiday Script Sentiment set. By having the same ink blending on the card base, it shows through the shaker window and gives a streamlined look. 

Thank you for joining me today on this blog hop. I’d appreciate it if you followed me on Instagram @sevenscrafts to keep up with my card designs. In the comments below let me know if you have a favorite medium to use with your stencils. Enjoy hopping along with all the talented Altenew Educators. 

Prizes: (three ways to win!)

• Altenew is giving away a $20 gift certificate to 5 lucky winners! Please leave a comment here on the Altenew Card Blog by 9/19/2020 for a chance to win.
• Altenew will also draw a winner to receive a $15 Altenew gift certificate from the comments left on each designer’s blog on the blog hop list below. All winners will be announced on the Altenew Winners Page on 9/22/2020.
• There’s MORE! Altenew will pick 2 of their favorite handmade creations from those who joined the linky party and they will each receive a $15 Altenew gift certificate!

Here is the full hop list:
Altenew Card Blog
Amber Rain Davis
Neha Aggarwal
Nicole Watt
Erin Thompson
Teri Wilson
Helen Kalb
Rachael Shedeed
Terri Marie Koszler
Rosie Neustaedter
Amy Hill
Nandini Karmarkar
Maryam Sharara
Nenette S. Madero
Irina Fonina
Vicki Finger
Virginia Lu